In 1882 the United States ratified the treaty from the 1863 Geneva Conference entitled "Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field." After the United States ratified the compact, the Army used the international Red Cross symbol and flag to mark, or identify, general hospitals, field hospitals, and ambulances. This small, wool flag with cotton appliqued red cross marked the location of an ambulance or the route to a field hospital.