, 1861-07-20

give trustworthy account Of tue condition Of
onr troops, the psrusa1 Of which viii be found
1h1eEestng Y the iafss aaS IT. agperth'n vount
arms. Empowered with high authority, Dr. /
Mott and hfs Assistant visited over thirty reg
imenta, at and around Washington and Fort |
ress Monroe. They found great Inequality |
IN the condition Of the soldiers-aomc baing |
in Use aud s. store. Others were destitute Of |
almost everything, aud in q sad condition. |
They had eeau men mount guard without |
paataloons, Walking about on. duty in that |
condition They found very great inequality |
In the rations furnished, some getting full r.
having botR rlenty to eat and to spare while
with quite 8 -lzrge number 1t was just the
CONTRARY. They. found regiments within
mile and a half .of Washington getting fresh
meat only onca week, and no fresh bread,
besids being u some ,' way p 9y, ignorance or
ty, Of their daily ratione.
In some regiments. the phYsicians became
fully satided that there was conusion between
the Colonels and Quar- ermasterE, BY means Of
which the men Wena cheated Of their allow.
auces, as furnished and paid for by the Gov
did not complain .at all, perfectly patriotic
men accustomed to better things, we're asking
food from of1refs who knew them and trusted
them, merely to satisfy their hunger.
The fullsizea army tent iG calculatea to hol1
five men. In the NeE York tents Of much
SIX OF seven, and sometimes eight ornine, and
even ten men crowded together. In ali res
pects the same state Of things ras found to
exist at Washington aud Fortress Monroe
alike,
The men had evidently been imposed upon
food, and everything, this remark applying to
fully one third ai the army a. coming from
New York. uH ~cou1se, there were faults en
the part Of tlak men themselves, owing to ig-
norance aud incapac1ty, bad cooking, and not
II this stats of affairs was caused by the incl
fciency' Of of3cers. and the rascalfty Of Quar-
termaEters.
The doctor found great many Of the army
Surgeons aid Aeaistaat> Surgeons completely
tion-eeither they OF their of1cera-to the
cleanliness Of the camps, the provision Of
sinks. DC. They found some camps that had
been eight days established where there WAS
still no privy. Not only the surgeons but the
captains and ether officers, we're to be held re-
sponsiblc in this case- About two-thirds Of
| the camps visited were, however found II per-
| feet order, inspected bJ the proper officers,
and properly looked after by the surgeons at
O'Clock daily, according to the regulations
| The blankets served from the State Of New
York were small in size, bad in texture, and
almost rotten, 70 that Iou could poke your
I third the width and Size Of the army blankets.
The same sort Of sWindl1ng was apparent in
tents, blankets, clothes, shoes, &c. There
| were many men without ehoes, or with only
| poor ones, and their toes gaping ont. This
state Of things had caused them to be shame
faced and dIspirited. a great many would not
ask for leave Of absence over their own lines
I for no other reaGons than this. They looked
| like convicts in the penitentiary, and worse
| than any hod-c2rrfer with whom one wsu1d
| meet. This was true with third Of the New
/! York troops. Any person could see it BY tax
| ing the trouble to visit the camps, being, OF
course, first supplied from headquarters with
the requisite permission. But th5 camps
! were located miles apart, aud the public
never went further than to visit few crack
regimenta.
Ihe Commission found regtments seven Or
/ eight miles from Washington supplied with
fresh meats three or four times a week, and
fresh bread every day while others mile and
hall from Washington Were at the same
time almost starving Tor everything. This Was
owing to the insptdciency or rascality Of the
q1artermaster.
| Our informant is confident that large third
Of the New York troops are comparatively de-
moralized from bad treatment, q want Of food
and want Of proper clothing. Those wh1
came full Of courage and zeal were nsn
ehame-laced and disgusted Of this he il
fully satisfied Dr. Mott had frequently called
meeting of a1l the officers, having the Quar-
| termaster present, and instructed them as tC
J. their duty, telling the respective officers fol
| what they were Responsible In SO far rs it Re
lated to the work Of the commission. A great
many captsinsw swere not before aware Of Ger
tain items Of duty thus communicated, and q
tie redreas to be sought and found In case o
negligent or culpable i1eficiency In depart
ments aluded to.
The difference between good and bad cloth
ing, ratiuns. etc, amounted to this: fha
come regiments, 400 strong, had only - o
Is men On the sfck list, while Others, only 7ol
strong, Tad 100 TO Ito The disorders usual,
| coughs, ETC., seldom, however, proving fatal
i r An important fact relating to those rejects
by Dr. Mott, In New York, as unfit for abl
, | soldiers. duty, having raptures, h@ind1fas i
one eys, ,1oss Of fingers, 90, was scented snt
come 20 to Is men of this elass had accamps
, MED almost every regiment to Washington
and had thus far escaped the notice. of sul
, geona and officers. In many regiments. ther
, ! were but 10 or Ia Dr.. Mott having retained
!. come OF their names on the reSimeatA rolls
: and they have now been hesded off by notif5
ing the paJmastErs aud providing them wit
copies Of the came lists. This matter, Vas. r.
garded Is important, because. men unable
s DO soldiers duty-not able to 60 double auic
| III ttA AA1AkE1 ~ oAF2 1A24A AFE1--WE1N LII
: otly being cared for constantly on, the sic
! list Of the regiment, at great trouble and e,
= pense, but were soon to be duly authorized,
4 | they snp through aud were once recognized
4 to draw a pension from the Government
. Many colonels, it-was thought, neglecte
sometimes being away for fonr OF five day
y without returning to see their men, viii!
: their absence had nothing whatever 70
) with With their duty; Others aSe assidnou .
I eyer. drilled, being kept st hard work for eigl
business moIe than three or four hours d.
e Or hot day regiments were seen to drill fol
e hours without stopping, and then dtsmisse
only five or ten minutes-uot long enough
!, ! get drink Of water-after which they Won
be called to regimentA parade for anoth
hour or an hour and q half. Seine Of the.
!. NEE had been found almost ready to mutin1
K but they we're very efficient, a. q matter
= course, in the maneuvers and manual Son
Il of the colonels did not know how to drill
70 least they had been told 20 by young arm
q officers sent to asaist them, In the heating
h the commission. Some cf the colonels b
" been seen riding about On horseback, In dres
irg gown and slippers; others were On t
3f contrary extreme, and were invariably appes
h ing In the s.iftest uniform aud cooked h:
never even puttlng on fatigue.
1t The punishments reaorted to were very c
le riouB. 4 hole was cut In the bottom Of be
barrel, aud this Incorporating garment "
nf put over an unlucky offender in such mann
/, that only bis head WIS exposed. Small squa
IA might be seen paraded about in this Ws
,e shskiDg their heads at flies. Others we
le drilled with huge logs Of wood tor 1nuske.
couple Of senttnels with bayonets behind
" enforce obedience to orders Others VIC
il | made to stand on the top Of beef barrel
three or four hours. Others were bucked a
gagged, &c. In most cases Of this sort Ve
N | seVe1e punishment had been deserved The
Of Has considerable fun around the camps.
4. one regiment huge pig was gagged and p
er In the guard house. By the boys, the offer
IN being the making noise about the prenis
Il, Some Of the German regiments were petf
70 models. The men erected arbors before th
nd tents. The colonies and officers had arbt
~ certainly twenty five feet equare, and e1ghte
or twenty feet high, Of evergreens, twisted
beautiful shapes, Ventilated with gothic n
dows. They were al thus In possession o
delightfully."- shaded enclosure, their tents
the rear; were always cool and comtortab
au6 took their meals pleasantly. The G
Of mans arc generally pretty well dressed q
nv taken care Of Blenktr's regiment, In partl
80 1ar, was fne They had good bands OF mu.
"a ~ sinetng md g1ee e1uhs, snd we're haPpy.
ID one case they built huge temporary oven
ia | clay bank, and were now dAily baking th
,a+ own bread, in this way securing great sayi
~ to the regiment Ffom their extra ratio
us each company saved from $50 to so ]
t. | month. These extra amounts saved were nj
is in purchasing lager bier, mill, tobacco, frs
x. potatoes, green's, string beans, boot-blAekl
an soap, DC. Many Of them had procured q la
: q | cofee-Foaster, ~ big Is q barrel, by means
In | which fhev Inada de3irhtfta1 coffee It '