Harry Endicott Webber - Twelve Months with the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry in the Service of the United States

As it was rumored that the First Corps would be sent against Havana, orders were issued for the formation of a pioneer detachment in each regiment to consist of one officer, two non-commissioned officers and ten privates, to be specially selected for their practical knowledge of the duties of pioneers, viz: the removal of obstructions, corduroying roads, the building, repair and destruction of simple bridges, culverts, railroad beds and embankments, and the use of high explosives. No difficulty whatever was experienced in finding the men who in the discharge of their duties rendered most valuable services to the Division.

To give the brigade and regimental commanders some idea of the difficulty of forming the Division in line of battle on broken and obstructed ground, and to exercise the officers and men in preserving the line, supplying ammunition, and caring for the wounded,—problems in which the entire Division took part, were carried out practically.

Many of you will doubtless remember those exercises and how difficult it was to form the Division in line without wide gaps between brigades, or to move it in any direction without breaking the formation. These problems, although extremely simple, were of great benefit as a relief to the monotony of drill, and in testing the field efficiency of the medical and ordinance services.

In the meantime, the Corps Commander, with the First Division of the Corps, left the Park en route to Cuba and Porto Rico, and on August 15th I went to Lexington to select a camp for the Third Division, in which the typhoid had spread rapidly, and on August 21st, the movement to Lexington began. Although we left between three and four hundred men in the hospital when we moved to Lexington, the Division was so thoroughly impregnated with this disease and with malarial fever that more cases were inevitable, and the hospital of 1000 beds, which was established in anticipation of this very contingency, proved inadequate, and but for the timely removal of the convalescents to other places, would have needed a large extension. Those of the regiment now living will not have forgotten the struggle which then took place to stamp out the typhoid fever. It was a fight to a finish, in which every available means known to medical and sanitary science was used during a period of three months.

For the information of those members of the regiment who have joined since the war with Spain, and because it was the most serious condition which confronted the regiment during its service in the field, I venture to give some account of our efforts to overcome this dread disease.

In selecting and arranging the site of the Division encampment, I was influenced more by sanitary requirements than by any other considerations whatever. To the camp of each regiment fifty acres of cleared land were allowed. This insured wide company streets, sufficient space between tents to admit of their being moved, plenty of room for the regimental and battalion staffs, guard tents, cook tents, sinks, corrals, and regimental parade grounds, with sufficient isolation from neighboring regiments.

Ground was also set aside for division and brigade headquarters, and for a general parade ground, the division hospital and the various departments of supply, and these were far enough removed from each other and the troops to prevent any encroachment. All told, the Division occupied about 1000 acres.

The different camps were then laid out by the division engineer, aided by the pioneer corps, and a copious supply of pure water secured, and all the sinks (kitchen and men's), were dug, ditched and housed, and tent floors made ready before the first regiment of the Division arrived, so that there was no occasion for defiling the ground or for unnecessary exposure to the weather.

As soon as practicable after the regiments arrived, the following sanitary orders were carried into effect. A non-commissioned officer was placed in charge of every sink, who received his instructions from the regimental surgeon as to the use of chloride of lime, quick lime, crude petroleum and corrosive sublimate, large quantities of which were provided by the medical purveyor and chief quartermaster of the Division.

For example, a box of the chloride of lime was kept in each of the men's sinks and it was the duty of the non-commissioned officer in charge to see that a small quantity was thrown into the sink three times daily, and that the sink floors were scrubbed every morning and then mopped with a solution of corrosive sublimate. All the men's sinks were lighted at night. Quick-lime and crude petroleum were also used in all the sinks, not only as disinfectants, but to keep the flies away.

Tents were moved once each week, the sites vacated thoroughly sprinkled with quick-lime, the under surface of the floors lime washed, and the tent floors mopped with a solution of corrosive sublimate; tent walls were raised, clothing and bedding thoroughly aired daily; all bed sacks were filled with clean straw, the old straw burned, and the bed sacks boiled every month, and whenever a man was sent to the hospital his bed sack received the same treatment; all water barrels were burned out every two weeks, all stable manure removed from the camp daily, and together with all other refuse, burned, and for this purpose regimental or brigade crematories were constructed as might be most convenient.

Facilities were provided in each company for washing and bathing and every soldier was required to bathe at least twice each week and to keep his hair and beard neatly trimmed. All drinking water was boiled and filtered and the men cautioned against drinking water of any other kind.

The indiscriminate sale and use of farm products, garden truck, fruit, pies, cakes, and all soft drinks were prohibited, nor were hucksters permitted in any of the regimental camps without the written authority of the commanding officer.

To insure the execution of these instructions, a division sanitary inspector was appointed, whose duty it was to visit the camp of each regiment daily and, together with the medical officer on duty and officer of the day, make inspection of the police of the camp, giving all needful orders for the correction of sanitary abuses and defects.

As no regimental hospitals were contemplated by the War Department, and none were permitted in Camp Hamilton, men sick enough to require treatment in bed were removed to the division hospital. On arriving there their clothing was removed and carefully disinfected, labeled and packed away, and if their cases were of doubtful character they were sent to the detention ward until the nature of their disease could be determined, when they were disposed of accordingly.

At 2 P. M. daily a medical officer of each regiment reported at the division hospital, and with the medical officer in charge of the wards, visited the sick of his regiment and decided whether they should be returned to duty or not. This had a very good effect, as it brought the medical officers of the regiment into daily contact with the sick of their own regiments, which was a great comfort to them, and besides kept the medical officers fully informed of their condition.

As far as possible the sick of the different regiments were kept together, and no one except the regimental and company commanders, the medical officers, chaplains, and immediate relatives of the sick were allowed to visit them. This restriction was rendered necessary by the danger of infection in typhoid cases, and to prevent the excitement and noise caused by visitors.

I am aware that many of the requirements and restrictions ordered at that time were considered harsh and unnecessary and gave rise to some bad feeling and grumbling, but as they had the unqualified approval of the medical staff, I had no hesitation in enforcing them. That they were fully justified was clearly shown by the results.