The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-12-11
STORY OF SOUTHERN MARTYRS

oil ciwlse known as the war investigating
committee. havo noticed M q curious fact that
the higher the rank OF the Witness the more
favorable his testimony. ana VICE versa
Likewise they have noticed that the poor dri-
vate and tho commissioned officer who
attempts to tell the truth are choked on. while
, their efforts nre still a'borning
But 10 the hands OF higher Authority
than that OF the political whitewashers, Is
vested the power to completely Silence the lips
Of the soldiers who suffered from some OF the
various far-reachilg effects OF Agerism out
Ing the late war. The lips OF many Of the
volunteers have been closed forever by the
death dealing fevers OF Miami. Chickamauga
and other pest holes. but there are otners
whose spirits were too strong to be entirely
crushed aud who are now telling what tnes
know.
some weeks ago The Post chronlcled the
fact that sergeant M. kotnlgsourg OF COM
pany h. secona Alabama i..ialtiy had Of
iered copy OF his BOOK. en.l.ied Southern
Martyrs" ana bling history OF the two
white regiments furnished by Aiaoal1a In
particular aud of tue hrst division. seventh
cor1s in general, as evluence before tho ln-
4vestigating committee. The Po9t. nor any
otAti paper. has ever stated that any attsn-
ton was paid the book. for. as soon "a IL
was learned that Koenigsburg mad oeSn mus
teied out Of the service his work was con
tensptuousy thrown aside. Tnat was the lasi
concerned.
Not So however. with the Southern people.
h,ss.-. rnrg is a bright young newspaper
assignment which would taae MIN TO the
front, enlisted In the regiment and company
already named, His book is NV on tae mar
ket. ana Is attracting Widespread attention;
inasmurh rs 1t III vi masters whicn mayer
before saw the light Ind which, the altt.oi
SHOWS. are susceptible u oroof.
koenigsburg who. by tn, way. formerly
lived at san Antonio, and has relatives In this
city. hits the nail square Oh the head In the
dtl'i'a e his book. the facts in which. q
snys, Will beth please AMI pain Tue iedi-
catory III question Is as follows:
Mocs to saiuiomus, should have been
inscribed a,ri oysr the doors q the yountee,
tho"p would have been a fitting lsgcud to
tuiter IN funefeal folds from every rendezvous
where brave men were enrolled on the long
list Of American victims to a systemless sys-
tenn.
Magnolia and fir trees guard the bones OF
alike IN wretched struggles with tho results
of administrative and executive Incompetence
IN the noisome camps which stretched at In.
bloodless battlefields where American pa
tfiotism contested with American error
To the unfortunate dead OF these unhappy
the hope that the truths these pages exploit
VIII aid the erection OF a memorial monument
on which ,i the monrner's contribution win
MEMoRATE THE ETERNAL DIVORCE
OF POLITICS FROM THE ARMY"
~
Under the head OF Hospital Horrors.
koenigsburg makes some truly startling reve-
lations regarding the manner In which the
medical branch Of the service was conducted
at Miami. sickness" says kosnigsburg IN
describing the condition OF affairs In the
Florida camp. continued to increase until
not half the men In the regiment could be
considered we'll During all this time, not
withstanding repeated requests from Major
Pueh ueSin.ent.l surgeon OF the Second Ala
bama) the division chief surgeon (Major APP
peD never visited tne Second Alabama's camp.
He sharply censured the regmsntal surgeons
for the extent Of ,heir sick lists and insinuat.
ed. so FAR as his ofncial position aud license
made 1t safe for him 10 do, that the sur
geons were not viligant enough in the detee-
tion OF maiingerers. The diagnosis OF typhoid
fever, as made by the r. gimental surgeons,
were smiled ut sarcasticaly. Ensconsed In
luxurious couch la the Royal Palm hotel.
IN the midst OF cmnently congenial conpan-
Ions, with comforts and con'eniences espe-
cialiy amplified for his enjoyment by hostel
ry. the excessive obsequiousness OF whose
guest. loling ma traAqu.llty almost sybartic
lit was not strange that the chief SUI geon OF
the division was slow to acknowledge the hor
rors which ragged In the camps few hundred
yards distant There shouli have been no
wonder that he discouraged adverse reports.
He was loath to abandon the Eden Into which
Strong words. these, but as has been said
before. susceptible of proof.
80
One scorching July afternoon. which I re-
member as we'll as II it were only last week
Koenigsburg afflicted with a violent attack
of fever. applied at the division hospital for
treatment. He was deathly pals and seemed
TO be suffering severely. Major Villas of tn.
First Texas. In charge of the hospital, de-
clned to receive him except ths order Of
his reaimentai surgeon. Hal, delicious ald
scarcely able TO Walk. koe.issours turhsd
away and. DLt Tor the klnIness OF III. W. H.
Oates. II pop1ler yuunb contract surgeon OF
Mouile he would have been completed 10
make the trip back to his camp, distance OF
over mie. tnlough the blazing sun. III
Oates, however. arranged tUr ms reatmeh'
and thar night the necessary order was re
ceiwd. The Temperature Of the volunteer
when he entered the hospital was iOi ano
ACCORDING 70 or. Ua,es. Tue walk back to the
camp would have Killed him
Koeuigsburg saw many things OF startling
nature while In that hospital tent In Miami.
! called on him several times duiing his Ill
ness and he told me of them. Now he repeats
them in his book.
1.-TWO nights later" he says. "a typhoid
fever patient In a ward adjoining that ~
which the writer lay, narrowly escaped crema-
ton at the hands of n drunken nurse. Gov
cred with bed sores. emacated into the like
moss of n skeleton by the ravages Of five
Mee&s of typhoid, the yictim was scarcely
overturned the lamp and thus set nre to the
canvas This was the case referred to by sirs
Gordon In her letter to tho investigating com
miItee. The next night when fever
racked patients had won uncertain repose
from exhaustion. hulking hospital steward
stalkcI Into the ward with hntern. In a
flash every patient was awake The in
trudor was escortAg drunken soldier to
place Of rest, One peevish patient begged that
the light be eXiingulshed. Shut up. there.
roared the visiting steward. The complaining
man, querulous with fever. struggled to his
feet Tho steward advanced toward him.
threatcniugly, The ward nurse tactfuily Ia
torfercd but before noon the next day the pa
tent w,o had complained OF the disturbances
was jibbcring with delirium. Incom
petent nurses. urtrained and unified for hos
pitll attendance. aggravated the Illness Of
paicrts. The writer observed thu case OF
two typhoid feved pntients who were fed oat
meal In direct violation OF the attending sur
geon's instructions one OF INN died before
the writer was sent back to his reei nent.''
KcSnh sburg also touches or many other In
terestirg phases Of HOSPITAL II r.. He tells OF
the drurfepness OF the attendants, of the lack
OF ice. milk and other comforts and makes
the statement that men died solely because
they WIRE not provided With the proper sort
Of rourishment The wnrk OF Yrs W. W
Gcreor ard OF the Red Cross soninty Is also
touched on as IL the discovery OF the fart
that the water furnished the troops came from
surface wells In dangerous juvtannsl,irn n
the latrirss blasted IN the no Gus ear.h and
,,,t e,N>,,, tto y,,,ra cpri,ce la III, Rtsr.I,