The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-08-04
YELLOW FEVER
IN VIRGINIA.
Breaks Out at Fortress
Monroe,
AT THE OLD SOLDIERS HOME,
Thirty-Three Cases and Seven Deaths
Up to Monday Nearby Towns Ex-
cited-tyery Precaution Looked To.

WAsHINGTON, July 3l.-Surgeon-
General Sternburg has received the
following from Lieut.. Col. Dewitt,
at Fort Monroe, regarding the out
break of yellow fever at the Soldiers
Home at Hampton, Va:
"FoRT MONROE, Va, July 3I.-Sur-
geOn General, L. S. A., Washington:
Al 4 o'clock p. M. yesterday Surgeon
pettus, United States Marine Hospital
service, quarantine officer, officially
states that yellow fever was at the
National Soldiers Home-thirty-f -four
cases, with six deaths. Commanding
officer took immediate measures for
quarantine. Surgeon Pettus states
Surgeon General Marine Hospital SER
vice was notified yesterday afternoon.
DEWITT, Surgeon.
Adit. Gen. Corbin and Maj. John
ston, Assistant Adjutant General,
were at Fort Monroe yesterday and
present when Surgeon Pettus made
his report to Lieut. Col. Dewitt re-
garding the outbreak of yellow fever
at the Soldiers Home. Gen. Corbin
says that from all accounts there is
little doubt that the conditions are
serious, and there is no telling how
far the infection may have reached.
There is a trolly road along the
beach for a distance of more than
six miles. and excursion pafties
have been coming to Old Point and
adjacent places and have taken the
trolly to Newport News and to the
Soldiers Home. Many of them
have mingled with the soldiers.
From Santiago.
Gen. Corbin says that one theory
of the way in which the fever might
have beeu brought to the home is
that one of the soldiers recently
visited Santiago. He returned some
time since suffering with what the
physicians thought to be dengue. 1t
seems it was not until the inmates of
the home began to die that the dis
ease was discovered to be yellow
fever.
Gen. Corbin says there is not the
least question about the character of
the disease, physicians who were
present at the post mOrtem on some
of the victims declaring that yell
low fever was surely present. Ac'
cording to advices received at the
| War Department to-day there have
been a total of forty cases, six of
whom have died.
The Soldiers Home has no con-
nection with the war department.
It is under a board of managers
created by Congress, which manages
all the soldiers homes throughout
the country. The men admitted are
| i 4 g . Il hal
Officers of the War Department
are very much concerned on the
part of the military post at Fort
Monroe, which is within six miles of
the home. Adit. Gen. Corbin and
Surgeon General Sternberg had a
conference early o-day and it was
determined to hold everything in
readiness to take care of the yellow
fever should it appear among the
troops.
Marine Hospital officers are as
founded at the presence of yellow
fever in that locality. The last cpl
demic Of the disease occurred at
Norfolk in 1866, being brought into
port on the steamer Ben Franklin on
June of that year, and in the cpl
demic which followed there were
1877 deaths. The steamer from Old
Point arriving here this morning was
crowded with passengers.
Orders have been issued by the
War Department removing the gar
rison at Fort Monroe to some point
on the northern coast to be selected
by Gen. Merritt. A few officers and
twenty enlisted men will be detain'
ed at Fort Monroe as a guard.