The Globe-republican., 1898-10-20

some wounded soldier gave his clothing FOL
bandages to save the life of a comrade in
greater danger. or if his clothing was tori
from his weakened body by thieves. should
he be denied the immediate benefits of hos
pital or dressing station. or should he wait
unta clothing can be cent merely % satisfy
q sentimentality?
HE history of every army is that when
unframed men in large numbers are gath
cred into large camps they are attacked BY
disease: and no war has ever been wased
where disease was not vastly more deadly
than the bullet ..r.--s..-...-. 81
Stfik81g Conparisons.
The deaths from all causes IN our army
from Nay to date were 1910 ost Of q
total force of 274. III. CT q percentage Of
l.oaS. These figures when brought 10 CON-
parison with the losses of former expedi-
tons to the West Indies, show how insis-
nIfcant our death rate has been. In the
English expedition to the West Indies the
land forces numbered 1900. The losses
| were 1.79O officers and men killed. wounded
and missing. and the losses By disease were
about 80 per cent. of the total force.
| The French expedition to the West In
dies in 1902 was perhaps the most disas-
trous in losses from disease. The French
army loss in four months from disease
alone was 49, men. out of total of
| 5S,545. mortality Of s6S per thousand
| vi the S,275 survivors 5000 were reported
UNFIT for duty.
The figures as to the loss of the Spanish
! from disease in this war are not Obtainable
yer, but one statement alone shows how
greatly the Spanish army suffered. Spain
mas carried to Cuba during the present war
135.OOO men. There now remains but
eo,OOO. and thousands of these are inca
pacitated and will have to be carried back
to Spain in the hospitals. Compared with
| her loss from disease. the losses in battle
by the Spanish have been Insignificant
Other Southern Campaigns.
The death rates Of other campaigns IN
southern climates bring out by comparison
our small losses. The loss Of the campaign
in Algeria. in 1S4S. was 77.S1 per 1000
Ihe expedition to Tunis in 1881 suffered
mortality of 81. 80 per 1000. The French
losses IN Cochin China expedition (1881 CD
was 100 men per 1000. In the French
campaign to MAZDA gascar ASSi-Sj) the loss
was from 20 to ITO per 1000 The Eng
fish campaign in Burmah 1S24-26) had a
loss of - per 1000.
In Napoleon's campaign to Russia, his
loss by wounds and disease amounted to
243. COO men out Of $4,000. In Nnpoleon's
campaign of 1913, against Germany. but
$1,000 out of his original SOC, 600 returned
In the Turko-Russian War OF 1889, the
Russians lost 10000 men, mostly by dis
ease.
Civil War Records.
In the first year of the War of the Re-
holl ha S;cE, in
high as IS per cent. In the Army of the
Potomac the average number of constant
sick per LOCO was 81: in the Valley of the
Mississippi. 116. and in the Department Of
West Virginia. 1872
OF the British Army in time of peace
61a per cent. are in the hospital. The
British Army in the Peninsular War, under
the Duke of Wellington, had q per cent.
sick in hospital. which increased at one
time to 33 per cent.
These rates were exceeded in the British
army of the Crimea. where the constant sick
rate was 26.6 per cent, the annual rate Of
mortality being 3 per cent. in battle and
FOG per cent. by disease and accident.
Deaths in Foreign Wars.
The rate of mortality from all causes ex-
perienced by our army In the war with
Mexico was One-half greater than it was in
the War of the Rebellion, and of the British
troops in the Peninsula more than double,
and in the British War of the Crimea more
than three times that experienced by the
Union armies in the War of the Rebellion.
TO sum up from extracts of military statis-
tics of the United States. the deaths in the
volunteer forces Of the United States Gune.
1851, to February, 1862 under more favor
able conditions than those experienced by
the volunteer forces of our present army,
were from wounds received in action SO per
cent, disease and accident 44.6, or a total
of $50. The annual death rate in both Eu-
rope and America of civilians of the military
age is nearly one-half the death rate exper-
fenced in the army of the United States in
the present war. from all causes. During
the war with Mexico the mortality was 118
per thousand. ii from wounds received in
action, including killed in battle. and 1O4
from disease and accidents.
During the Spanish Peninsular campaign
under Wellington QS11-1S1D the annual
death rate experienced by the British forces
was 165 per thousand. of which 50 Was from
wounds and 11S from disease; in the cam
paign of the allies against Russia in the
Crimea the rate experienced in hostilities
for the period of the first nine months. no:
including those killed in battle, was 232 per
thousand 80 being from wounds and 2O2
from diseases.
This Wars Statistics.
Deaths from all causes between May l and
September 30, inclusive, as reported to the
Adjutant- Generals Office up to date in our
army are: Killed. % officers and 30 en-
listed men: died of wounds. officers: died
of disease. so officers and 2. 485 enlisted men;
total. 1O7 officers and 2.SOS enlisted men.
This is an aggregate Of 2,91O out of
total force of 274.717 officers and men.
percentage of 1.O5D. or, il continued for an
entire year. would result in A loss of only
AL per cent, or, reducing to basis Of
actual number of deaths per year. makes
q total loss from all causes Of bot 2fi.5 per
thousand three from wounds received in
action. and 22.4 from diseases and acct
dents, or considerably less than one-hah
the death rate for the same period Of the
Civil War.
The Division Hospital.
The division hospital became the subject
of peculiar and vicious attacks, either from
ignorance of its adaptability to . state of
war or from jealousies arising in regiments.
The best military authorities in the great
armies of the world unite N pronouncing it
the ONLY successful method of caring for the