Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-10-01
PRAISED THE WORK DONE
Gen. Coppinger Discusses the Furnishing
of Supplies
Volunteers Suffered, He Says, Because
They Did Not Know How to
Prepare Their Food.

Gen. j. ]. Coppinger, commanding the
4th Army Corps at Huntsville, Ala. has
made report TO the War Department in
regard to the quantity and quality of sup
plies furnished the troops of his command
by the several staff departm ants since the
| beginning of the war with Spain. He says
In my Judgment. the quality of sub
sistence furnished by the department was
good. and the quantity ample. The regular
troops lived well. The volunteers. in too
many cases. messed badly, but this was
owing to the ignorance of inexperienced
officers, who did not know how to procure
and care for the rations, and the ignorance
Of cooks. who did not know how to cook
| them l have been especially impressed by
| the comfortable messing of regular soldiers
! close to my headquarters, while volunteer
troops in the adjoining field were subsisting
on chunks of ill-cooked beef and vile bis
| cult, an excellent field oven lying neglected
| and unused close by.
ITO sum Up. the subsistence department
| did well. The volunteer troops in many
| cases suffered for want of wholesome food
| because they did not know how to handle
| the rations furnished.
| "Clothing camp and garrison equipment
were sometimes of poor quality, the nat
| ural result of an effort to equip some 22j,0O0
men when supplies had been prepared for
| only 25.0OO. This difficulty in supply was
| much increased by the lack of knowl-
! edge the part of staff officers fresh from
| civil life. ignoyant of the methods and man
| ner Of supplying an army. Al Tampa the
| difficulty was again increased by the
| crowded and congosted condition existing
| along the railroad tracks and store houses
! scattered over the sands. In many cases
the men suffered from lack of clothing,
| when a good supply was on hand within
| five miles of their camps.
| The quality of team mules furnished by
| the department was very good. The treat
ment they received in many instances was
| atrocious. Unframed ard often brutal
| teamsters, without proper wagonmaStcrS,
| serving under unframed regimental quar-
| termasters, amidst tn. Tampa sand hills.
| under the burning sum- produced the result
that might be naturally. expected-dead
! dying and disabled mules. This was The
| natural outcome of a declaration of war
without organized trains. trainmasters or
| experienced reg mental quartermasters who
| knew how to handle them
| IN my judgment the horses furnished
| cur cavalry were good
! The United States clothing on hand at
| the declaration of " ar was good and Salts
| factory. Some of he clothing produced on
| en- Urgency was good, but some of the dark
| blue trousers and shirts were of poor quail
| ity. On the whole. considering the emer
| eercy, | think no blame can be attached to
| the quartermaster's department in this
matter. The khakie clothing. the best
! service uniform have ever had, is not
| satisfactory as yet 1t is of inferior quail
| ity. not well cut I failed to find in the
| quartermaster's store house at Tampa
| single infantry coat large enough in the
| CT est for full-chested man.
| While many con plants have been made
| concerning medical supplies. my exp. ri
cree with the 4th Corps leads to be-
| neve that the surgeon general has accom-
pills he'd an arduous task under very trying
! circumstances. 1t is difficult to provide
full supply of medical stores when troops
are ordered suddenly to many unexpected
places. and when the movements are ac-
| companied by serious outbreaks of sick
| ness This difficulty increased in many
| IL stances by the fact that most of the
regimentai, brigade and division surgeons
| were entirely new to military work. l am
| well satisfied that the surgeon general
| worked admirably to supply my corps. ard
| was ably assisted by Chief Surgeon Robert
| NJ. ORely, to whose ability and energy
l feel. on behalf of my troops, deeply in
| debted
| AT the outbreak of the trouble with
! Spain We had about "a, 500 men, infantry
well supplied with arms, but short of am
| munition. A few days after, were called
| on to equip for the fed some 225 90 men
| simply impossbility in the time al
lowed. We placed many of these men in
the ranks short of cartridges, short of
| cartridge belts. armed with muskets IF
antique pattern, interesting in museum
tut out of place in modern battle For
| this | have no blame whatever to attach
| to the chief of ordnance. He was simply
| given an impossible task"