Hampton Roads' plight drew assistance in the form of funds, supplies, and medical personnel from many other cities and communities, especially those located along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas of the United States.
Money remaining in the Howard Association's coffers has continued to be used for medical relief in the 150 years since, primarily in southeastern Virginia.
Among significant sources of contributions and volunteers for Norfolk in 1855 were the gulf coast areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
An 1856 Howard Association report read, in part: Nor can we find words to express our thanks to the city of New Orleans, for the noble and generous manner in which she responded to our call for help.
A Virginian-Pilot newspaper story noted that this was, in a symbolic (and practical sense), a partial repayment of a 150-year-old act of kindness from the Gulf States.