No. 8.
Report of Surg. George E. Cooper, U. S. Army,
Medical Director, Department of the Cumberland.
SIR: My report of
the medical department of the Army of the Cumberland from the time of the invasion
of Northern Alabama and Tennessee by the rebel army under General Hood till the
defeat of the same by the Government forces in front of Nashville, and the
pursuit thereof to beyond the Tennessee River, must be a meager and
unsatisfactory one in consequence of my having been separated from the army,
and not having myself been in active campaign with it until after the battle of
Franklin, Tenn., when it presented itself in the defenses of Nashville. The
proceedings of the medical corps are, however, exceedingly well pointed out in
the accompanying report of Surg. J. Theo. Heard, medical director Fourth Army
Corps, who in person accompanied that corps—all that was left as an organized
force of the old Army of the Cumberland, the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps
having been taken by Major-General Sherman to form a portion of the army with
which he made the great raid through Georgia.
At the time of
evacuating Atlanta the corps hospitals of the Army of the Cumberland were, as
they had been in the summer campaign, fully organized and equipped, and were
ready to move at a moment's notice. The general field hospital, under the
charge of Surg. M. C. Woodworth, was in fine condition and of sufficient
capacity to receive all the sick and wounded of the army, who, on the breaking
up of the division hospitals, might require medical treatment. Supplies of all
kinds had been called for and procured by the field medical purveyor, and the
army corps were amply and liberally supplied. The ambulances, which had been
greatly used during the summer campaign, were repaired and put in as
serviceable condition as the time and material on hand would admit of. When the
rebel army fell upon the line of railroad at our rear the inconvenience
suffered therefrom was, as far as the medical department was concerned, in
reality nothing. The only article which ran short was whisky, and this was
procured in ample quantities from the subsistence department. The quality,
though not equal to that furnished by the medical department, was good enough
for all practicable purposes.
The Fourth and
Fourteenth Army Corps, having been detailed to follow Hood's army to the rear,
the sick from their division hospitals were transferred to the general field
hospital, where they were cared for as well as could be wished for, and the
troops left Atlanta entirely disencumbered with sick or wounded men. What
occurred from that time till the last days of November, 1864, is known to me by
hearsay only and from reading the reports furnished these headquarters. For this
information I refer to the excellent report of Surgeon Heard, medical director,
Fourth Army Corps, who, having been one of that little band who held the whole
rebel army in check from Decatur, Ala., to Nashville, Tenn., is far more
competent to make the report than I. Synchronous with my arrival at Nashville
from Atlanta and Chattanooga came reports of the falling back of our army from
Pulaski, Tenn., and of heavy and continuous skirmishing with Hood's advance. On
the 30th of November came the news that a severe action had taken place near
Franklin, Tenn., and that our losses in both killed and wounded had been heavy.
The medical director of the Fourth Army Corps was immediately telegraphed to
and asked if he required a hospital train, and early next morning hospital
train No. 2 was sent to Brentwood, between Nashville and Franklin. On the night
of November 30 two freight trains loaded with wounded from skirmishes beyond
Franklin, and which had been brought to that place in ambulances, arrived here.
The wounded were transferred to the general hospitals here, and were promptly
and skillfully cared for by the medical officers there on duty.
On the following day
the troops arrived from Franklin, bringing with them quite a number of wounded,
but having, unfortunately, been compelled to leave by far the greater portion
in the hands of the enemy. Almost at the same time came the troops commanded by
Maj. Gen. A. J. Smith. These troops were deficient in almost everything
belonging to the hospital department; they had no organized ambulance corps or
trains; there was no division or brigade organization of hospitals, but were as
they had been from the beginning of the war, and seemed to have learned nothing
from experience or the example of others, and opposed every improvement as an
innovation. They had but few medical supplies, and were wanting in almost
everything which would aid them in alleviating the sufferings of the sick and
wounded of their commands. It became necessary to fit them out with all possible
dispatch, which was done; and thanks are due to Surg. Robert Fletcher, U.S.
Volunteers, medical purveyor, for his energy, efficiency, and promptness in
this emergency. No one could have performed the duties of purveyor in a manner
more creditable to himself or with greater benefit to the Government.
As soon as the
troops arrived in front of Nashville they were placed in the lines and were
compelled to throw up intrenchments. They were much prostrated by their
constant harassing night and day marches from the Tennessee River to Nashville;
but, notwithstanding this, in a short time, by constant and severe labor, works
were thrown up which rendered Nashville impregnable. As the army was short of
men, it became necessary to call to the aid of the beleaguered city all the
troops within call. Consequently, the different detachments of the army which
left Atlanta with General Sherman, and had remained behind, in hospitals and
otherwise, were organized into a temporary corps under the command of
Major-General Steedman. This extemporized corps was without any organization
whatever, and to it was attached the regiments of colored troops. It is
impossible for me to learn if these troops consider themselves a part and
parcel of the Army of the Cumberland, or a separate command made for Colonel
Mussey. I should judge them to be out of the department did I take the
attention they pay to the existence of this office as a criterion. They are
more irregular in forwarding their reports than any regiments in the Army of
the Cumberland.
The weather, which,
previous to the arrival of the troops, had been moderate, became, shortly after
their arrival at Nashville, excessively cold for this latitude. The result of
this was much suffering on the part of the troops and the comparative cessation
of all offensive measures on the part of either army. At this time the results
of the fatigue undergone by the troops in the retreat from Decatur and the
subsequent labor in the trenches began to show themselves in the greatly
increased number of men who presented themselves for medical treatment. Many,
too, who had without detriment to their health undergone all the hardships of
the summer and fall campaign, now yielded to the effects of the bitter cold,
and diseases of the pulmonary viscera became numerous. Rheumatic affections,
too, became quite prevalent. The advent of the rebel army in front of
Nashville, and the fact of intrenching itself, rendered the necessity of a
general action a moral certainty. To prepare for the sick and wounded of the
Government forces demanded a much larger amount of hospital accommodation than
was at that time at the disposal of the hospital department. Anticipating a
large influx of wounded, the efficient superintendent and director of U.S.
general hospitals at Nashville took possession of every building that could be
made use of for hospital purposes and had them fitted up with all possible
dispatch. Consequently, some 4,000 vacant beds were at the disposal of the
medical department. The Assistant Surgeon-General, too, anticipating the
necessity, ordered to Nashville a large number of medical officers, of whom
many arrived prior to the actions and all in sufficient time to be of the
greatest service to the wounded in the battles in front of Nashville. The medical
officers of the Fourth Army Corps, being emphatically experts in the care of
the wounded after battle, had everything prepared for prompt and efficient
action. They had supplied themselves with all the necessaries, and, in
addition, had procured all the delicacies within their reach. The result was
that after the actions of 15th and 16th of December the men belonging to the
Fourth Army Corps, and all who were brought to the field hospitals of that
corps, were promptly and skillfully treated and most carefully provided for.
Too much praise cannot be awarded to the medical staff of the Fourth Army Corps
for their untiring attention and skillful manner of treating the wounded in
their division hospitals. Were it not invidious to designate and particularize
by name certain officers when all are worthy, I would give a list of the
medical officers who so faithfully performed their duty. This I will not do,
but justice to themselves demands that I should mention and particularize
Surgs. M. G. Sherman, Ninth Indiana Volunteers; Stephen J. Young, Seventy-ninth
Illinois Volunteers; E.B. Glick, Fortieth Indiana Volunteers, and C. N.
Ellinwood, Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteers, as men deserving of more than
ordinary notice. Previous to the battles instructions had been given to the
surgeons in charge to establish division field hospitals as near to the field
as practicable, and strict orders were issued directing the surgeons to operate
on the field upon all requiring it, previous to transferring the men to the general
hospitals in the city.
The weather, which
had entirely stopped all offensive military operations, having moderated
considerably, the army on the morning of December 15 marched out beyond the
fortifications for the purpose of assaulting the enemy's lines. The medical
department of the Army of the Cumberland proper were prepared to attend to any
number of wounded brought in to them from the field, and established their
hospitals as near the front as the safety of the wounded and the configuration
of the country would admit of. Water being quite plenty, position only had to
be sought for. The extemporized corps, commanded by Major-General Steedman, had
no organized medical staff. This was composed of all the surgeons who could be
found unattached, in consequence of being on leave of absence or having been
separated from their regiments which had marched from Atlanta with
Major-General Sherman. To these were added the medical officers of the U.S.
Colored Troops. This portion of the medical staff was under the charge of Surg.
Josiah D. Cotton, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteers, who acted as medical director.
Though hastily brought together and lacking in all the appurtenances for field
hospitals, the medical officers of this command did all in their power to
assist and relieve the wounded under their charge. The only great drawback to
prompt action in this portion of the army was the entire absence of an
ambulance corps. The blockade of the Cumberland River by the rebel batteries
had prevented the quartermaster's department from bringing a sufficient number
to Nashville. To avoid the want of ambulances as much as possible, every one
that could be found in Nashville, no matter in what capacity used, was taken
possession of and sent into the field, to be used as circumstances might
demand. This, in a manner, served in the place of an ambulance corps, but the
want of system and organization was most apparent. The soldiery wounded in the
action of the 15th of December were, on the same night, brought into the city
and placed in the U.S. general hospitals, where every necessary attention was
paid them. Such as had not been operated upon were then examined, and such
measures were taken as their cases demanded. The wounded in the action of the
16th of December, 1864, were also brought in and placed in the general
hospitals. Some were brought in by ambulances of the corps and some by
vehicles, which had been impressed for that purpose. Surg. O. Q. Herrick,
Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteers, superintendent of transportation of sick and
wounded, made use of all available means to remove from the field each and
every wounded man found there. This was a matter of no little labor, for the
scene covered several miles, and wounded men were in every portion of it, and
the cavalry wounded even farther distant; yet, by midday of the 17th of
December all our wounded were in comfortable hospitals, the recipients of every
attention that skill and science could furnish. The pursuit of the enemy
entailed, as a necessary consequence, much more labor in the care of the
wounded. The railroads were destroyed, and all the wounded had to be
transferred by means of ambulances to the hospitals at Franklin, Columbia, and
Pulaski. This was done under the supervision of Surg. O. Q. Herrick; and too
much praise cannot be given him for his untiring energy and labor in collecting
and bringing in from the houses in the vicinity of the line of march the
wounded of our own and the rebel army. The cavalry in advance paid but little
attention to their wounded, but left them in houses by the roadside, to be
cared for by the surgeons of the infantry troops who were following. The Fourth
Army Corps carried with them the sick and wounded in ambulances until they
arrived where proper hospital accommodations could be furnished. The Sixteenth
and Twenty-third Army Corps, not being-in the advance, had no wounded to care
for.
In Franklin,
Columbia, and Pulaski a large number of rebel wounded were found who had been
left by their army. A sufficient number of medical officers had been left with
them to give them proper attention. These wounded were, as soon as practicable,
transferred in hospital cars to Nashville, where they were placed in one large
hospital. The medical officer in charge was directed to furnish them all
necessaries and such luxuries as the condition of their wounds required. This
was done until the arrival of the Commissary-General of Prisoners, who directed
that the wounded rebels should be confined to prison hospital rations. I do not
think that it is the intention of the Government to deprive wounded men, rebels
though they be, of everything needful for their treatment. Prison hospitals
being at a distance from the front, it was not expected that wounded men would
be brought there till sufficiently well to travel, when diet would be but a
matter of minor import. No surgeon can give good results if he be not allowed
to use every article called for by sinking nature and to treat disease
untrammeled by orders from non-professional men.
The wounded of our
armies who were left at Franklin, Columbia, and Pulaski had medical officers
detailed to remain with them until the railroad should have been repaired, when
those who could bear transportation were to be removed to Nashville. The
necessary supplies were left with the sick and wounded as far as was
practicable, but not in such abundance as would have been furnished had the
railroad been intact.
The weather during
the pursuit was of the most disagreeable character. Rain fell for four
successive days, and when this ceased the weather grew severely cold. This was
followed by rain, rain, rain, and as a sequence mud. Probably in no part of the
war have the men suffered more from inclement weather than in the month of
December, 1864, when following Hood's retreating army from Nashville to the
Tennessee River. The result of this weather and the hard marching was, as might
have been looked for, severe affections of the pulmonary viscera, fevers,
rheumatism, and diarrheas, which served to fill the hospitals in this vicinity
to their utmost capacity.
The number of men
wounded in the actions in front of Nashville will never be correctly furnished,
in consequence of the character of some of the troops engaged and their having
no organized medical department. The records of this office, as far as
furnished, show for the actions from Decatur to Nashville, 402 wounded; in
front of Nashville and during the pursuit of the rebels, 1,717 wounded. The
wounds were caused by musketry, throwing conoidal projectiles, and by artillery
of the latest and most approved character. The wounds were received at all
distances, from contact with the muzzle of the piece to the extreme range of
artillery and musketry. The character of many of the wounds were of the most
severe kind, having been received at short range, consequent upon the
peculiarity of the battle, which was a series of charges upon heavily fortified
lines held by strong forces of the enemy.
The medical officers
of the Army of the Cumberland did in this campaign all that men could do to
alleviate the sufferings of the wounded soldiery, and have only added to the
envious reputation gained by them on many a former battle-field. They are
skillful, zealous, untiring, and faithful, knowing their whole duty and doing
it most conscientiously. The medical officers of Sixteenth Corps did their duty
well and faithfully, but want of systematic organization crippled their
movements most perceptibly.
I will transmit the
nominal list of wounded as soon as it can be made out; it will be defective in
the Cavalry Corps and in those troops commanded by Major-General Steedman.
ASST. ADJT. GEN., DEPT. OF THE CUMBERLAND,
Nashville, Tenn.
SOURCE: The
War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 45, Part 1 (Serial No. 93), p. 107-11
