The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-01
Testimony Given Before War Inves-
tigatiOn Commission.
WORST MEN FOR NURSES
UNSAFE TO RIDE OVER SINK
PERFORATED GROUND.
Colonel Baldwin Testifies That His
Horse Sunk to His Belly-Sick
Soldiers Declined to Go to Hos
pitals-Tents SO Leaky That Men
In Hospital Had to Be Covered.

Lexington, KY, Oct. SL-General
Dodge. Colonel Sexton and DR.. Conner
of the war investigation commission
arrived here from Chattanooga today.
They called upon Major General Wilson
and a conference was held TO map out
the work in Lexington
Returning to town about o'clock,
the commission went into session at
the committee rooms at the Phoenix
hotel and began q hearing Of testimony.
Major General ]. H. Wilson, now COM
handing the First army corps, was the
first witness. The general said he was
in charge of the First division, First
corps, at Chickamauga park. He left
there with his command about July 1,
bound for Puerto Rico. AT Charleston
ne was kept some two weeks or more;
he did not know whether it was on ac-
count of a lack of transports or what.
Here the typhoid fever broke out and
when he did get off he had to leave 20
cases of it behind. The Decentralization
at Puerto Rico, he said, took IL days
when it should have been accomplished
in two. This. he claimed, was on ac-
count of not having steam launches, for
which he asked the department in vain.
Lieutenant Colonel Frank D. Wilson
inspector general on General Wilson's
staff, and who was on General Wade's
staff at Chickamauga, gave some sem
sational testimony concerning the con-
ditions there.
When the camp was first established
there" he said, 81 did not inspect a
single hospital but what l found it in
filthy condition. REPORTS were made
of this to the commanding general and
improvements could be observed for a
few days But in short time matters
would get as bad as ever. About the
time the camp was broken up this had
been corrected to a large extent.
DR.. Connor of the commission said:
There has been more disgrace brought
upon the United States hospital system
by the Second division, Third corps,
than by any other in the service. 1 can
readily show this, since no sort of at
tention was paid to the complaints
made"
Colonel Baldwin said that, so far as
ne knew. General Compton, command
ing the Second division, only inspected
his command on Sunday morning, and
that he did not know of either General
Compton or General Wade, the corps
commander, having inspected the Sec
ond division hospital.
Colonel Baldwin stated that no such
arrangements were made to take care
of the sinks as have been. made here at
Camp Hamilton. He said that the
ground finally got SO perforated with
sinks in the timber portion of the park
that it was really unsafe to ride
through 1t, and that his horse had gone
into them up to his belly.
Colonel Baldwin said that it was a
common complaint that frequently reg
iments dumped their worst men off on
the hospitals for nurses. He said that
the camp of the First Mississippi was
one of the worst he had ever seen.
Colonel Leonard admitted that his
men we're sometimes not sent to the
division hospital because they We're Sc
much opposed to it.
IF you would not send your men
who needed medicine to the division
! hospital, how can you lay the blame
| for not receiving medicine?" asked DR.
! Conner.
If we had sent all our sick men to
| the division hospital replied the colo
mel, I'VE would have had no need for
our surgeons"
sick men from my regiment were
sent to the division hospital and could
not be received because the hospital
was already overcrowded, +" said Colonel
| Caffee.
I'VE had no medicine in the regiment
l visited the hospital daily while
had men there, and / frequently found
! the tents unfloored, the cots crowded
/ so close together that one could moi
pass between. The tents were so leaky
that when it was raining the men il
the hospital had to be covered witt
ponchos and rubber blankets to be pro
tected from drenching
DIR. Griffith was in charge of the
hospital. and after visiting all the
others, 1 concluded that this was the
best conducted one at the park. DR.
| Griffith and his assistants were doing
all they could with the means at hi.
command. This Objectionable condition
of affairs lasted eight or ten weeks
The nurses were. in many cases. OBJ
! jectionable, but I came to the conclu
sion that this was a necessary evil I'M
der the circumstances.
Colonel Caffee said that his regimen
received not only not enough barrel.
to boil the drinking water, but not ever
| enough to haul it the four miles neces
sary, despite acquisitions made