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Hdqrs. Military Division of the
Mississippi, In the Field, Big Shanty,
June
11, 1864
.
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of wounded since the commencement of operations at Tunnel Hill, Ga., up to the present date:
Wounded.
Department of the Cumberland
5,069
Department of the Tennessee
562
Department of the Ohio
330
Total
5,961
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
General: I have the honor to report that during the recent campaign resulting in the capture of Atlanta, the health of the troops has been remarkably good.
This is a noteworthy fact, when the severe labor and privations endured by most of your army during the autumn
and part of
the winter are taken into consideration.
For more than four months on short rations, but poorly housed and badly clothed, with no appreciable variation
in diet, scurvy naturally prevailed
to some extent in most regiments; in all a marked tendency to this disease was observable, and at one time
apprehensions were felt that very serious loss would occur from this cause.
The symptoms were mucji abated and modified by the abundant supply of blackberries and green corn which the men
obtained on
their march, yet there are still remnants of the disease, and great care should be exercised to eradicate it by
improved and
more varied diet.
The numerical force of the army was materially reduced at the very commencement of operations by the necessity
of getting
rid of a large number of worthless recruits and substitutes that had been sent to the army during the winter.
Our loss by death from disease and wounds has been small considering the extended time of the campaign and the
severe fighting
that has occurred almost daily for four months. The recoveries from wounds have been rapid and favorable, and
the number returned to duty has been greater than usual.
Field hospitals have been promptly established and well supplied and attended.
The ambulance service has been well rendered, although not as perfect as it would have been had the system
directed by General
Orders, No. 106,
Reference is to General Orders, No. 106, War Department,
Adjutant-General's Office,
March
16, 1864
, publishing an Act of Congress to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies of the United States. been carried out and enforced, yet it has been more
prompt and efficient than in any former campaign in which I have had
the honor to serve.
The wounded have been brought from the field quickly and carefully, and instances of neglect have been of rare
occurrence.
Medical officers have been attentive and untiring in the discharge of their duties, and not a few have lost
their lives from disease contracted
in the line of their duty, and some from the shot of the enemy.
I am proud to bear witness to the general good conduct and faithful service of the members of the medical staff.
The system of medical supply trains has been tried during this campaign, and has proved eminently useful, and
demonstrated
the fact that the different departments when properly administered are able to supply the wants of an army even
under adverse
circumstances without any extraneous agencies.
In fine, the operations of the medical department during the
campaign have been highly satisfactory so far as I have been able to observe.
It has not been possible to make any regular or systematic inspections while the army has been in such constant
motion, but
an opportunity is now afforded for a thorough performance of that duty.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
This report has been examined, and I take pleasure in bearing testimony to the general intelligence and good
conduct of our
medical officers, and the foresight displayed in providing for the necessities of service.
The commissary department is instructed to provide all
the antiscorbutics for which we have the means of transportation.
This report will be forwarded to the War Department, along with
my official report of the campaign of Atlanta.
Command.
Received in Hospital.
Total.
Sent to the rear.
Returned to duty.
Died from���
Sick.
Wounded.
Disease.
Wounds.
Army of the Cumberland:
Fourth Army Corps
13,456
5,852
19,308
8,716
10,301
17
416
Fourteenth Army Corps
7,461
3,973
11,434
7,196
3,031
88
250
Twentieth Army Corps
15,611
5,375
20,986
8,756
11,106
63
374
Cavalry
6,625
359
6,984
1,516
5,425
39
27
Army of the Tennessee:
Fifteenth Army Corps
3,346
3,312
6,658
5,062
928
44
251
Sixteenth Army Corps
4,233
1,203
5,436
2,515
2,434
24
181
Seventeenth Army Corps
1,485
1,483
2,968
1,887
862
38
181
Army of the Ohio:
Twenty-third Army Corps
0
0
6,146
4,656
1,288
107
38
Total
52,217
19,557
79,920
40,304
32,675
420
1,718
The report from the Army of the Cumberland is made up
from the morning reports, and is as near correct as can be given.
The report from the Sixteenth Army Corps only includes the time from
June
26
.
The number of wounded in this campaign is 1,727.
The Seventeenth Army Corps joined the expedition
June
8, 1864
.
The report of the Twenty-third Army Corps commences with
June
1
, the records of sick and wounded of the Army of the
Ohio not having been kept before.
The entire statement is as close an approximation to the actual state of the army as can at this time be given.
The total number of sick and wounded received in hospital is 79,920; the number returned to duty, 32,675,
showing a loss of 47,245.
Of this number a large proportion are yet in hospitals to the rear, numbers of whom are daily returning to duty.
The number of deaths from disease and from wounds shown on this report is the number which occurred at the front
in field
hospitals.
In some of the corps only severe wounds are reported; in others every wound, however slight, was recorded; so
also in the
case of deaths from wounds; in some, all brought to hospital who died on the way, were recorded as dying in
hospital, while
in other cases they were reported among those killed in battle, and did not appear on the hospital record.
This explanation will in a measure account for the apparent disproportion between some of the corps.
Tabular statement of sick and wounded in the Military Division of the Mississippi for the period
embraced between
May
1
and
September
6, 1864
.