Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-07-04
Eaects of Climate on soldiers.


IRON ihc y. Y Post, June 271
4 The Crimean war proved 10 Englishmer
the necessity for an Army Sanitary Com
mission, which should have the largest pow
eis and privileges for the energetic prosecu
tion Of measures, by which the health O
troops may be preserved. We are wisel,
taking advantage Of their experience. Oul
| soldiers will fight afe bstter for, inowiht
thtt their health and c6mfort are looked
!. after by men who have the matter at heart
and who are fitted by their studies and ex
peIence TO perform the,work thoreug1yA
l The enemy destroys scarce ten pct cent
OF an army. Government returns show thai
y Of our forces in Mexico, regular and volun
teer, only one thousand five hundred and
forty eight died in battle or Of wounds re.
ceived in battle, while twelve thousand three
hundred and forty weight died of disease, and
were sent home on account Of sickness. =
OF the French army in the Crimea, seven
thousand five hundred were slain in battle,
fifty thousand perished by disease, and sixty.
five thousand more were discharged as in.
valds OF nearly "a, 0OO English soldiers in
tho Crimea, 4,4l9 were slain in battle or
died of wounds; but l6,29S died of disease
at the seat of war, and nearly $1,000 were
sent home sick. With the timely labors of
our sanitary commission we may hope TO
show results much more encouraging than
these, IN our army returns at the close of this
war.
Meantime, as much has been said of the
perils, to our northern troops, of the heats
and fevers of'the Southern States, it would
not be amiss to look little at the mortality
tables Of the Mexican war. Here we. find,
what the British have also discovered in In
dia, that men born in and coming from cold
er climates bear fatigue and exposure in
torrid regions much better than troops native
to the warmer cline. The rebels threaten
us with their allies, the mosquitoes and
yellow Jack" but as we shall presently
show, in Mexico, where Northern and South
ern men fought side by side, the men of the
free states bore the rigors of the climate
much better than those Of the slave States
Ihe record is very curious one and proves
that an army Of gentlemen" is not altogeth-
desirable force for anything but militia
4 On April Sth, lS4S, the Secretary of War
made a report to the United States Senate
Of the losses of the volunteer forces employ
ed in Mexico. From this it appears that
seven Northern States Massachusetts,, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois--furnished, in the course
OF that war, %, 573 men. Of this force the
total loss from disease was 1891 men; less
than one-eighth Of the whole. Nine slave
States--Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky-furnish-
ed 22,S99 men. The loss from this force,
by disease and death caused by disease, was
,3l5, or more than one-fifth-a very con-
siderable difference in favor of Northern
troops. Ile...n ..r pf. .Hi
When we go into particulars we find that
Massachusetts, lost of ,O47 men but 6l by
disease, while South Carolina, furnishing
i ,O54 men, or seven more than Massachu-
sets, lost not less than 33Sby disease. Miss
issippi lost 100 men by disease, out of 2,3l9,
while Indiana, furnishing nearly double the
number, namely 4, 47O, lost only 76S. Geor-
gia lost 1862 men by disease, out of 2, 2,O47,
while New York lost but 1888, of total of
2,665. North Carolina sent 936, and lost
233; while New Jersey sent 424, and lost but
H. Pennsylvania sent 2, AGA, and lost AL;
but Mississippi lost 769 out of 2, 3l9. Illinois
furnished 5,973 men, and lost $50; while
TENNESSEE furnished only 5000, but lost not
less than l., 1856. Alabama lost 1923 of force
OF 3,Oll; Arkansas l36 Of force Of !, 323-
more than 10 percent in each. Kentuckylost
!O9 out of 1900, but Ohio, sending $3.50,
lost but GAL. The Texan troops, fighting
in country to whose circumstances and
climate they were thoroughly accustomed,
lost yet more by disease than the Missouri
ans, who came there from the cold North.
Of 1913 men, Texas lost 800 by disease,
while, of 6,733 Missourians, only 342 were
thus lost
Astonishing as,thcse comparative results
are, they might be predicated from knowl-
edge of the men The northern soldier is
man used to labor, who has earned his living
and supported his family by his strong arms
and honest industry. His muscle is firm
his mind is quiet-his habits are such that
falls lightly on him. He has been
used to endurance. And above all, he has
been to school and is an intelligent being,
capable o., adapting his conduct and habits
to his circumstances. But what are the
armies of gentlemen" of whom rebel pa
pers boast so loudly :? They, are men who
have spent their days in idle. boasting and
their. nights in dissipation. Their. relaxed
muscles, their restless minds, their ignorance,
their lack of selfcontrol and hatred of discip-
line make it difficult to form them into SOL
diers. Mr.. Russell, who has sharp eye
for soldier, does not in his last letters con-
ceal his preference for the men in Fort
Pickens over those in the rebel camp out
side. '''l1' % 'h.a. ,l.paFsa lts -. i'
1t is plain that, should it be Judged ad.
visable to pursue the southern campaign this
our men, taking equal risks, may
expect to suffer less than the enemy from the
climate, on which the rebels depend as one
Of their safeguards. IEEYt Oh |