SANITAKT COMMISSION. 3NTo. 26. NOTES OF A PRELIMINARY SANITARY SURVEY OF THE FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE (DIjto am) ^tbssisstppi llalkgs, mux 'Miif&nmmn, 1861, BY II. W. Belloavs, D. ])., President of the Sanitary Commission. Read before the Board, July 10th, 1861, and ordered to be printed. FRED. LAAV OLMSTED, Secretary. June 28, 1861. Camp Dennison, Ohio, Is situated on the line of the Cincinnati and Columbus railroad, about fifteen miles north of Cincinnati. It is a wide and open common, well adapted as a whole to the purpose. The drainage is imperfect. The general police of the camp is only tolerable—the sinks not being care- fully situated, and, in parts, the odor from them both disagreeable and dangerous, as the prevailing winds have not been considered in their position. Little attention had been given among the medical men to sanitary considerations, up to the time of our visit. They generally complained of inability to procure supplies, of unacquaintance with the forms of officials through whom they were to be obtained, and of the carelessness and inefficiency of the State authorities, both in the ori- ginal outfit of the soldiers and in the attention paid to their wants since. A general burst of dissatisfaction„was directed towards Governor Den- nison, who was pronounced good-natured and well meaning, but wretchedly inefficient, and easily managed by designing speculators. A contract which he had made for feeding the troops at 60 cents apiece a day (more expensive than hotel fare in all but the best hotels for regular boarders in that region) had been broken up by public in- dignation. .) The cooking of the camp seemed conducted in a very uneconomical and shiftless manner, and the general appearance of the men, and their manners and ways, in my cursory visit of three hours, (which can boast no accuracy of observation,) did not strike me as favorably as in the other camps I have visited. General Bates, in command, appeared a dignified and commanding soldier, and is no doubt doing the best for his men, who are officered in the semi-political and semi-accidental fashion of most volunteer regiments. They complained of the difficulty of keeping the men from passing the lines; and I saw one man, a little under the influence of strong drink, a soldier, brutally knocked down, and his scalp cut open to the depth of a finger, by a sentry whom he was wrangling with about passing out. An officer was brought into the hospital who, twenty minutes before, had been thrown from his horse, and who appeared paralyzed on one side, and was probably fatally injured. A good deal of drinking was complained of in this camp. The hospitals (regimental) were comfortable, and decently furnished, although there seemed to be a scarcity of attendance, particularly in the general hospital, Avhich was roomy and already quite full of patients. Diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles, and typhoid fever had been the com- mon complaints. It was obvious that the recruiting had been careless, and the men who were sick were mainly those who should never have been permitted to enter the service. Twenty-eight of the cases were re- moved in the train in which I went down, to the private military hospital just established by Dr. Muzzey, in a spirit of high professional benevo- lence, at Cincinnati. The few surgeons I saw welcomed me with great cordiality, and seemed much relieAred at the prospect of having a friend at headquarters to overcome their present desperate obstacles in getting either information or supplies. Dr. J. M. White was particularly desirous of co-operating in every way with the Sanitary Committee, and promised to try to bring together the medical men in a general council, as often as possible, to consider the interests of the camp. As Camp Dennison is likely to be the resort of troops all summer, it is of the utmost importance that an agent of ours should be there to look after its sanitary condition as often as every other week. There seems to be a very poor preparation made against any increase of illness with the advance of hot weather. Dr. Muzzey, who met me by appointment at Camp Dennison, promised to give a special eye to its condition, and to send in a fuller report, after thorough examination, both as to its present Avants and its future prospects. Sisters of Charity Averc making themselves useful in one of the hos- pitals in Dr. White's (Kentucky) regiment. There is no military hospital in Cincinnati but Dr. Muzzey's. The United States Marine Hospital there—a fine edifice, built three or four years ago at an expense, it is said, (land and all,) of 8200,000, evidently on the model and I suspect by the same contractor as the marine hos. pital at St. Louis, of which it is almost a duplicate—had laid entirely idle since its erection, being in charge of a steward at $600 a year, who presided OArer the empty building. Meanwhile the real and proper claimants on its privileges, the boatmen, sick and disabled on the rivers. were farmed out to the Commercial Hospital in Cincinnati at85 per week. I visited them there, and found about fifty in the uncomfortable ward of that miserable, not to say disgraceful, building—an old tumble-down edifice, behind-hand in all respects—with men eating at table in the same ward in which they slept, and with poor evidence in any de- partment of the cleanliness and order now demanded by humanity in such institutions. The steward, a highly intelligent man, seemeddoing his best, and grieved over the lack of a proper building in which to lay out his pains. A very excellent and distinguished surgeon attends it. Dr. Muzzey had succeeded in obtaining permission from the Govern- ment to occupy the empty Marine Hospital, and had partially filled its bare and spacious wards with accommodations for the sick. Already nearly fifty cases of sick soldiers had been thrown upon his hospitality. The voluntary supplies came in slowly, however, although the Doctor had been promised the active co-operation of many citizens. He wanted volunteer nurses, and beds and bedding, and medicines, and almost everything. It is hoped that Cincinnati will freely assist this distinguished surgeon in his single-handed endeavor to supply the lack of a public military hospital. The abuses of the United States Marine Hospitals are worthy of the attention of a special committee, directed to visit every one of them, and report minutely their separate history, cost, ao-e, use, and present condition. It is feared that they would turn out to be a systematic fraud on the public treasury, made with the con- nivance or inadvertence of successive administrations, under tke alleged necessities of party spoils. They afford opportunities for the sale of costly pieces of ground, and the erection under profitable contracts of expensive edifices, and then the appointment to lazy offices of resident stewards, and the salarying of attendant physicians. Being under the control of the Treasury Department, they fall into the hands of the collectors of the ports where they are situated, and by them are, I 4 suspect, generally administered, as at St. Louis, in a [perfectly care- less manner. Their combined cost, and the money expended in main- taining them, often in a ruinous state, would, considering the small amount of usefulness reaped from them, present them, taken altogether, as one of the most unjustifiable abuses of the public funds; and if they are sustained, as is affirmed, out of the money paid by the marines themselves, it makes the misconduct of their trustees, the United States Government, only additionally reprehensible. July 1, 1861. Cairo. This highly important strategical point, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, now holds, within two miles of its apex, about five thousand men. Two regiments are at Bird's Point, just opposite, on the Missouri shore, and a few companies are stationed a few miles up on the west bank of the Ohio. The ground, which is very low, is defended, by a lofty and now quite solid levee or dyke on three sides, from overflow from the occasional sudden and excessive freshets of the two rivers. It is deemed already quite secure against any future flood, as much has been done since 1858, when it suffered seriously, to strengthen these embankments. A feud exists between the three companies representing the business of the place—the ori- ginal Cairo City Company, the Illinois Central, and the Wharf Com- pany—who are at loggerheads with each other and with the citizens, who are opposed to them all. The land company, by holding its lots at excessive prices, stands in the way of the city's growth, and in its own light. The Illinois Central, it is complained, has not fulfilled its own contracts with this company ; and the wharf monopoly discourages the citizens. The consequence of all this is a discouraged and par- alyzed community, where nature and circumstances have provided for a prosperous and growing city. Neither the exposure nor the climate warrants ^he bad reputation and slow growth of Cairo. It is perfectly defensible from the waters at a moderate expense, and is capable of being thoroughly drained, and, indeed, of being raised throughout its whole area to the height of its levees, which ought to be the level of the future city. An enlightened policy would effect this in a very few years after war has ceased, provided the companies that now smother the place would enter with zeal and alacrity into it. The 5 back country on both sides of Cairo is undeveloped, and, perhaps, is not promising; but the Illinois Central, running through that im- mensely fertile State, and terminating here, is a back country in itself, capable of building up a great city. The immense commerce concen- trating at this point of perpetual open navigation, low enough down to escape all serious influence from ice, and at a point where water never fails for large boats, Avould itself, properly utilized, create a fine city here. The necessity of erecting a United States fortress at this point is now very apparent, and probably the problems of the health of the point and its commercial importance will be so tested by the necessary presence of thousands of troops through the war, as to do for the reputation and making of the place more than peace itself could have done in many years. Cairo, though low, is now neither damp, muddy, nor unhealthy. The water which stands in the plain a few inches deep, after a heavy rain, very soon, owing to the sandy character of the soil, disappears. Engines are at work, also, to drain the surplus surface water off into the river. The army has cleared away some thousands of stumps from the central plain of Cairo, and created a very fine parade of two or three miles long, and a mile or so broad. Col. Paine's regiment was chiefly active in this good work, which will prove of lasting service to Cairo. The general health of the place is testified to by an intelligent resident physician (a Virginian) as being better than at most points on the Ohio and Mississippi. Fever and ague does not abound, and there seemed to be a general testimony among the army surgeons there that the health of the troops was as good as at any other point where so many men were collected. The sick list showed us about 250 on their backs in a force of 6,000, which, at the close of June and 1st July, is not an excessive number. The open, airy character of Cairo, situated between two rivers, which act by their unequal currents as perpetual ventilators, saves it from the influence of tire malarious airs which seem to blow over it, and produce their mischievous effects in the high lands beyond, on bluffs crbwned with wood, at Villa Ridge, clothed with a forest obstructing the free passage of winds, and occa- sioning perhaps, by a cooler atmosphere, a precipitation of the poison at a particular level. Cairo proves more healthful than would be sup- posed from its apparently exposed position. The Mississippi water has a general reputation for wholesomeness. The Missouri mud with which it is charged, in settling, carries down whatever vegetable or animal substance may exist in the water, and t; leaves it, though still colored, comparatively pure. The Ohio water, being more conveniently reached, is, however, chiefly used by the troops. They had all suffered diarrhoea from the use of this water, or from change. It took about a fortnight to accustom them to it, The surgeons were doubting the expediency of going into the use of the Mississippi water, from fear that another change might produce another access of the same complaint. But it was promised that care- ful experiments should be made in the relative effects of the two kinds of water. A filtering system was proposed. Fortunately, large ice- houses already existed in Cairo, Avell. filled, which have been a great comfort to the troops. The camp police of Cairo was not good; the men being shockingly remiss in the use of the sinks, which are badly situated and poorly constructed. Cleanliness was not observed ; the camp showed a great deal of garbage and waste water lying about. The officers complained bitterly of the carelessness of the men in all these respects. The medi- cal force was very excellent in quality and service ; the hospitals usually good and cleanly; always too much crowded, and even when this was not necessary. There was the same difficulty about procuring stores. The regiments had fortunately come from Chicago chiefly, well provided in these respects with medicines, &c.; but all their fresh wants they did not know how to provide for. Some of the phy- sicians were absent at the examination at Springfield and Washington. The arrival of the medical director, Dr. Simmons, U. S. A., an intelli- gent and earnest gentleman, seemed to promise relief, as he at once undertook to instruct them in the means of procuring what they needed from the regular sources. There were no ambulances' in the place, and few surgical instruments. The same kind of complaints—measles, diarrhoea, pneumonia, rheumatism, and typhoid fever—prevailed ; but the types of disease were commonly mild. There was great need of an immediate enlargement of the general hospital. The following letter, addressed to the medical director be- fore we left, will perhaps show sufficiently in detail what our general conclusions A\ere. The details of the survey \ have not thought it worth while to record, as there was little diversity among the regiments. The men, on the whole, were a fine, soldierly body, doing great credit to many of their officers. There were admirable officers among them, although many inefficient ones. The commanding general, Gen. Prentiss, uniformly appeared, even on horseback at dross parade, with i a cigar in his mouth; but he Avas a teetotaller. The brigade appeared, in its general turn-out, a formidable and valuable body, though not equal to the men at Alton. Cairo, July 1, 1861. Sir : The " Sanitary Commission," lately appointed by the United States Government, beg leave to suggest, as the results of their inspec- tion of this post, a few points to which no doubt your own experienced j udgment will draw your attention at an early day, bur. to which it can, at least, do no harm to add the testimony of the Commission. 1. They find the mortality of the men during the whole period of their stay here surprisingly small, while the degree of sickness itself has been far less than was to have been expected. The diseases have been usually mild in type. There is abundant evidence that the location of Cairo is more healthful than is either commonly supposed or than a superficial view of its topographical position would warrant. The high lands to the north, at Villa Ridge, where troops have been placed, are clearly very unhealthy, both from the interruption of the air-currents by the forest, and from other circumstances, determining the collection and settlement of malarious influences at that elevation. 2. According to a prevailing opinion here, the use of the Ohio water has been the principal cause of diarrhoea, which more than any complaint has prevailed. It is very desirable that the question of the preference to be given to the use of the Mississippi water should be settled by careful examination; and that the present imperfect filter- ing apparatus should be changed for some thorough kind. 3. The hospitals are generally in excellent condition, considering the disadvantages under which they have been organized. They are too crowded; the due amount of air not being furnished to each patient. The ventilation is still incomplete. The erection of at least three- fold the present accommodation in the brigade hospital, is, in our judgment, indispensable against the inevitable increase of illness with the introduction of the summer fruits in August, and the ordinary exas- peration of malarious disorders to be expected in September and October. An immediate preparation we deem very urgent in this direction. 4. The camp police is generally bad; the sinks wrongly placed, and their use not enforced. There is too much neglect in the removal of offal and slops. A total disregard of direction of winds is obvious in the selection of places for sinks. A terrible nuisance, in the shape of a slaughter-house, corrupts the atmosphere in the neighborhood of Col. McArthur's camp. The rear of the hotel is foul enough to make another Washington hotel disease. It needs immediate attention. 5. The scurvy needs to be wholly eradicated by a greater use of fresh vegetables, which are now inaccessible from obstacles of one kind and another in the commissariat, all of which might be corrected by a better acquaintance with the regulations. 6. There is a very general testimony in favor of the volunteer Women Nurses • and it is suggested that, for volunteers, their services are 8 peculiarly necessary and politic, and that the rules go\erning " Regu- lars" cannot with entire safety be applied to them in this respect. However, it is deemed proper to add, that the unwillingness of captains to detail nurses for the hospitals should be resisted and corrected in the name of humanity. 7. A rigid application of the United States inspection regulations to the men about to be mustered in for the*war from the three months' force, is warmly recommended as an act of great final economy of life and efficiency. 8. A weekly gathering of the whole medical force in the camp, for mutual discussion, counsel, and comparison of views, under the leading of the medical director, is thought very desirable. 9. The introduction of greater system into the cooking, of regularity in the hours for eating, and of a closer imitation of the usages of Regulars in these respects, is also advised, particularly with those enlisting for the war. 10. A general commendation of the medical force here gathered has prevailed with the Commission, who find great reason to admire and respect the efforts and pains taken to overcome, under great difficulties, the obstacles in the way of procuring hospital accommodation and medi- cal stores. There is a lack of surgical instruments, blankets, and com- forts for convalescing patients. The cots in use are six inches short. They are uniformly too near together. Some additional bath- ing-rooms are needed, although there has been unusual attention paid to these matters by the intelligent corps of physicians at Cairo. 11. The character of the material at Cairo is, in a military point of view, excellent. The regiments are now, with two exceptions, decently clothed, but, with only one exception, poorly equipped. The barracks are usually good, well arranged, fairly kept, and comfortable. The men do not complain of sleeping on the hard boards, which they mostly prefer to hay. The drainage of the camp is decently good, thanks to a porous soil, and the efforts of the general and chief engineer. The appearance of the men on parade is exceedingly satisfactory and hon- orable to their chief officers. There are evidently some inefficient cap- tains in command. These suggestions claim no authority, and are given purely in a friendly sympathy with the medical director. The Commission con- gratulate the camp, the surgeons, the public, and themselves on his arrival, and cheerfully and hopingly commit to his care and experience the invaluable lives of so large a body of citizen soldiery. Wishing you a successful administration of the medical and sanitary affairs of Cairo, we are, respectfully and cordially, your friends and fel- low-laborers, HENRY W. BELLOWS, President of the Sanitary Commission. JOHN S. NEWBERRY, M. D. W. H. MUZZEY, Associate. To Dr. Simmons, U. S. A., Wf/ical Director at Cairo. 0 P- S.—The total absence of ambulances atthis point will not escape your early attention. The hospital arrangements of the Fourth Missouri regiment, Col. Scheutner, are very inadequate. The sick there are only 15 in hospi- tal, and *5 in camp, of whom 50 ought immediately to go into hospital. The case came under our notice only this afternoon, and would have modified some statements had it been earlier known. It requires instant attention. H. W. B. July 2, 1861. St. Louis, Mo. I ha\re just visited the loth Illinois regiment, Col. J. D. Wyman, and the 22d regiment from the same State, volunteers, at Caseyville, Camp McClellan. Col. Wyman, of the 13th regiment, is in command of both regiments. The camp of the 13th is very much crowded, and needs nearly double the number of tents it has to make the men comfortable. Col. Wyman complains of the inattention of the quartermaster general at Springfield, and is very much perplexed, because he has conflicting orders from General McClellan and from General Lyon, both of whom claim his obedience. Of course his men must suffer many evils until the ques- tion is finally determined. The Colonel has been paying out his own money to make his men comfortable. Owing to the goodness of his position, on an open and dry plain, and to the convenience of good well water, there is no sickness of any importance in his camp, eight being the total number in the hospital. He is likely to move either to the St. Louis arsenal or to Cairo at any moment. The 22d regiment, Col. Dougherty, is in a wretched condition. It is encamped only a half mile to the east of the 13th. But it is in a valley, beneath very shady trees, and under the lee of some hills, all which combine to make the miasmatic atmosphere stagnate at the spot, as the winds have no circulation. They have been there only 13 days, but have at least 250 men out of about 900 more or less sick with camp dysentery. This is due in part to the situation, but in part also to the water, which is positively black and disgusting. It is taken from some pits sunk in a kind of half stagnant gutter, in the other end of which the pigs arc rooting. All the water they have is from this wretched source, 10 and they have not enough even of this. Of course they mix worse rum with this bad water, and the men are poisoned. The hospital is in a room hired for the occasion, which is a perfect pig-sty for nastiness. The accommodations are only for, say five and twenty, and the sick are 250. The steward (for both surgeon and assistant were absent) had made fifty prescriptions to-day, and was not through yet. This camp has no hospital tents or stores, except what it borrows from the 13th. The surgeon of that regiment is also absent. There is evidently a gross neglect in these easy absences, granted at a time when no excuse should suffice to absent the doctor, who is so sadly wanted. The 22d should be moved immediately. The camp police is very imperfect. Rotten bones and other nuis- ances lay about the camp. Col. Wyman appeared to be very solicitous to do his duty, but Avas puzzled how to get what he needed for his men. There had been five men carelessly wounded by bayonets in his regi- ment, and one valuable officer shot dead in consequence of the inex- perience of a sentry. JULY 3, 1861. Jefferson Barracks Is situated 11 miles below St. Louis, on the west bank of the Missis- sippi, on a bluff from 100 to 200 feet above the river, opposite the great American bottom, 60 miles long ar>d 7 wide. The S. S. E. winds from the bottom blow the malaria of the swamp on to the bluff, which has been accounted usually a very unhealthy position. It has im- proved, however, in this respect, by clearing. The barracks were built by the soldiers mainly about 30 years ago. They are rapidly falling into a dilapidated state. They are commonly very little used, but from time to time are employed for purposes of organizing regiments, and, as such, have been very useful since the present troubles began. Major Mc- Crae, in command, has been there 18 months; the chaplain, Dr. Fish, eight years. There is usually next to nothing to do; often there being only three or four men there, and the general hospital wholly closed The present aspect of the barracks is disgraceful; 1,600 acres of land surround them, wholly uncultivated. The buildings are dirty and dilapidated. The 4,000 volunteers who, in bodies of 1,000 or less, 11 have passed through the barracks during the last few weeks, are said, by Major McCrae, to have greatly increased the difficulty. He complains of the officers-as being raw, ignorant, and incapable of exercising any discipline. This is the real difficulty in the present military movement—the dreadful ignorance and inefficiency of the officers. The men are usually a noble body of raw soldiery. The ceilings of the guard-house and of the barracks generaUy are broken. The general hospital is not a bad building for the purpose; 182 feet long, and 24 wide, two stories high, with a finished attic, all in decent repair; ventilation good ; the access from one story to the next only by outside stairs, which is bad. The requisition is made yearly only f v new bedding and stores. There is no resident doctor—Dr. Bailey spending his time in town as medical purveyor, although sleeping at the barracks. There were 29 in the hospital July 3 ; among them seAreral cases from Boonesville ; 100 could be accommodated. July 4, 1861. Hearing that there were four regiments at Alton, 21 miles north of St. Louis, left at six o'clock to visit the camp ; arrived at 10 o'clock a. ni. on the ground; found it somewhat broken and irregular, but open and well drained. The hospitals, however, are situated on the skirt of a wood, for the sake of shade, where the ventilation cannot be good, and where, at this season, hospitals should not be placed. They are comfortable buildings, of rough boards, three in number. One of the regiments has its hospital a mile off in the town. The sick appeared to be well taken care of. The water in this camp Avas all drawn from springs a mile and a half off; it was not good, but far from being very bad. There had been an increase of sickness, particularly diarrhoea, since they left Freeport, in the upper part of the State, where they had been en- camped several weeks. They had been on the present ground less than a fortnight. The men, however, were more contented as they <:ot fairly away from home, and felt themselves really in for the cam- paign. They were all enlisted for the war. It is evident that change of water, and especially bad water, is the most immediate and serious cause of illness in all western camps at this time. Pains enough are not taken to place the camps with reference to the vicinity of good water. The best water in Illinois Avas said to be found at a ridge running down from four miles below Alton, near .the Junction, where broad and excellent camping and parade .grounds existed. The colonels 12 had prospected this place, and approved it; but were, nevertheless— so I heard from a reputable source—ordered to remain where they were, and Avhere they had actually suffered at first for want of enough water, because the contractors found the immediate neighborhood of Alton a more profitable place to meet their engagements in. The vicinity of considerable towns is always bad for camping grounds, as the opportunities of intoxication are increased. The brigade encamped at Alton (camp Pope) consisted of the 15th regiment, Illinois volunteers; Col. T. J. Turner in command, as the oldest colonel of the whole brigade for the time, although General (late Captain) Pope of the U. S. A. was announced m having been ordered there to take command of the force. This 15th regiment was a crack regiment, composed of highly respectable citizens from Free- port, Stephenson county, and with an excellent colonel, and a high morale and discipline. The colonel would allow no liquor sold in camp or within a mile and a half of the camp. He would not permit his soldiers to go beyond the lines—making the 4th of July the only exception, when the men were put on their honor in respect of drinking; sixty in one- company had just joined the " Good Tem- plars," and many in other companies. This seems a favorite temper- ance organization, which many men throughout the western ranks were joining. The liquor drunk by those who are disposed to indulge in this way is a wretched corn whiskey, new and adulterated, and very productive of irritation of the intestinal canal. Godtl water is the best preventive of the use of bad liquor. The men had received from the State half a month's pay. They bought vegetables with their own money. . The inspection in this and all the regiments had been very deficient in thoroughness. I called out of the ranks several boys, and never once was mistaken, on questioning, in finding those I deemed under age, to be so. It was confessed that they had used all kinds of strata- gems to pass muster—some filling up their boots to eke out an unac- ceptable height. Eight had been discharged for incompetency. The men seemed to have an unbounded confidence in their colonel, which appeared to be well founded. Col. Turner said the great difficulty was in getting the men to obey officers no better than themselves, and often not as good. The officers might persuade, but did not know how to command men they associated with at home as equals. And this is the chief misfortune about the volunteers, and really raises the question whether the men of one district would not be better officered 13 from another. The colonel complained that it was very difficult to have the camp police, in respect of the use of sinks,.carried out, and this was evident to several senses. The excellent chaplain, Rev. Mr. Halteman, wanted sanitary books to circulate. There were only six men in each tent here. The 17th Illinois regiment encamped here two weeks ago Tuesday last; they had been at Peoria since May 12. There were 28 in hos- pital—11 in camp, and IT in town. Measles and diarrhoea had been their complaints. The general condition of this regiment was much like the last. Surgeon absent. 20th Illinois regiment—C. C. Marsh, colonel—at Joliet from 11th May till 19th June ; since that at Alton. Averaged 8 or 9 at Joliet in hospital; 2 cases of diphtheria, some intermittent fever; were now prescribing for diarrhoea 10 cases every day. Complained of the water as bad, unless iced. There was, however, some ice served out by the commissary in this brigade. Dr. Goodbrake, surgeon, absent. Hecker's Yagers ; lacked one company ; a very fine body of men ; came from Chicago a fortnight ago; average per week, 12 sick; one man shot; they had colds, fever, rheumatism, and diarrhoea; com- plained of the water. Surgeon, Dr. Wagner; and assistant surgeon, Dr. Starck. Eighteen in hospital on the 4th July ; one man (doubtful) reported as having had the cholera; three men in the regiment want- ing the little finger. Not a medical man in this whole second brigade,, Illinois troops, had yet received his commission. The medical men generally appeared earnest, kind, competent men, and mainly embarrassed by ignorance how to get what they required in hospital stores, which was very much due to uncertainty on the part of their colonels, in whose department they were. I urged everywhere resort to the nearest medical pur- veyor, and begged the medical purveyors to stretch their rules so as to delay only as little as possible the supply of stores, even when irregularly asked for. It is evident that the medical directors are in general either too few, too old, or too inactive ; that they do not go about and inquire into the wants of the surgeons and hospitals, and facilitate their accommodation with stores. The regiments at Casey- ville, Cairo, Alton, had been visited by Dr. Taggart, who referred them to Dr._______, who was with General McClellan. But all this roundabout inquiry compelled these urgent hospital wants to be re- ferred to Springfield—a distant place—where orders were made out to be filled at Cincinnati, while all the time a medical director and pur- If veyov both existed at St. Louis, with abundant stores, whence, at a distance of nine miles from Caseyville, twenty from Alton, and six hours or so from Cairo, all these wants could be in 24 hours fully met. I endeavored to bring this about; but the medical director at St. Louis is old and inactive, and past real usefulness ; while Dr. Bailey, medical purveyor, no longer young, lives at Jefferson Barracks, where he is surgeon, and does the duties of this St. Louis post as extra ser- vice, which is all wrong. Young, active, and efficient men are solely wanted in this important department. The lack of a regular inspector, U. S. A., flying through the camps, communicating information, and spurring on and facilitating official service, is most obvious. There is no general hospital yet established at this point. I urged it as indispensable. Dr. Kellogg is temporary brigade surgeon. The chaplain at Caseyville, Col Wymau's regiment, had regular Sunday service 30 minutes long, a prayer meeting regularly Thursday evening, and prayer meetings in the soldiers' tents. The regiment turned out regularly at 6<> o'clock every morning to prayers—in strange contrast with the chaplain's experience at Jefferson Barracks, where the service not being compulsory, there was a most meagre attendance, and little other duty. The volunteer chaplains were generally very active, devoted, and ready to seize every opportunity of strengthening the officers, and helping the virtue of the men. Col. Turner's chap- lain, and, indeed, all at Camp Pope, seemed of this character. The whole brigade celebrated the fourth of July by dress parade, and after being formed into hollow square, of which the town's people formed one side, they were entertained and instructed, first with the reading of the Declaration of Independence, then with addresses of twenty minutes in length from four officers, (me from each of the four regi- meuts. The celebrated patriot, Ilecker, colonel of a Yager regiment, an eloquent man of 60, addressed the brigade in stirring German. He was followed by two captains. The President of the Sanitary Commission was then, without any warning, introduced by the colonel to the brig- ade in terms that brought all the regiments to their feet, while a most telling shout evidenced the welcome the west gave the humble repre- sentative from the east, and the envoy of the Sanitary Commission. He made a semi-patriotic and semi-official address of 20 minutes, using the first half as an entering wedge for the more important and less palate- able portion, which was an earnest appeal to the officers and the medical men, in behalf of the most immediate and rigid enforcement of sani- 15 tary regulations, detailing the most important and the most neglected; and then to the men themselves, upon the nature of their perils from disease, and the importance of punctilious co-operation with their officers in all particulars touching cleanliness, ventilation, careful diet, and camp police in general. The address was warmly received, and the opportunity considered a very valuable one, as some 4,000 men weio reached by it, and under pleasant and impressive circumstances. Col. Turner concluded with a spirited address, enforcing these instructions, and possessing a commanding tone of moral earnestness, which was equally creditable to himself and his command. At the close, the oath of allegiance being called for by the men and the citizens gen- erally, the whole assembly rose, and lifting every right hand, Colonel Turner administered the oath to the whole company, who responded with a solemn and universal Amen, the genuineness and significance of which would have sent a shuddering sense of doom into all rebellious hearts, as it did a glowing confidence and strength into all loyal ones. The company was then dismissed Avith music, after the benediction by the chaplain. The general appearance of the men, both as to clothes, equipments, personnel of officers, drill, and moral tone, was very excellent. They failed in nothing but experience of camp life. Their cooking was im- proving, though still needing system. It was quite regular as to hours. They had had a butter ration when nearer home, but had none now. In company with eight unexpected guests, we joined the officers' mess, and had a dinner, which, though plain and without a drop of wine, was abundant, well served, and very welcome. The whole ap- pearance of the officers' mess, their unaffected heartiness, simplicity, earnestness, and good sense, left a most grateful impression on the mind of your president and two clerical friends of intelligence who accom- panied him. Several ladies were sharers of the mess dinner, and with us visited the hospitals with lively interest. The surgeons and colonels all wanted female nurses, and asked anxiously for information and direction how to obtain them. They will be indispensable among the volunteers, both in the general and regimental hospitals, particularly if the camps are stationary, as they are very likely to be through the summer. All the regiments should be removed as often as once a month, if only to break up monotony. They want more reading in the west, as they do not get the papers to any such extent as in the east. 16 Jitly 2, isr.i. St. Louis, Visited the arsenal. There are 14,644 enlisted men, including offi- cers, in Missouri; 11,000 are armed with rifled muskets; 3,000 with smooth bore. There are 2,500 «in barracks in St. Louis; 2,500 in camps and tem- porary quarters with General Lyon ; 900 at Jefferson barracks ; 3,500 at Springfield, and on the way to it. General Lyon has also an Iowa regiment with him. On the 1st June, out of 4,000, 141 were reported sick. On the 2d June, out of 4,000, 14.~> were reported sick. Marine Hospital at St. Louis. Dr. Hammer, surgeon, gone as colonel to the Avar. Dr. Porter is appointed ; not yet ordered on duty ; has Dr. Finch and Dr. De Corsey as assistants—their time is up. Hospital built at an expense of about 8100,000, ten years ago. Has an average of about 50 in it; rises to 90 in summer, Sinks to 30 when the river is in boating condition, and is manned by a non-resident surgeon, whose duty it is to visit every day, and by two students, one aeting as house doctor and the other as apothecary; a stew- ard with a salary of $600, and a matron (steward's wife) at $150; five women servants each, $12 per month; others, 10 per month; a nurse, (a man,) 825 per month; house doctor, 820 ; apothecary, $10. Average, about $1,200 per month, or $14,000 per year. Steward buys all provisions; surgeon all medicines. Building and all affairs under the control of collector, A. J. Howard, Esq. Hospital has 6 wards—18 beds in three of them ; 20 in 3 others— in all 114; might accommodate 150, when crowded. Has been used by soldiers a good deal, who are barracked temporarily in sheds in the hospital yard. The building is sadly out of repair. Cupola leaks; flag-staff rotten.; glass broken ; stairs dirty. All the water works are out of order; the pipes burst every winter two or three times. The water closets and bath-rooms past use from neglect. The ceiling broken everywhere, and the glass very badly set. The water forced up by a steam-engine»in the most expensive way ; a fire every morning and even- ing; all the water drawn a mile and a half; and the roof discharges into the cistern where the water is stored sooty deposits Avith every rain. Great need of a shoe to these pipes of a movable character. Great IT need of railing about the doors ; three of them dangerous ; drains in the yard falleu in ; in one place about one half dug up, in Avhich much tilth had accumulated. The beds all dirty and disgusting; men sleeping in their clothes; no sheets or bed clothes, except a comforter to each man ; blankets, 24 in number ; no shoots ; no change for the men ; all the men use vessels in the rooms for all necessary uses, which arc carried out. The house had smelling; men disgusting. The steward authorized to buy plenty of provisions, but no clothing ; inspected twice a year, and complaints made, but uo attention paid to the complaints; the walls hard finish, wont take white-wash; require to be painted and washed. •Joseph Mcllvaiue, superintendent .since April 20 ; Mr.-Brown, num- for two years past. Furniture all broken. Superintendent s apartments very nice ; situation beautiful; not very heathful, however; medical attendance poor and irregular. The lack of any poAver. ou the part of the colonels, to dismiss aud discharge summarily men proving Avholly unfitted for service, under the trial of sickuess. or the development of constitutional weakness, is a source of embarrassment to the regiment, and needless suffering to the men Delay in forwarding the commissions of medical men, regularly passed in late examinations, is another source of trouble, as they can- not legally make requisitions until they receive their commissions. In consequence, the hospitals suffer. The medical purveyors should receive orders to respond at once to requisitions, however irregular, if made by endorsement of the colonels. There should be a generous allowance for the ignorance of forms among the new officers in all departments, or great suffering will ensue. Both commissaries, quar- termasters, colonels, and surgeons need the benefit of this charity The summoning away of surgeons to ;. re-examination has proved very unfavorable to the case of the sick, the hospital steward being often the only official ou the ground, and he very incompetent to deal with any serious illness. The chaplains are usually a very earnest aud active set of men among the volunteers—far more so, I should judge, than among the regulars. They complain, however, not of want of respect or atten- tion among the men, but rather of some great vagueuess and want of m.oi.-e ilu.etinii, in regard lo their duth.,. Their pay i.> that of a 1> cavalry captain. It is doubtful, however, wliether they had not better be left to their individual discretion. There was no evidence of any decaying interest in the Avar, or of any disposition to withdraw. The country west is covered with corn. The wheat harvest is already quite generally gathered in, in abundance. Corn in which the horses' heads were just visible as they drew the cultivator through the furrows was common, although a great deal not, a foot high was also to be seen. The harvest of corn is considered safe, if the corn is well rooted by July 1st, Intemperance did not seem at all common in the ranks, although some regiments were charged Avith it. It seems almost wholly depend- ent on the character of the officers. We saAV no ambulances in any Avestern camp, and no stretchers.