SURGEONS' REPORTS RHODE ISLAND SECOND DISTRICT. 225 



Tlio number of iiioii that ciiii be i)li,vsifally examined in six working lioiiis, under the system 

 adopted by me, is tVoniyi'>r^(/ to/(»*-^,i/-^ir('. # # # 



Tile nationality wliich presents the greatest physical aptitude for military service would almost 

 always be conceded to be tijc Irish; but my experience leads me to believe that, in their capacity 

 for adapting themselves to circumstances, ingenuity in construction, and ability to take care of 

 themselves, the native born Americau excels all others; and of these it is my opinion that a real 

 Yankee combines the greatest number of soldierly requisites. 



My experience in regard to the colored race is so limited, that I hardly dare to express a posi- 

 tive opinion. I can say, however, that 1 believe a genuine black man to be far superior in physical 

 endurance to the mulatto or yellow negro ; the last named are, with lew exceptions, scrotulous or 

 consumptive. 



In regard to the eurollmentlaw, as it now exists, it appears to me to be, on the whole, fair and 

 just to the drafted man. Oases of individual hardship were occasionally to be met with, but no 

 oftener than is found under any general law. 



I would suggest the following amendu.eut, which, if it had been a part of the original law, 

 would have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Government, viz: That hereafter any 

 man claiming a discharge for a disability, /cwow/i by him to have existed previous to kin enlistment, 

 shall be held in State prison, or af work on fortifications, during the full term of said enlistment, 

 without pay or bounty. 



The result of such an amendment to the law would be twofold : first, it would prevent a man 

 with a disease like epilepsy, or any other likely to deceive the surgeon, from offering himself; and, 

 S(^condly, from trying to obtain a discharge on account of the same after he was enlisted. 



One case as an illustration: A man enlisted at this office went to New Haven, had a tit, 

 (epileptic,) aiul was discharged; his brother took him to Boston in the first train, and again enlisted 

 him, only to be again disc^harged. In this way, thousands and tens of thousands of dollars were 

 stolen from the Government. 



c. G. Mcknight, 



Surgeon Board of Enrollment, First District of Rhode Island, ' 

 Providbnck, It. I., July 1, 1865. 



KHODE ISLAND.— SECOND DISTKICT. 



Extracts from report oy" Dr. F. II. Peokham. 



* * * My labors in examining men for the military service commenced with the 

 outbreak of the rebellion, and continued during its existence, in one capacity or another. The 

 number I have examined is about 0,000. * # # 



The "State of llhode Island and Pjovidence Plantations" has the smallest area of territory 

 and the largest name of any of the United States. It has but two districts. The first district 

 embraces the eastern half of the State, and includes the greater part of the population. The 

 second, or western, district is larger in area, but not so densely populated. The most prominent 

 geographical feature of the State is Narragansett Bay, a sheet of water about thirty miles long and 

 twelve miles wide in its broadest [lart. This bay forms the eastern boundary of the second district, 

 which is about forty miles in length from north to south, and averages about seventeen miles in 

 width. The distririt is bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, on the 

 south by Long Island Sound, and on the east, as before stated, by Narragansett Bay. 



This district is distinguished by granite rocks, mostly gneiss, forming hills of moderate 

 elevation, of which the general direction is from north to south. The whole district, from Western 

 Coiuiecticut to Narragansett Bay, has this general character. The larger streams for the most part 

 run east ward ly in their course, emptying into Narragansett Bay; but in the southern towiishii)s they 

 flow southwestwardly, parallel to the general trend of the coast, and empty into the Atlantic 

 Ocean. The small streams, however, often show the influence of the prevailing north and south 

 course of the hills. The district is generally blessed with plenty of good pure water. It is not 

 generally densely populated. The mast populous ))ortion8 are the manufacturing villages lining 

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