Statistics, medical and anthropological, of the provost-marshal-general's bureau derived from records of the examination for military service in the armies of the United States during the late war of the rebellion of over a million recruits, drafted men, substitutes, and enrolled men. Compiled under the direction of the secretary of war. Vol. I / by J. H. Baxter.

  • Baxter, J. H.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Statistics, medical and anthropological, of the provost-marshal-general's bureau derived from records of the examination for military service in the armies of the United States during the late war of the rebellion of over a million recruits, drafted men, substitutes, and enrolled men. Compiled under the direction of the secretary of war. Vol. I / by J. H. Baxter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    A comparative vieiv of the instructions issiied hy the United States Government and hy the principed governments of JEurope for the guidance of the medical, officer in the exami- nation of recruits. In the United States, as in most of the great kingdoms of Europe, the limitations as to height and age of the reernit have varied -svith the urgency of the demand for men. The rejection for ph3^sical disqnalilication, such as disease or deformity, how- ever, has admitted of no such variation. The experience of all nations has demon- strated the uselessness of attempting to conduct military operations to advantage nnle'ss the rigid scrutinj' of the surgeon has been exerted to exclude such men as wei*e subjects of or predisposed to disease, or Avere untitted to sustain the continued fatigue and exposure of the march. It has been estimated by an eminent English statistician that in time of peace 7 per cent, of the fighting-men of the army are habitually in hospital. In the peninsular war 21 per cent, of tlie British forces were constantly in hospital; “but the Crimea was the culminating point, for there 39 ])er cent, of the force Avas sick on an aA^erage during seven months, and the destruction of life Avas enormous.” Well ma^ Dr. Earr add, “Nothing is so expensive as an unhealthy mili- tary force.” The sickness-rate for the troops generally in the United Kingdom from 18G0 to 1839 aA^eraged 4.782 per cent., and in 1870 only 3.858 per cent.“ It is knoAvn that the Erench troops engaged in the Crimea Avere better cared for by their officers and AA^ere more judiciously provided Avith comforts than either the English or Sardinian forces; yet an arm} of 50,000 French soldiers on their AAuiy to Sebastopol, before the adA’ent of the cholera, left 5,500 men in hospital on the Avay.^ It is difficult to make an} comparison Avith these figures of the constant sickness- rates of our forces in the late Avar, as the casualties from Avounds AAere general!}' included in the returns. Mr. Elliott’s tables sIioaa that for a period of about six months the sickness-rate A'aried from 7 to nearly 17 per cent., the larger rate occurring among tlie Avestern forces.^ These rates are probably underestimated. The com})laints of commanding generals and the experience of regimental surgeons demonstrated a lamentable discrepancy betAveen the force on pajier and the number of men ready for duty in the field. The success of an army depends so largely upon the fidelity and capacity of the recruiting surgeon that it becomes interesting to compare the regulations established for his guidance in different nations ; and AA'ith this vieAv application AAas made, through the State Department, to the goA'ernments of Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, 1 The health of the British army, and the effect of recent sanitary measures on its mortality and sickness, by Dr. I’Aiii!.— Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. xxiv, p. 480, London, 18G1. -Army Medical Report for 1870, p. 37. ^Recrutement de Varmeeetpopulation de la France, par le Dr. J. C. CiiKXU, Ito, Paris, 18G7, p. G. •* (M the military statistics of the United States of Anurica, 4to, Berlin, 1863, p. 7.