Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-05-14

that potatoes will w their lives as well
as give them strength for their work, this
army viii soon be in ell Sanitary respects
in the best possible condition.
The weekly Sanitary reports from Frank
lin are just now received by DR.. Hamilton.
While the Surgeons in their official reports
to the heads of departments, acknowledge
fully the aid they are receiving from the
Commission, they report their most urgent
wants to be vegetables-vegetables-veg-
etables.
On the Both Of April I visited a very
large number Of regiments at Murfrees-
boro', for the purpose of ascertaining by
personal inspection, the amounted vegeta-
bles furnished by Government and issued
to the soldiers the past two weeks. Re
member, that up to the 10Th Of April,
there had been almost none issued for the
last eight months. The testimony Of the
soldiers and Of all the Surgeons whom 1
met was ave have had potatoes once
within a week or two" A very few said
they chad received them twice within that
time" while l found now and then a regi-
ment that said ave have not received any
from six to eight months"
With this testimony 1 call your attention
to a letter Of Commissary Hill, published
in the Cleveland Herald of the 18th, as
an item in the history of the war which
shows the urgent necessity of a Sanitary
Commission, or at least Of Sanitary In
spectors, at a time like the present, when
all the Surgeons l have met with in repre-
senting that the great want of the army
is fresh vegetables, q COmmissary says to
the public in substance: "There is no lack
Of vegetables. 1 issue to those dependent
upon me enough" and to prove this gives
US the items of his issues and even this
does not contain fresh vegetables, with the
exception of onions three or four times
within the past six weeks and his
dessicated vegetables the men will not eat
until they are compelled by order, nor are
they by any means q sufficient substitute
for those that are fresh. / assert without
fear of successful contradiction, that a
majority of the regiments of this army
have not received an issue Of potatoes or
any other fresh vegetables three times
within the nine months preceding the 18th
Of April. And 1 will state farther, that
after ample opportunities Of knowing, and
personal examination in a large number of
cases, I do not believe that during the
eight months previous to the 18th, there
has been more than one issue of fresh po-
tatoes on the average, and in many regi-
ments, the Surgeons and soldiers unite in
assuring me there has not been one issue
to them within that time.
rave reported frequently that in my
opinion no army was ever better fed or
clothed, With this one exceptiou-the want
of fresh vegetables-than the army of the
Cumberland, and this is my testimony
now but there is and has been a great
want Of fresh vegetables which if much
longer continued would ruin the army.
So pressing is the want that do aot hesi-
tate to repeat that every bushel of pota-
toes delivered within the next three weeks
is worth more than a new recruit. A bushel
Of potatoes will add as much strength to
this arm as a man up to at least 10000
bushels. 1 do not say that any one is to
be Justly blamed for this want-it may
have been unavoidable, but if it be one Of
the privations the soldier must bear, let
him have the credit of bearing it, and
when his friends would come to his relief,
if they knew his wants as the medical staff
of the army know them, do not attempt to
convince them, against the fact that such
wants do not exist.
No CommissaIy need to be blamed until
he is proved to be delinquent and no one
need fear condemnation so much as to JUS
tify him in attempting to prove that this
army has been well supplied with vege-
tables, or that seurvy has not shown itself
in most of the regiments in the field or
that when it does appear and they are sent
to hospitals they are not better supplied
with vegetables and thus rapidly recover.
A. n. READ, Sanitary Inspector.