20G SURGEONS' REPORTS MASSACHUSETTS — FOURTH DISTRICT. 



to clothing', &c., of the recruits. In examining even CO, the surgeon, if he go througli any " drill" 

 like that given above, would be •well tired before fiuishiug. I have no doubt that any one with less 

 care, and perhaps less physical labor, might '■'■scanorer^ twice or three times as many, but I have 

 thought to do my dut>- to the Government ircU rather than ipucily. » * * 



The actual feigning of diseases, or the undue coniidaining of the efl'ects of simi^le ailments, was 

 not uncommon. The actual feigning of blindness of the right eye, or of some other disability 

 mentioned in the list in paragraph 85, was not so frequent as complaints of severity of diseases and 

 disabilities actually existing. The troubles about the eye were submitted to an expert who was 

 able to detect the malingerer. In regard to all disabilities, I required the sworn testimony of ac- 

 quaintances and attfrding ]ihjsicians before exempting. Ey pursuing this course, I think few 

 dralted men t^ciijcd unl(ss tin y deserved to do so. Though the following occurrence did not 

 hiijipen in this distri( t, I was inCoimed of it by the surgeon on whom the deception was tried, 

 and the tact shown by that officer was so good that the anecdote deserves record: A man com- 

 l>lained of being stove-dicf. He could not hearthe slightest sound. The surgeon remarked that he 

 must examine the man naked. When strip])ed, the ofiicer bent down as if to examine the knee, and, 

 appai-ently soliloquizing, said in an undertone, as he w-as feeling of one knee : " It is surprising this 

 knee has never caused lameness; if the man had mentioned this there would have been no doubt 

 about my ability to exempt him." The man's ears were unclosed, and, forgetting his previous 

 deceit, he eagerly said, " Well, sir, it is true that I cannot walk at all, or for any distance, without 

 lameness." " Ah," replied the surgeon, "as you have recovered your hearing so suddenly, I think 

 your lameness will disappear with equal ease when you are in the Array. As for your knees, they 

 are both alike, and healthy, so far as I can see. My soliloquy was simply to test your hearing." 



Sharpness of wit, accurate and careful examinations on the part of the surgeon, and the sworn 

 testimony of others, and, if possible, of indifferent persons, will enable the examining-officer to 

 clear up almost all difficulties. 



* * * My conviction is that no nationality can be better for a soldier's life 

 than the honest, intelligeni, law-abiding yeomanry of Massachusetts and New England. This 

 war has ettectually exploded the time honored erior that an ignorant brute, a half-dog specimen of 

 man, is better for a soldier than a reader and a thinker uiion the cause he is fighting for. Obedience, 

 but not blind obedience, is better than slavish fear of an oflScer. * # * Hence, 

 soldiers from the North and West are to be preferred to any other "nationality." As to "phy- 

 sique," I doubt whether any " nationality " ever presented more splendid and finer formed men-at- 

 arms than were to be found in some of the regiments from Maine. # * # Next 

 to the American, I should class the Germans for their moial, intellectual, and physical qualities. 

 Their fine, compact muscle, honest-looking, intelligent faces, were very striking. The two whom I 

 deemed the most perfectly-formed soldiers I examined during my two years of service, (in which 

 time no less than 5,816 men passed under my eye,) were German youths just from their fatherland. 



* * * Next to the German I would place the negro. Those of this race that 

 I examined were lithe of limb and strong. Finally, I should place the Irish lowest of the four. 

 Strong, stout, impulsive, undisciplined, and unpolished, Ireland has sent many men to this war; 

 not, however, by any means, in proportion to its quota of population, as I think. Their total want 

 of cleanliness and their indisposition to strict discipline I should think grave blemishes. Never- 

 theless, their fearless impulsiveness and undaunted bravery in many a fight prove their ability to 

 be true soldiers. 



* * * The enrollment-law as it now stands is comprehensive enough, and by 

 it we can hold all who really ought to be soldiers, and exempt all others. 



I think section 22 should be so altered as to allow the surgeon of the board to employ at times 

 an expert to help him to decide upon certain doubtful cases where the diagnosis is impossible, per- 

 haps, with the means at hand at the office. In snch cases, of course, the man examined would pay 

 for the consultation ; hence, no extra expense would accrue to the Government, nor do 1 think 

 there would be any real risk of collusion between the examiner and the drafted man. 



HENRY J. BOWDITCH, 



iSurgcon of Fourth Diatrict of Massachusetts. 

 Boston, June lili, 18G5. 



