502 



HYGIENE IN THE ARMY. 



fluence their hygienic condition. These may be 

 considered under three heads: camps, in the 

 field, consisting of tents or huts ; larracka for 

 those in garrisons or camps of instruction, and 

 hospitals for the sick or wounded. In camp, 

 there are several descriptions of tent used, the 

 principal of which are the Wedge tent, now 

 falling into disuse from its inconvenience ; the 

 Sibley tent, conoid in form with a movable 

 cowl at the top, so arranged as to be easily 

 shifted according to the direction of the wind, 

 or a modification of it made by fastening three 

 poles together at one end, the other ends being 

 separated so as to form a large tripod; and 

 the Bell tent, so named from its form, and which 

 is ventilated by a window cut in one side near 

 the top, which can be closed by a canvas flap. 

 These tents are in use by the men ; the Sibley is 

 intended for fifteen infantry soldiers, or thir- 

 teen mounted men, too large a number for effec- 

 tive ventilation or comfort. The officers' tent is 

 square, and has a canvas wall four feet high, 

 which can be raised all around. It has also a 

 fly or movable canvas flap on each side of the 

 roof, which aids in preventing the heat of the 

 sun or he rain from entering. The hospital tent 

 is larger and higher, being 15 feet square and 12 

 feet high, with a wall 4| feet high, and has a 

 heavy fly. The ends are open, and it is so ar- 

 ranged that two or more can be joined togeth- 

 er, forming a continuous ward. On the march 

 the troops sometimes use the small shelter tent 

 or tent d'abri, composed of canvas sheets and 

 jointed sticks, of which each one of the four 

 soldiers who are to occupy it carries his por- 

 tion. These afford a slight protection from 

 rains and heavy dews at night, but most of the 

 soldiers prefer sleeping in the open air. Where 

 a camp is somewhat permanent, the soldiers 

 often build huts. These are generally large 

 enough to contain 20 men, and should, but do 

 not always, have a ridge ventilation. There 

 is a great tendency to overcrowding in the 

 camps, by placing them too c\osely on the plot 

 selected for a camp. The army regulations, 

 based on the number of men in the old Wedge 

 tent, prescribed a density of population equal 

 to 86,448 to the square mile, a far greater num- 

 ber than are crowded into the same space in 

 either London or New York. With the Sibley 

 tent, the application of this rule would have 

 led to a density nearly three times greater than 

 this. The evil effects of such overcrowding 

 were soon exhibited in the increase of sickness 

 in the camps, and the space occupied has been 

 greatly enlarged by the commanding generals. 

 The police regulations .of the camp must be 

 strictly enforced, or there is invariably a serious 

 increase of illness. Every tent or hut must 

 have a trench around it, the streets and open 

 spaces must be carefully swept every day, and 

 all garbage and filth carried off, the latrines 

 placed to leeward of the camp, and a foot of 

 fresh earth thrown on them daily, fires built in 

 the open spaces, as often as military necessity 

 will admit, tents struck and moved to another 



position, and the earth on which they stood al- 

 lowed to sun, and the sides of the tents raised 

 to admit fresh air. With the observance of 

 these precautions, a camp life is favorable 

 rather than prejudicial to health. 



The attention to ventilation, the avoidance 

 of overcrowding, and the careful observance of 

 cleanliness, so requisite in camp, are still more 

 necessary in barracks, and in addition to these, 

 there should be strict regard given to bathing and 

 ablution by every inmate. Most of the barracks 

 have ample provision for this, and it should be 

 enforced, if necessary, as a matter of discipline. 



While great attention has been paid to the 

 hygienic condition of the camps and barracks, 

 a work in which the Medical Inspectors of tho 

 Sanitary Commission have rendered valuable 

 service to the army and to the medical depart- 

 ment, that department has performed a Hercu- 

 lean labor in the erection and fitting up of 233 

 general hospitals, in different parts of the coun- 

 try, beside a very considerable number of post; 

 and garrison hospitals. These hospitals aro 

 generally temporary structures, intended to 

 last, without material repairs, for ten years, bin 

 in their vast extent, their admirable plans, and 

 their completeness of outfit, they have never 

 been approached by those of any other nation. 

 At the commencement of the war, the War De- 

 partment had no hospitals, save a few post and 

 garrison establishments of antiquated design, 

 and whose aggregate capacity was less than that 

 of a single one of the magnificent structures 

 since erected. In the battles of the spring of 

 1862, though new hospitals were erected with 

 the utmost rapidity, consistent with their 

 thorough adaptation to the wants of the pa- 

 tients, they were inadequate to accommodate 

 the tens of thousands of the sick and wounded 

 who needed care, and the Government was 

 compelled to solicit the admission of its patient 

 sufferers into the civil hospitals in the large 

 cities. In this way many were provided for in 

 Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, 

 Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville. 

 The pushing forward of the new hospitals to 

 completion, as well as the erection of others, 

 meantime occupied the energies of the Quar- 

 termaster-General and the Surgeon- General, 

 both men of extraordinary executive ability, and 

 in the autumn of 1862, they were able to an- 

 nounce their readiness to accommodate in their 

 own hospitals all their sick and wounded. In 

 the construction and administration of thos<3 

 hospitals the Surgeon-General laid down thes<3 

 principles to be observed : 



1st. That they should be capable of being 

 well ventilated. 



2d. That each should be sufficiently capacious 

 for the number of inmates it was to contain. 



3d. That they should admit of good drainage. 



4th. That they should be provided witli ;i 

 sufficient number of windows. 



5th. That the kitchen, laundry, and other 

 offices of administration, should be separated 

 from the wards, well arranged, and of ample size. 



