The Indianapolis journal., 1898-11-22
At End of Twelve Months from May,
1861, 47.56 Men Had Been Buried
Out of Every 1000 Enlisted.
COLONEL SMARTS FIGURES
OFFICER WHO SPENT SEVERAL
YEARS IN STUDYING RECORDS.
Testimony Taken by the Army Inves-
tigating Commission at New
York and Washington.


WASHINGTON, Nov. H.-Col. Charles
Smart, deputy surgeon general of the army.
has sent the following communication to
Surgeon General Sternberg, comparing the
deaths from sickness in the war with Spain
and in the civil war:
I'm reply to your inquiry I can very
promptly state that the sickness and NOR
tality during the war with Spain was not
relatively so great as that from which our
volunteer troops suffered during the civil
war. Time has dulled the national memory
of what happened in the days of the civil
war. Perhaps the remembrance of those
times remains fresher with myself than
with most others, not because L was with
the troops in the field until the end came
at Appomattox, for many others had as fun
an experience of army life in the field but
because it afterward became my duty and
my high privilege to spend over three years
of my life in studying the records of sick
ness, while compiling the third part of the
medical volume of Medical and Surgical
History of the War That history is now
on our shelves, and by referring to 1t we
may at any time find out how diarrhoea
and dysentery. typhoid fever and malarial
diseases swept through our camps and sent
their thousands to the hospitals and to their
graves We may also compare the deaths
recorded by the medical oraeers OF those
days with the deaths recorded by the medi-N
cal officers of the present time, and should
we do so would find Overwhelming testi-
mony to the effect that any differences dis
covered in the percentage of deaths from
battle casualties. and from disease, are not
due to the greater prevalence and fatality
~ - = -
number of sanguinary battle fields Of the
civil war;
RECORD OF FIVE MONTHS.
I'm April. 1861 President Lincoln called
for seventy-fve thousand volunteers. but II
was not until after July %, when his call
for 100000 was made, that we had armies
comparable in size with those recently in
existence. Beginning, then, with July. 1861.
when we had medical reports from regi-
ments aggregating only 69. 11S men, and in
cluding August, September, October and
November. five months. we find recorded a
loss by death of 3,O75 men in the reports
sent in by medical officers, from an aver
age strength present of $50 men. or 1851
deaths out of every one thousand men dur
ing that period Of five months.
I'm April 1898, President Mckinley called
for 125O00 men and later for 1900, which,
with an increase in the regular army, and
the immune and other special regiments
made a total of over 10000 men. Beginning
with May, 1898, for which month we have
medical reports in the office of the surgeon
general of the army from regiments aggre-
eating 51,6S5 men, and including June, July,
August and September, five months, we find
on file loss by death of only LIS men re-
ported by medical officers, in an average
strength of 1853 men, or 1921 deaths out
of every thousand men during that period
Of five months More deaths occurred shan
were reported, for some surgeons have
failed so far to send in reports, but the
probabilities are that were the missing re-
ports forthcoming the additional deaths
would be associated with proportionate int
crease of the strength. If reports had come
in from the whole 10000 men the number Of
deaths would probably have amounted to
2.77O. -
According, then, to the testimony of ev-
cry 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 medi-
cal officers serving with them, and in the
first five months Of the war of the rebellion
1871 out of every thousand similarly re-
ported present. This is interesting, but It is
still more so, If we look little more into
the details of these reports. During the
month Of May last the death rate was low,
As; 1t was somewhat higher in June, 20, or
the equivalent of an annual rate Of S.4 per
thousand. In July it rose to 2.15 for the
month, or the equivalent of an annual rate OF
25S per thousand. In August, owing to the
rapid spread of typhoid fever in the camps
and to the broken down condition Of Gem
eral Skaters corps, it reached 40S, an am
nual rate of 1895. such as was common in
cities before the era of municipal sanitation.
The War Department Immediately put forth
its energies to remedy this condition of af-
fairs. and with such efficacy that the death
rate in September fell to 2.45.
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 ses-
ceptible material, we have merely to con-
slider what was the history of our civil war
camps subsequent to November 1861. when.
as l 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 ISIS men died. or
469 per thousand. During January, 1864 the
ravages of disease continued, 1854 men hav-
ing been swept away by death, or Asa out
of every thousand of those present. In
February the rate was 47s and in March
Sos In April the elimination was reached
when 1891 deaths were reported. constitut-
fnp a death rate Ror the month NJ Z 40 49,.