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From: "Lois C Krone" <>
Subject: Re: [IA-CIVIL-WAR] Cedar Valley Times, Feb. 6, 1862, Co. D, 12th Iowa Inf.
Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 12:30:15 -0500
References: <118.3246be79.2dc67538@aol.com>


Sue..

I find these old articles very informative, especially the 1862 and
prior...Thanks for posting them!! Lois
----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2004 11:00 AM
Subject: [IA-CIVIL-WAR] Cedar Valley Times, Feb. 6, 1862, Co. D, 12th Iowa
Inf.


> [This letter from a member of Co. D, 12th Iowa Infantry, does not relate
to
> the Red River campaign but includes some details about soldier life that
might
> be interesting to others. For example, he talks about the diseases that
> affected soldiers in the same barracks, and what happened to bodies of
soldiers who
> died while away from home.]
>
> The Cedar Valley Times
> Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa
>
> Thurs., February 6, 1862
>
> Army Correspondence.
> .
> 4th Street Hospital, St. Louis,
> January 24, 1862.
>
> Dear Times:--I have been remiss in writing lately, but I have been sick.
On
> January 12th, our brigade was ordered to place itself in readiness to
march at
> a moment's warning, with a strong probability of leaving St. Louis on the
> 15th inst. On the same day our old muskets were exchanged for new rifles
called
> "Enfield guns;" they are perfect beauties, blue steel barrel, with a
perfect
> finish on all the other parts. Maximum range, 900 yards, with moveable
sights.
>
> On the 13th, such soldiers as were unable to leave were conveyed to
> hospitals, and among the rest your humble correspondent. Owing to adverse
> circumstances, the troops which expected to leave, yet remain. Capt.
[John H.] Stibbs
> calls in frequently to see us, and we are always glad to see him; he
brings our
> letters. It is a sad task to communicate such news to our friends as will
> cause them grief; but we must remember that it is the lot of all men to
die,
> sooner or later, whether in the army or at home.
>
> Since my last letter to you, death has been at work in Company D; and I
will
> proceed at once with our hospital statistics:
>
> Sick in hospital, 4th street:
> W. Bumgardner [Wm., discharged Mar. 27, 1862],
> J. Blackburn [Jos., discharged Jan. 30, 1862],
> A. M. Blanchard [Allen M., may have died at Andersonville prison later],
> D. E. Stedman [Dudley, discharged Feb. 25, 1862],
> J. P. Frees [James, discharged March 27, 1862],
> A. A. Stewart [Aaron].*
>
> Sick in 5th Street Hospital:
> J. [James] Gallagher,*
> A. H. Hill,* [Archibald, died April 6, 1865].
> W. [William] Lee,
> J. O. Sartwell * [Jos., discharged a year later, Feb. 23, 1863],
> W. A. Doolittle.* [Washington A., discharged July 9, 1862, at Corinth,
MS].
>
> Good Samaritan Hospital:
> A. C. Blood,* [Avcaro C., discharged for disability, Dec. 18, 1862, St.
> Louis, MO]
> S. [Sylvester] Burch,*
> J. W. Moore,* [died Feb. 8, 1862, Smithland, KY].
> J. H. Ross [Jesse, discharged for disability, April 16, 1862, St. Louis,
MO].
>
> New House of Refuge Hospital:
> T. [Theodore L.] Prescott,
> Wm. Ven Eman [Van Emman].
>
> This, I think, comprises the sick of company D, with the exception of 1st
> Lieutenant J. D. Ferguson, who, though attacked by fever, has not yet been
taken
> from the barracks.
> [Jason D. Ferguson, Co. D, was shortly afterwards killed at the battle of
> Shiloh, April 6, 1862, and is buried in the Shiloh National Cemetery at
Pittsburg
> Landing.]
>
> Those whose names are marked by a star, are nearly or quite well enough to
> leave the wards. They are about recovering from the measles. Of the
remainder,
> some are quite sick, but not very dangerous; however, the convalescent of
> to-day may fill a coffin to-morrow, so insiduous is our deadliest
foe--pneumonia.
> This has been and is the chief agent of mortality. It has carried off
seven
> of company D, whose names and date of death I will hereto append.
>
> W. H. [William H.] Webster, died Sunday, January 5th, 1862;
> W. L. Dailey [William L. Daily], died Thursday, Jan. 9th;
> J. S. Lee, died Sunday, Jan. 12th; [John S. Lee, died of measles]
> J. L. Jacques [John L. Jaques], died Sunday, Jan. 12th;
> J. N. [Jasper N.] Coyner, died Monday, January 13th;
> Henry Haradon, died Tuesday, Jan. 14th [Roster states died Jan. 15th];
> Uel Mather, died Tuesday, Jan. 21st.
>
> These poor fellows could not survive the ordeal of acclimation; the raw
> chilling winds, the abominable omnipresent mud, shoe-top deep everywhere,
the
> stifling, infernal odor of the half-sulphur, half-slate Missouri coal, and
the puke-
> ish river water, proved too much for the noble freeman who were habituated
to
> the use of the pure dry air, and clear, cold, sparkling water of the
Hawkeye
> State.
>
> All honor to those who brave this, and more, for the defence of the homes
> they love, and the starry flag. Some of the boys were, perhaps, not
prudent
> enough; and at times, it was impossible to give the proper care and
attention
> necessary to preserve health.
>
> Our physicians have been severely censured; perhaps too much so, for we
must
> remember that they, as well as the men, were not yet acclimated. When the
> peculiar state of the weather set in, which was dangerously productive of
> pneumonia, I don't believe that anybody in our regiment knew a deadly pall
hung over
> us, M. D.'s not excepted. They appeared to regard our distressing and
almost
> universal cough as no more than what we term a "bad cold" in Iowa, while
in
> reality, it was the unmistakable premonition of what has proved an almost
> unmanageable malady, even in the care of resident physicians.
>
> We coughed so in the barracks, that it was impossible to go to sleep
before
> 12 or 1 o'clock. And at this time even our physicians were at variance
with
> each other; they prescribed fruitlessly, and differently, and each slyly
> ridiculed the diagnosis of the other. About the only remedial agent used
was a crude,
> nauseating expectorant; and it was one man's constant daily duty, to
patrol
> the Regiment, and to ply, unsparingly, his mixture of Lobelia Inflata, and
> Ipecacuanha, which, while it sickened, failed to cure. The soldiers
dreaded the
> sight of him.
>
> I shall never forget an incident which took place one evening at this
time.
> I was in our Captain's office, writing. The preceding night had been
almost
> universally sleepless from the incessant coughing. It was about ten
o'clock,
> and I was so busily engaged that I had not thought about the coughing of
the
> men. Suddenly an officer who was present asked Capt. Stibbs, "Do you
notice how
> still the men are to-night?" Sure enough, a death-like stillness
prevailed.
> Not the first soldier coughing! It astonished all present. "How do you
> account for that?" said the Captain. "A change in doctors and in
medicine. Dr.
> A. prescribed yesterday, and Dr. B. to-day." I remember that the men
coughed
> dreadfully all last night, and to-night they are perfectly still. Do you
know
> what Dr. B. has given them?" "Yes; he gave them blue mass." This was the
> solution of the strange problem. Hydrargyrum, that monarch among
medicines, in
> his delicate garb of conserve of roses, was silently but powerfully
engaged in
> driving back from the citadel of vitality, the arch miasmatic fiend. The
> conscienceless angel of Death delights to frequent the sleeping soldier's
bed, and
> as I have lain there sick and sleepless, I could almost fancy that I could
> see him walking from couch to couch amid the squalor, gloating over the
victims.
>
> I spoke in my last of the measles, a disease of itself not formidable; but
> here, where a predisposition to pneumonia exists, the lungs are left by
the
> measles in so sensitive and irritable a condition, that there is a great
liability
> to inflamation.
>
> But I am becoming tedious to myself, if not to you; for I am still quite
> feeble. I have a constant catarrhal discharge from my left ear,
accompanied by
> slight pneumoniac symptoms; but am gradually becoming convalescent. Capt.
> Stibbs called in day before yesterday, yesterday and to-day; he is very
> considerate, and visits us oftener than any other Captain in the 12th
Iowa.
>
> I wish to say it distinctly and emphatically, that the sick of company D,
now
> in hospitals, are in every way fully satisfied with the sympathy and kind
> attentiveness of their Captain. It must be remembered that we are
scattered all
> over St. Louis, a place four miles distant from Benton Barracks; and even
a
> captain cannot always get a pass. At best, a pass is not issued till 10
or 11
> A.M., seldom extending any later than 3 P.M., and never later than 6. So
you
> may see what Capt. Stibbs must surmount, to visit his sick ones.
>
> Capt. [Charles] Tupper, of Company G, died January 23rd of Typhoidal
> Pneumonia. Lieut. Ferguson is not better, he has been ill two days. The
prospects of
> leaving Benton Barracks is still undefined. Major Brodbeet [Samuel D.
> Brodtbeck] is very well liked, and his regiment the other day concluded to
give him
> some token of their approbation. Accordingly they privately passed around
the
> hat, which resulted in fifty dollars, in less than no time. This was
devoted
> to the purchase of an elegant sword and belt, and now comes the cream of
the
> matter. If they had informed the Major of their intentions, so that he
could
> have prepared some sort of a response, he would probably have stood it
better;
> but the boys knew that he was no lover of ostentation. Therefore it was
kept
> a profound secret, and the first that the Major knew, he was waited upon
by a
> deputation of officers, who informed him that his presence was needed in
an
> adjacent room. Little dreaming of what awaited him he went along, and to
his
> great astonishment found himself ushered into what looked amazingly like a
> court martial. He was confronted by the committee, one of whom proceeded
to tell
> him in plain terms what the boys thought of him, and why they thought so,
and
> how they meant to stick to him, and all that sort of thing, winding up by
> presenting, in the name of the Regiment, the sword, which it hoped he
would accept
> as a slight testimonial, &c. When the brave old Major comprehended the
drift
> of the matter, and the delicacy with which it had been managed, he wept
like
> a child. He who could face a Dahlgren or howitzer without flinching, now
shed
> his tears like rain. It was so unexpected; but he is now convalescent; he
> steps about among the other Majors, with his beautiful sword in full view,
and
> his good natured face shines as brightly as ever.
>
> The is one thing more I wish to mention before closing, and I would be
very
> glad if the Iowa newspapers would all copy this part of my article:
>
> Many parents and friends of soldiers in camp at St. Louis, may not know
how
> to provide for the transmission of the bodies of those who die here, to
Iowa or
> any other Western State.
>
> When any soldier dies here, he is put in a coffin and buried. His name
and
> place of burial is registered, so that no mistake of persons can occur.
The
> corpse maintains a state of good preservation for the space of two months
after
> interment, if the common wooden coffin is used; but indefinitely longer if
a
> metalic coffin is used. The metalic coffin is quite expensive; but when a
> friend or parent wishes to have a corpse returned, it is best to get them.
The
> metalic coffin never can decay; and moreover, it is air-tight, so that
decay of
> the body is most materially retarded. Over the face is screwed a brass or
> silver plate, to protect the glass plate through which the face of the
corpse is
> distinctly visible, when the outer plate is removed. The corpse is
> disinterred, carefully laid out, and placed in the metalic coffin, which
is then sealed
> perfectly air-tight, and taken to the express office where directed. The
> charge for all this, including price of coffin, &c., is $50. The express
charges
> will be about sixteen dollars for conveyance.
>
> One other method is employed, viz: enclosing the body, (still in the
wooden
> coffin,) packed in a box of charcoal. This is much cheaper, costing but
> fifteen dollars; but the motion of the cars is apt to sift charcoal into
the coffin,
> and discolor the face of the corpse. Persons interested will address
"John
> A. Persons, 113 Chestnut Street, St. Louis, Mo.," enclosing the money and
> giving plain directions.
>
> Bodies for Cedar Rapids and vicinity should go by American Express. I
remain
> yours truly.
>
> A. M. B.
>
> [this is probably Allen M. Blanchard of Hopkinton, Iowa, the only A. M. B.
in
> Co. D, 12th Iowa Infantry, listed in the Roster. The writer wrote from
the
> 4th St. Hospital in St. Louis, and Allen M. Blanchard's name is on the
list
> above of those sick there.]
>
> Major Samuel Brodtbeck resigned April 7, 1862, at St. Louis, MO.
>
> "Roster and Records of Iowa Troops in the Rebellion, Vols. 1-6." Civil War
> and Iowa: Greyhounds and Hawkeyes. CD-ROM. Creston, IA: O. J. Fargo, 2000.
>
> Sue Trout Reisdorph
>
>
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