St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-14
out leave, and recommending his dis

out leave. and recommending his dis
missal."
No blame whatever can attach to
Gen. Custer In this matter. If he re-
ported Gen. Alger as absent without
leave, he simply did what in hundreds
of cases he was obliged to do owing to
repeated failures of the brigade and
regimental medical department to prop
ery perform its duties. DR.. Wooster
had been mustered out in 1864. Conse-
quently the following incident in no
wise affects him personally, but is in
line with the singular lack of discipline
prevailing in the brigade medical arm
of the service. In March, 1860, | was
sent from CharlestUwn, by order of the
successor of Dr.. Wooster, to the old mill
hospital at Harper's Ferry. The sur
geOn Of the hospital declined 20 admit
that was seriously i'll. He was right
about the matter, and for four days l
did police duty, WhitewaShing in the
several wards.
Such work, or, in fact, any kind of
manual labor, is exceedingly distasteful
to soldier. and one warm day | made
a break for liberty, and got outside the
hospital walls and away from the vicin-
lty of the ghoulish dead room' which
was becoming obnoxious to one of
peculiarly sanguine temperament. On
the main street Of Harper's Ferry |
encountered the captain of my COM
pany, who had come up from Charles
town to have a good time with the bows.
He Immediately laid hold of my arm,
and demanded to know what in sheol
was doing away from my company
without pass. l told him that if anv
one was anxious to get back to the
front and reJoin his company that indi-
II
the provost marShaPs office, secured
transportation for both of US, and we
were soon en- route for CharleStOWn.
No rep ort Of my case had been made
to regimental or company headquarters
and l had been reported as absent with
out leave. My levanting from the
Harper's Ferry hospital was also en-
tireiy irregular, but nothing more was
heard about it.
Again, while at Port Tobacco, near
DR.. Mudd's farm, who set Booths leg
after the assassination Of Lincoln, /
was taken sick with measles and did
picket duty all night in drenching
rain. At sick call'' reported, but the
surgeon refused to send me to a field
hospital about mile distant. | there
fore made careful diagnosis of my
own case, and went over to the hospital
tent. got admitted, secured a cot and
medical treatment and come away with
out formal discharge and Joined nv
company at the end of three days.
For the second time l was reported
absent without leave, which report hap
pened to be eminently correct. But all
this was an irregular proceeding, and
all owing TO the inefficiency Of the same
medical department of which DR. Woos-
ter was, atone time, the head. In each
case the colonel or general reporting
me as absent without leave was entirely
Justifable.
But what shall be said of one
who PUSHES to the defense of Gen. Alger
at the expense Of the brave Custer-a
man against whom, up to date, no one
has breathed word impeaching his
veracity? The boys of the Michigan
cavalry brigade will not long hesitate in
alignlng themselves on the side of Gen.
Custer as against Surgeon Wooster. If the
military record of Gen. Russell A. AIger
can only be purified by blackening the
fame OF the honest, fearless and ehiyaI-
rous leader who fell in the front rank in
the massacre of Little Big Born. then
the military escutcheon of Gen. AIger
must remain furnished. l knew Custer
well. l loved the man and he loved
every brave soldier in the army of the
Potomac. His would be the last voice
III all those hosts Of veterans to villify
the name or fame of any soldier from
the poorest trooper in the rear platoon
up to even the pOlitico-military million
aire, Gen. Russell A. Alger. If mis-
take has been made the whole blame
falls upon the slack system pursued by
the medical department. of the Michigan
cavalry brigade under charge of Surgeon
Samuel 4. Wooster and his successors.
RICHARD F. STEELE.