The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1920-03-07


thousand or more artisans and me-
chanics were engaged in casting can
non, manufacturing and altering
small arms, making cartridges, fuses,
percussion caps, collecting magazines
of powder; in fact, the Ordnance De
partment was engaged in the rapid
preparation Of all the materials Of
war. In addition to the long barracks
which were built for the operatives,
all the vacant houses in Columbus
were occupied by their families, and
by the families of the officers who
had charge of the Arsenal. Several
millions of dollars were used in the
purchase of material and expended in
its manufacture. Columbus was al
most doubled in white population,
and the number of Catholics in
creased to such an extent that they
were enabled to build the present
/ Catholic Church for worship. The
colored school " today is The only
building which remains, and it was
erected for the accommodation of the
officers and clerks engaged in the
+ enterprise. All the other buildings
were destroyed accidentally by fire
after the removal of the Arsenal,
which had been transferred to Selma,
Alabama, as place of greater safe
ty. Colonel Hunt and Colonel Cald-
well, of Memphis, were the chief Off
GERS in charge.
The third addition to the war his
tory of Columbus was its selection
after the Battle of Shiloh, in April
1862, for hospital center for the
treatment of the wounded and sick
of the Armies of Mississippi and
Tennessee. The Gilmer Hotel, the
! Odd Fellows Building, the present
Concert Hall, the Columbus Female
Institute, and the great amphitheatei
at the fair grounds, were all convert
ed into hospitals, and train loads OF
wounded and sick soldiers from Shi-
. loh and points north Of Columbus
! soon filled all these buildings to thcii
utmost capacities. They came in sucf
.. great numbers that only the crudcs
: and most uncomfortable accommO
! dations were ready for their recep
: ton. They had neither suitable bed
. nor food, but were laid out in lonl
Z rows onblankets and pallets of straw
The construction force of Columbus
. was taxed to its utmost capacity, an
: soon the pallets and straw beds wer
: replaced by wooden hunks with cotto
. beds and pillows. Bakeries an
s kitchens began to supply the sic
! with appropriate food.
= 1t was in this sudden emergenc
: and unfavorable condition of affair
= that the women of Columbus came I
: the aid of the medical officers j
: charge, and by their untiring an
4 continued efforts won for themselvC
q the gratitude and honor not only {
. Mississippi, but of the whole Coz
/. federacy. They divided themsclyC
q into committees, each committee tai
. ing charge Of its assigned hospita
: and day and night they ministercd
= the wants of the sick and wounde
= prepared suitable food, bandagc
/. dressings, clothing, and other thinl
. necessary for their comfort al
= improvement. They sat by the
. pallets as the closing hour came
: receive and send their last mcssag
= to their loved ones at home, to admi
: lister the consultations Of religion, al
. provided for them every comfort tn
= money. sympathy and love could su
= gest. The increase Of the wound
p and sick became so great that it "
. estimated that three thousand sodie