INTRODUCTORY. IH 



latter, 21,125, or a ratio of 204.17 per thousand, were rejected. The total number, 

 then, of examinations, (exclusive of enrolled men who came up for exemption from 

 the draft, or ratlier to have their names stricken fi-om the enrollment-lists,) that were 

 made under the authority of the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, and of which 

 records more or less complete were made and preserved, is 910,652. 



March 17, 1866, Maj. Gen. James B. Fry, Provost-Marshal-General of the United 

 States,' submitted to the Secretary of War a final report of the operations of his Bureau, 

 including "a historical report of the operations of the medical branch," and "a ^yrdim- 

 iiiary report of the medical statistics on file." Before the Bureau was discontinued, 

 (August 28, 1866,) it was evident that very valuable statistical matter existed, in the 

 form of disconnected records, which, if compiled in a shape to be readily consulted, 

 and so arranged as to present comparative results, would be of great value, but which 

 must necessarily be lost to the world unless some action were taken by Congress to 

 provide for its compilation and pubhcation. To this end, resolutions were passed by 

 the Senate and the House of Representatives on July 9, 1866, directing the Secretary 

 of War "to communicate * * * a report of the medical statistics collected during 

 the war in the Bureau of the Provost-Marshal-General by Surgeon J. H. Baxter as soon 

 as such report can be compiled and prepared by him ;" and in accordance with this 

 resolution the work was commenced on August 28, 1866, and has steadily progressed 

 up to the present time, (1S75,) the necessary appropriation of money having been made 

 by Congress July 28, 1866. 



Of the records, covering the examination of over a million men, a little over one- 

 half have been used, owing to incompleteness in the remainder. This incompleteness 

 was found largely among those of an earlier date — those made prior to the establish- 

 ment of the medical branch ; but as those which could be used seemed to be fair repre- 

 sentatives of all, the omission abridged the work rather than detracted from its value. 

 I believe the data from which these statistics are comjjiled vastly exceed in extent any 

 of a similar nature ever before collected and published; and the exclusion of all incom- 

 plete records from the statistics, while it does not reduce the number of examinations 

 actually made use of to a low number, renders them free from the objection that, in 

 many instances, statisticians resort to the calculus of probabilities to eke out the meager 

 foiindation on which their conclusions are based. 



The examinations, the records of which form the groundwork of these statistics, 

 were conducted in the manner following : A large room, having abundance of light, 

 was chosen as the examining-room, upon entering which the recruit was required to 

 divest liimself of all his clothing; and as this was done in the presence of the exanaining 

 surgeon, any defect, as a stiff joint, &c., which the volunteer or substitute would wish 

 to conceal would often be detected, especially as he would be thi-own off his guard, not 

 supposing the examination had commenced. Similarly, a feigned defect could be 

 detected. Having divested himself of his clothing, he was asked his name, age, nativity, 

 and occupation, and questioned in regard to his general health and that of his family, 

 whether any hereditary taints existed, and if he had ever suffered from any disease or 

 accident, thus endeavoring to obtain all the information possible concerning him, his 

 conversation at the same time enabling the surgeon to judge of his mental as well as of 



' Message and Docnmeiifs, War Depaitniert, Part 3, ]86!i-'e6. 



