The record-union., 1898-11-23
Comparison of Casualties In Late
Conflict With Those Of Rebellion.
Sickness and Mortality Relatively Grsatsr
During the Civil Strife.
Interesting Statistics on the SUBJ
ject Compiled by Colonel Chas.
Smart, Deputy Surgeon General
of the Army.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22.-ColoneI
Charles Smart, Deputy Surgeon Gem
eral of the army, has sent communi-
cation to Surgeon General Sternberg,
comparing the deaths from sickness in
the war with Spain and in the civil
war. He says:
In reply to your inquiry I can state
that the sickness and mortality during
the war with Spain was not relatively
so great as that from which our volun-
teer troops suffered during the civil
war. A comparison of the deaths re-
corded by the medical officers of those
days with the deaths recorded by the
medical officers of the present times
gives overwhelming testimony to the ef-
feet that any differences discovered in
the percentage of deaths from battle
casualties and from disease are not due
to the great prevalence and fatality of
disease in the recent struggle but to
the number of sanguinary battlefields
of the civil war
Beginning with July, 1861, when we
had medical reports from regiments ag-
gregating only 6911S men, and includ-
ing August, September, October and
November five months, we find record
ed a loss by death of 3,075 men in the
reports sent I'M by medical officers, from
an average strength present of 1T $50
men, or 11.31 deaths out of every thou
sand men during that period of five
months. More deaths occurred than re-
ported, for some surgeons failed to send
reports; but the probabilities are that
had the missing reports been forthcom-
irg, the deaths would have continued to
have the same proportion to- the report
ed strength.
I'm April, 1898, President Mckinley
called for 125,000 men and later for 75,-
/ 600, which, with an increase in the reg
ular army and the immune and other
special regiments, made a total of over
2i0,0O0 men. Beginning with May 1898,
for which month we have medical re-
ports in the office of the Surgeon Cen
eral Of the army from regiments aggre-
eating 151, ,6S5 men and including June,
July, August and September, we find on
file loss by death of only 1,175 men re-
ported by medical officers in an aver
age strength of 167, ,16S or about seven
deaths out of every thousand men dur
| ing that period Of five months. If re-
ports had come in from the whole 270;-
OOO the NUMBER OF QodInS would DrOO-
ably have amounted to 2,77O
According, then, to the testimony of
every medical officer who has placed
himself on record then and now, we lost
in the five months of the war with
Spain 1921 men out Of every thousand
reported present by medical officers
serving with them and in the first five
months of the war Of the rebellion.
= 0f
reported present. This is interesting,
but it is still more so, if we look a
little more into the details of these re-
ports. During the month of May last
the death rate was low, 49, it was
somewhat higher in June, 10 or the
equivalent of an annual rate S.4 per
thousand. In July it rose to 2.15 for
the month or the equivalent Of an an
nual rate of 25.S per thousand In
August, owing to the rapid spread of
typhoid fever in the camps and to the
broken-down condition of General
Skaters corps. it reached 4.0S, equal to
an annual rate of 1896, such as was
common in cities before the era Of mu-
nicipal sanitation.
The War Department Immediately
put forth its energies to remedy this
condition of affairs and with such eff
cacy that the death rate in Septem-
Der fell to 2.46. If it be claimed that
this falling off was due to the fact that
the typhoid infection had done it's worst
and that, irrespective of all sanitary
measures, the death rate would have
fallen owing to the exhaustion of sus-
ceptible material, we have merely TO
consider what was the history in our
civil war camps subsequent to Novem-
Der, 1861, when, as have stated, the
number Of deaths had already amounted
to 1871 per thousand of the strength
present. In that month of November
the rate was 4.27, or somewhat more
than our recent maximum of August
last but the next month, December,
showed no sign of decrease, for 1,5S1
men died, or 4.69 per thousand During
January, 1862, the ravages of disease
continued, 1,644 men having been
swept away by death, or 4.S7 out Of
every thousand of those present In
February the rate was 4.97 and in
March COS. In April the elimination
was reached when 1881 deaths were re-
ported, constituting a death rate for
the month of S.42 per thousand, rate
twice as high as that reported from
our camps in August last"