The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-23
ITS HEALTH IS ALL RIGHT.
Col. Campbell Tells of the Condition
of the Ninth Illinois.


Some erroneous publications about the
health of the Ninth Illinois Regiment have
caused annoyance 10 the officers and men.
The publications were as astonishing as
they were unpleasant to the army Off
GERS.
These reports" said Col. Campbell
yesterday afternoon. 'have done a great
injustice to the regiment in the minds of
many, and have actually made some peo-
pie too timid TO visit our camp any more.
AS matter of fact the regiment is in good
condition so far as health is concerned.
There has not been a man sent to the
division hospital inside of the past ten
days, and this morning there were but
nineteen who reported at the SICK call,
these suffering from bad colds, light few
ers, etc There are but four men in the
regimental hospital and none Of them is
at all seriously i'll. There are eight in
the division hospital sent there some days
ago, who are, 1 believe, doirg well. In
other words, there are twelve men i'll
enough to be in hospital and nineteen who
are not well enough to do duty, and this
out of a total of / S26 men.
I'm the six months since the regiment
entered service" continued Col. Campbell,
The regiment was composed entirely Of
green men, men from the country districts
who mad never had any military expert
ence, who had hardly ever, and in many
cases never, seen soldier let alone any
active service. They came fresh from their
homes from which they had practically
never been absent, and went at once into
a new climate and to conditions that were
absolutely and entirely foreign to them.
rrrf- md 1RnNH
subjected 10 all kinds of weather and 10
a life that they had never been accus-
toned to. Twenty-three deaths out OF
1926 men strikes me as small under 5uch
circums tances. one company, A, has not
lost a man. 1t has still the 1914 men win
which it left Springfield a half year ago;
and Companies B, G., 1 and NJ, have lost
but one man each from disease. The eN-
ercise of a little more thought and careful
investigation before the publication of such
matters would be better for all parties
The Ninth Illinois is now supplied with
the new stoves furnished by the govern
ment. They are apparently far superior
to the oil stoves, giving better and more
satisfactory heat. The stoves are SIM
plicity itself. They are made out of
heavy sheet iron and look something ike
a bee hive, with a small triangular cut
at the bottom for a draught, and the door
sitting directly on the ground. They are
about three feet high and pipe leads
directly through the top of the tent into
the air. The stove is nothing but cyl
indrical sheet Of iron a little over TWO
feet in diameter at the bottom and run
ming up to a diameter of say six inches.
But it does its work admirably. Many of
the men have combined their tents, three
or four together into a one large tent,
with one of these stoves in the center!
and they report that soon after WOOD
fire is started in them it is frequently nee
essary to admit air, so warm does the
tent become.
The men have learned how to regulate
the heating pretty well now, and with a
little wood keep their tents dry and COM
Portable all the time. 1t was the absence
of stoves that was productive of some i'll
ness during the recent cold and wet spell.
Since the stoves have been put In the
sick list has diminished. These stoves
will supplant the oil stoves In all the reg
ments as they are regarded by the men
| as preferable in addition to the fact that
the government pays for them.