The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-07-04
NEW SERIES-NO. AT

bers Of Capt. Shelley's Cavalry company,
who were engaged in guarding telegraph.
| learned there was no sickness of conse-
quence in the campany. Capt. Won Min.
den's Cavalry, or what is left of it, 1 did
not have an opportunity :of seeing.-They
were at Fort Hienman.
The 9th of June had arrived and almost
passed before we could get boat going up
the Cumberland, and then the river was so
low that it took 48 hours to reach Nashville.
We arrived at the camp of the Third
Regiment, situated in beautiful grove in
the suburbs of the pleasant old village of
Murfreesboro, on Monday, the 9th. This
regiment, as well as the Second, had hard
duty to perform in Kentucky last winter.
1t will be recollected it was on guard duty
along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
until it was ordered to Nashville after the
evacuation of that city by the rebel army.
The severe exposure to which the regiment
was subjected while in Kentucky, caused
much sickness; but under the skilfull treat.
| ment of surgeons Butler and Milligan, the
deaths were few. Measles prevailed to an
| alarming extent, but the cases generally
! yielded to proper treatment. Up to, and
| including the 10th of the present month, the
whole number of deaths in the regiment
| since its organization bad been only twenty.
three. DR.. Butler adopted at the outset the
same policy as has been adopted in other
regiments. of having discharged at once all
who were constitutionally untitled to bear
arms in active service.
| The Third, it will be recollected, was
regiment merely up to the minimum in mum.
bers when it left Fort Smelling, and it's ranks
have never been augmented by any recruits.
On the 10th inst. the aggregate number left
upon the rolls was 784 officers and men.
The hospital at Murfreesboro is in large
Seminary building, pleasantly and health~
fully situated. Two deaths occurred while
l was with the regiment, but none of the
other sick were dangerous, and all were dos
ing well. DR.. Wedge, the newly appointed
Assistant Surgeon, had Joined the regiment.
He and DR.. Butler were devoting their most
untiring energies to the comfort and welfare
of the sick,
No regiment in the service occupies
higher position as an efficient and complete
military organization than does the Mime.
sofa Third. Although it has never as yet
had an opportunity of meeting the enemy
on the field of battle, yet it has shed i'm.
mortal lustre on the name of the State and
the national service, by the gentlemanly
and sol0ierly bearing Of its officers and
men since their sojourn in Kentucky and
Tennessee.
Returning bomeward, spent couple of
hours looking through the magnificent hos.
pitals of Nashville. Nothing can surpass
them 10 cleanliness, attention to the sick,
and in everything that goes to make the
soldier feel that his government cares for
him as well in sickness as in health, The
number of deaths had dwindled down to al.
most none at all, and the convalescent were
joining their regiments in numbers every
day.
In fact the same might be said in regard
to the management of the hospitals every
where. There has been a thorough reor.
ganization, reformation and renovation of
affairs during the past three months; and
you could go nowhere and not hear that the
health of the Army was improving rapidly.
Whether this desirable state of things will
continue during the approaching sickly
season at the South. remains to be seen.
. For all the great work of reformation
alluded to 10 the above paragraph, the
United States Sanitary commission, and
the various branches thereof, deserved the
greatest share of credit. Thousands and
thousands of brave soldiers who but for
these organizations would have been in their
graves to day, live to bless the good men
and noble women who have devoted their
time, their substance and their earnest en-
deavOrs, day and night, to carry out tbs
ends of this great mission Of mercy and pa.
triOtism.
Another fact worthy of notice is that our
Northwestern men have so far invariably
stood the climate and the hardships incident
to sol3ier's life, much better than the
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois troops. This is
the testimony of all our surgeons.
I cannot close this report withoat ex.
pressing my great debt of obligations to
sundry persons, including steamboat and
railroad officers. To Captain Davidson and
those acting with him in the management Of
the st. Paul and La Crosse line to the off,
GERS of the steamers Keokuk and Northern
Belle; to the agents and managers of the
La Crosse and Milwaukee, Chicago and
Northwestern, Michigan Central, New AL.
bany and Salem, Indianapolis and Cincir-
natl, Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, ard
Cincinnati and Chicago Air Line Railways;
to Col. @. F. Wilstach and E. f. Baldwin,
ESQ.,, of the Cincinnati Branch of the United
States Sanitary Commission; to Col. o. F.
Gefroy, of the Gibson House, Cincinnati
to Quartermaster General Wright, Assist.
ant Quartermaster General Bliss, and Sur.
geon General Webber, Of OHIO; to the
officers of the steamer Tycoon, and to Medi
cal Director McDougall, at Pittsburg Land
ing, 1 am under obligations of character
which coll for and deserve this public ac-
knowledgment.
J. p. OWENS.