224 surgeons' beports — riiode island — first district. 



It was the common report in this district tlmt thon\ne-mouth>i \o\i\iite('rn j^rerenicd enlistments; 

 of the truth of this I have not the least doubt. 



I woukl also recommend, for the better protection of Government and people against the 

 intolerable horde of vampires spawned by the war iu sbai)e of substitute-brokers and bouiity-,jnm[t- 

 ers, that tbe payment of all bounties to volunteer recruits be regulated and controlled by the 

 General Government, and that States and localities be prohibited from ottering bounties for that 

 purpose. 



The pay and bounty should be liberal. Tbe man who accepts a dangerous employment should 

 be well rewarded for the risks; but let it come after the service is rendered. 



Volunteer recruits and substitutes should only be allowed to enlist iu the district where they 

 bad a residence at the time of the call ; for the Navy, thej' might with propriety be accepted from 

 any source. 



If that nuisance had been averted, the efficiency of our Army would have been greater, and 

 the calls for trooi)s less earnest and frequent. I caunot refrain fiom quoting a portion of the 

 report of Colonel Cogswell, of the Second IMassachusetts Infantry, on this point: " During the 

 year (1804) about eight hundred and seventy-live men (if some of them can be called men) have 

 been recruited m Boston for this regiment. Out of this number, three hundred and forty have 

 joined for duty ; the remainder haviug deserted en route. Out of this number of three hundred and 

 forty, one hundred and twelve have deserted from the regiment. These men never intended to go 

 as far as they did, but probably found no opportunity to desert until they reached the regiment; 

 and when uien will desert from the picliet-liue to the' enemy, as many of them have done, no dis- 

 cipline or restrictions of camp will hold them. It needs no suggestion as to the proi)riety or i)rac- 

 ticability of tilling a quota with such men. It is Ibrtunate for the regiment that such men did not 

 join us, or did not remain with us, for such me;i will not and do not intend to tight or do their duty, 

 and the sooner they are separated from those that intend to remain and become soldiers the better. 

 These deserters have been confined entirely to recruits, a majority of them Dutchmen, though 

 many of them were Americans and New York City ruffians." 



' The above statement needs no comment. The money squandered by way of bounties on those 

 worthless rascals wouhl have raised and equipped two or three regiments of eflicient men. 



There can be no doubt but that huge numbeis of these bounty -jumpers were recruited by rebel 

 agents iu the provinces, and transferred to their army through our recruitiug-offlces, with the 

 additional bounties. # * # 



SAMUEL DUNCAN, 

 Surgeo7i Board of Enrollment Tenth District 2Iassachtisetts. 



Springfield, Mass., May 12, 1SC5. 



RUODE ISLAND— FIEST DISTRICT. 

 Extracts from report of Dr. C. G. ISIcKnight. 



* • * My experience in examining men for military service commenced with the First 

 Regiment Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry. Tlie whole number examined by me is not far from 

 G,()(H) men. 



Rhode Island, i)articularly the first district, is admirably located for health, being situated 

 ui)on the shores of Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. There is no assignal)le cause for 

 l)revailing diseases, excepting the sudden changes of tem])erature and the prevalence of easterly 

 winds, which cause consumption to jirevail. Indeed, this disease is almost a scourge to the entire 

 region. 



The inhabitants are mainly divided into merchants, manufacturers, and operatives; and, as a 

 whole, are industrious, enterpiising, and energetic. 



The cause of so many exemptions from the service is the large number presenting themselves, 

 who have been disabled by the accidents aud diseases incident to the life of operatives and workers 

 iu fa(!tories, machine-shops, &c. # • • 



