UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



760 



encamped until they were ordered to Cuba. Later, 

 volunteer regiments, out of which the First and 

 Third Corps were organized, were drilled here, and 

 troops kept coming until nearly 60,000 were col- 

 lected in this spot, which became a nursery of ty- 

 phoid fever. After 425 men had died the War De- 

 partment broke up the camp, sending the troops to 

 other quarters. On May 2 a camp was established 

 at Tampa, Fla., which was the port of embarkation 

 for troops sent to Cuba. Gen. Shafter's Fifth 

 Army Corps was organized and trained here, and 

 though there was congestion of men and material 

 and much confusion and lack of proper supplies 

 and camp equipment, epidemic disease did not 

 break out and only 56 deaths occurred, (.'amp 

 Cuba Libre, at Jacksonville, Fla., first established 

 on May 26 and commanded by Major-Gen. Fitz- 

 hugh Lee, was the best managed and kept of all the 

 camps. There the Seventh Corps was organized 

 and trained in brigade evolutions, and the camp 



el of quartering soldiei> in the cities having been 

 vetoed by Secretary Alger, it was decided to estab- 

 lish small cumus in the vicinity of Southern cities, 

 as Camp Wheeler at HuntaviUe, Ala.. Tamp Hamil- 

 ton at Lexington, Ky.. Camp Poland at Knoxville 

 Tenn., Camp Shipp at Anniston. A la., and other* at 

 Athens, Macon, Atlanta, Huntsvilli-. (inenboro, 

 and other towns in North and South Carolina and 

 Georgia. At Camp Poland 23 men died ; at Cainp 

 Shipp, 12; at Camp Hamilton, 2'J ; at ('amp Wheel- 

 er, 3.1. At other minor camps and po-t.s in the east 

 the number of deaths was 373. As tin; months 

 went on, better supplies were furnished, sanitary 

 precautions were taken, and better care was given 

 to the sick, so that the health of the troops was 

 much improved, even before the cool weather came 

 to diminish the chances of infection. The numljer 

 of deaths in the camps at San Francisco was 139, 

 making the total number of deaths from disease 

 and accidents 2,435. The sickness and debility of 



HOSPITAL TENT, CAMP WIKOFF. 



was always full from the time of its establishment 

 until Gen. Lee took his soldiers to Havana in De- 

 cember, they having been selected as the ones most 

 fit for relieving the Spanish garrisons in Cuba. 

 There never was any lack of proper food or water, 

 as at Tampa and other camps. Drainage, bathing 

 facilities, and other sanitary arrangements were 

 provided here alone, and no epidemic was devel- 

 oped. The total number of deaths was 246. Camp 

 Alger. established at Dunn Loring, near Falls 

 Church, Va., on May 18, had a deficient water sup- 

 ply, and very soon typhoid fever broke out in epi- 

 demic form. The hospitals were filled with pa- 

 tients, and after 107 deaths had occurred the camp 

 was condemned and the troops sent in August to 

 Camp Meade, at Middletown, Pa., where 64 moi'e 

 deaths resulted from fever contracted at Camp Al- 

 ger. The War Department at this time concluded 

 that, large camps were fatal places for soldiers and 

 dangerous to the health of the country. The proj- 

 VOL. xxxvni. 49 A 



the men in the trenches before Santiago was aggra- 

 vated by the lack of ambulances, which Gen. Shaf- 

 ter in his eagerness to shorten the campaign, had 

 omitted to take along, of medical supplies, winch 

 were left on the ships for lack of method in packing 

 and discharging the cargoes, and for want of a suf- 

 ficiency and variety of food, due to defects in the 

 commissary and transport sen ices. Many of tho 

 staff officers appointed from civil life were unac- 

 quainted with or neglectful of their duties. 



The Government attempted to supply the troopi 

 with refrigerated beef; but through some oversight 

 the contracts provided that it should keep only 

 twenty-four hours after delivery, instead of seventy- 

 two hours as was intended. Much of it was said io 

 be spoiled before it readied the camps, and some of 

 it had the odor and appearance of having been in- 

 jected with boracic or salicylic acid or some such 

 preservative fluid. Much of the canned roast beef 

 was so low in quality and so deficient in nutritive 



