The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-11-05
Having Been Mustered Out of
Service, Speaks Freely Of
CONDUCT OF THE WAR.
DenOunces Treatment of the
Soldiers in Strong Terms.
Kansans Frequently Without
Food For a Long Period.


not hesitate to give facts concerning
the careless manner in which the war
department cared for the volunteer sol
diers in his and other commands that
came under his notice.
He said today: $50 much Is being
said by Republican orators and others
about the glory of the late war belong
ing to the Republican party and to no
one else that feel that it is no more
than fair to the brave soldier who vol
unteered to defend the honor of his
country to say that when the call came
he did not think of the political effect
his action might have and that so far
as he was concerned there was no par
tsanship displayed. The stOrming Of
ii Caney and San Juan Hill will al
ways rebound to the glory and the hon
or of the individual American soldier
and to him belongs the victory instead
of to any political party, the command
ing general or even the war depart
ment. I yield to no man in my loyalty
to the government and my determine
ton to do all that is necessary to assist
in carrying out the plans and purposes
of the campaign but I do not hesitate to
say that more than once the Kansas
soldiers were made to know that either
craftsmanship or ineff1ciency in some way
hampered the war department in its
treatment of them.
The Twenty-second Kansas landed
at Camp Alger about the middle of the
afternoon on the day that the president
and secretary of war were holding a
review of the soldiers at that place.
After considerable delay a staff officer
was found whose duty it was to conduct
US 10 our camping ground. He led US
something over two miles out Of the
way over dusty road, crowded with
army wagons and about shutdown point
ed out the location chosen for our camp.
No one complained of this but when he
ordered US to pitch tents within 100 feet
of the sinks of a New Jersey regiment
we felt that we were imposed upon.
Cr1IE re6 n wit in Cfz nP
the New Jersey regiment and there
was not about US open space enough for
the drilling of a battalion. The crowd
ed condition of things seemed to be a
part OF the plan of the war department.
There was not a colonel in Camp Alger
nor a general commanding a division or
brigade who did not at some time or
another protest against the crOwding
of so many men upon so small a terri
tory. About three weeks before our
regiment left Camp Alger was on duty
as division officer of the day. Brigadier
General Davis, commanding our diViS-
ion ordered me to make a thorough in
spectiOn of all the regfmental camps in
his division and report to him whether
directions he had given regarding san
itary measures had been complied with.
After making careful inspection I re-
ported to him that they had. He then
said to me that he was doing all in his
power to preserve a good sanitary con-
ditiOn and to ward off any danger from
epidemic but was discouraged on ac-
count OF the TACT LnaC the men naQ Deen
camped so long on the same ground
He said that he had been urging the
war department to allow him to change
the location of his division because he
thought the conditions were becoming
dangerous but they had insisted upon
the camp remaining as it was.
AT that time there were few cases
of typhoid fever in our diVisiOn-Within
ten days there were from one to ten
cases in each regiment and by the 9rd
Of August there was an epidemic. On
the evening of August the conditions
had become so alarming that our d1V1S-
ion was given marching orders directing
it to proceed on the following morning
at o'clock and march in the direction
of Manassas. A short time before Capt.
W. H. Sherman of K company had ia
ken the fever and had been removed to
Fort Meyer hospital. Two of the SOL
dferS in his company who had had hos
pitaI training begged for the privilege
of going to Fort Meyer to wait upon
and nurse him. They were promptly in
formed that would be a very unmil-
itary thing to do and that they could
not go. A few days afterWard we were
informed that he was dead and bill
for S12 for his board while he was at
this hospital was presented to Lieut.
Davis who went to the hospital to take
charge of the body. Of course Captain
Sherman was not able to eat anything
while at the hospital This Is simply
an incident showing the system in
vogue in the hospitals concerning the
care of officers.
our division was more fortunate
than the first division for that was
held there a month after we were allow
ed to march out. The epidemic increased
until the division left was entirely de-
moralized and Governor Black of New
York offered to remove the Sixty fifth
New York regiment without expense to
the government. His offer was refused.
In one day "a new cases Of typhoid
developed in that regiment. Quarter
master H. A. Lamb of our regiment,
who was left behind, died The two
ThockmOrtOn boys from Columbus were
taken down short time after we left
the camp and both died. Since that
time every death that has occurred in
the regiment has been directly trace
able to the epidemic brought on by the
unsanitary condition of Camp Alger.
Secretary Alger says that he visited
Camp Alger and found the water sup
ply good and sufficient. Every member
of the Twenty knows that about
the time he visited our camp the Kan
sas soldiers, had a personal encounter
with the Second Tennessee over little
spring of surface water that was barely
large enough to admit a bucket. This
was the only kind of drinking water
to be had in our camp and the water
was not only bad but the supply was
insufficient. A well was dug but the
water was condemned and it was not
used.
IF it had not been for the ladies Of
Kansas who provided ice and other
comforts our hospital would have been
entirely unable to relieve cases of pros
tratiOns from heat and other emer-
gency cases. The plan of the war de-
partment was to take everything away
from the regimental surgeons and main
tain only division and general hospitals.
As an example of how that plan affect
ed our regiment one morning about
nine o'clock an orderly came running to
the tent of our regimental surgeon with
the word that A company had been
poisoned. Our surgeons and hospital
corps Immediately went to their as
sistance and found 81 men WEithing in