Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-01

EBH3|a8IG3!
|TTEBIG |
|iI'jOlNIPANYS|
EXTRACT ofbEEE: /
TOO MUCH TIMBER LAND.

much timber land TO make a good camp.
| General SangeT's Division had TO send
| three or four miles for water L know
positively that no regiment remained two
months and half without striking its
| tents and raising the floors or else
| changing its encampment."
| Asked IL the men were allowed to drink
water from a certain spring. Colonel
| Baldwin said: 1T is true that they were
| not. but as an officer humorously re-
| marked. 10 keep the men from drinking
water from any pool, II was necessary
| to put sentinel over the pool and then
| put another sentinel over him TO keep
| him from drinking"
| Colonel Baldwin stated that no such ar
| rangements were made to look after the
| sinks as have been made at Camp Harnil-
| ton He said that the ground finally got
| so perforated with sinks In the timber
| portion of the park that it was really un-
| safe to ride through 1t; that his horse
had gone in up to his belly.
WORST MEN MADE NURSES.
Colonel Baldwin said that it was COM
| mon complaint that regiments frequently
| dumped their worst men off on hospitals
| for nurses. He said that the camp OF
| the First Mississippi was one OF the worst
| he had ever seen, largely on account
| of the leniency Of the colonel with his
men. He stated further that there was
| great difficulty in getting lime. owing to
| the inefficiency of the quartermaster's
| department. On one occasion. he said,
| he was notified that there was an abund-
| ance of lime, and that he In turn notified
| several regine entail commanders. He
| made reduisitiOns, and the regiments
were given one barrel OF lime each, and
| notified that that was all that could be
| granted them.
The next witness was Captain Benja-
| min Johnston, now depot quartermaster
| at Camp Hamilton.
NO COMPLAINT TO MAKE.
Captain Johnston served as assistant
| to the chief quartermaster of the Fltth
| Corps at Santiago from July 18th to Au-
| gust I'd. He came away with General
| Shaftef, and served at Montauk Point
| until that camp was abandoned when he
came TO Lexington He had no criticisms
| to make.
Colonel William A. Pew, of the Eighth
| Massachusetts, was called. The principal
| complaints he made were of the difficulty
| his regiment experienced In securing med
| ical supplies. He said his surgeon would
| make out a requisition and hand II In 10
the proper officers. and they would return
| them, saying there were no supplies ana
! IL was of no use TO make requisition
| Colonel Pew said that his regiment had
| difficulty in securing wagons AT Chicka-
manga Park, he said, his camp-ground
was very poor.
CLAMOR FOI. MEDICINES.
Colonel Robert w. Leonard, Twelfth
New York, testified that the surgeon Oh
his regiment was continually clamoring
for medicines to give TO the men. He
could not secure these, he said, so the
Colonel spent $500 out of his own pocket
4 afff vgan-
men were not sent TO division hospitals,
| because they were so much opposed to it,
| The Colonel said the commissary supplies
| were good and plentiful-so much so that
| the men could not consume 1t all; SO
much so. indeed that each company had
| n fund amounting to $780, raised by dis
| posing of surplus supplies. He had spent
| nov out of his own pocket for shoes
! for his men.
Colonel w. X. Caffee, Second Missouri,
| said that his regiment did not receive all
| equipments till few days before leaving
| Camp Thomas for Lexington. Among the
| last things issued, he said were the boil
ers for boiling the water, which had been
ordered more than two months before
| General Caffee said that sinks could be
| dug at the Second Missouris camp at
| Chickamauga only four feet deep before
! striking rock. This, he stated. was re-
ported 10 lIe bIlSdut NbiiiiihhA'l o''N tA'N
| Inspector, but no action was taken.
Colonel Caffee said that he had no. sur
| geon and only one assstant-surgeon for
| some time after the regiment went TO
| Chickamauga.
NO MEDICINE FOR SICK.
"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. eve
! had 10 medicine. l visited the men daily
| and frequently found the tents unfoored
| and the cots crowded so close together
| that one could not pass between. The
| tents were so leaky that when 1t was
| raining the men beneath had to be cover
ed with poncos and rubber blankets to be
| protected from a drenching. Dr. Griffith
was in charge of the hospital, and after
visiting all the others l concluded that
| this was the best conducted one at the
| park. DR.. Grifiiths and his assistants were
| doing all they could with the means at
| hand. This Objectionable condition or
| affairs lasted eight or ten weeks. The
| nursing was in many cases Objectionable,
| but I came 20 the conclusion that this
| was q necessary evil"
Colonel Caffee said mis- regiment re-
ceived not only not enough barrels 10
boil the drinking water in, but not even
| enough barrels to haul ii in, despite re-
/
| quisitions made.
when we could not get men into the
| Division Hospital, on account of its over
| crowded condition." said Colonel Caffee,
1--WE had no medicine to give the sick.
| We made requisltion for 1t, but IL was
returned with this endorsement by the
| chief surgeon, Medicine is only issued
| TO men in the division hospitals, and not
| TO men in quarters
He said that had the Division Hospital
| at Chickamauga been anything like the
| one here at Camp Hamilton, there would
| have been no fault TO find.
NO CLOTHING. BUT NO COMPLAINT.
Colonel Thomas j. Smith, Third Ken
| lucky, said his regiment was not equip
ped with clothing for three weeks after
! its arrival at Chickamauga, nor with
arms for a month. He had no complaint
TO make, however, as he thought every
thing possible had been done to supply
them.
Northumberland ID. ID. Mitchell, First
Territorial .egiment, testified that, al
though the regiment was mustered into
the service the middle of July, il did
not receive its arms until three weeks
ago. 1t had not yet received all its
clothing. Inc men suffered without
blankets.
hey have told us every day for ten
days" said Colonel Mitchell, that our
stoves would be here tomorrow, but they
have not come yet"
Lieutenant Colonel Il. Banks. the COM
mandlng officer OF the Third Mississippi,