&■■ J REPORT OP It) 3 5-6 REV. F. H. BUSHNELL, HOSPITAL VISITOR. UNITEI. STATr.M Sanitxrv Commivsiom,') Louisville, Kv , Apiii I, l**3. / J. S. Newberry, M. D., Secretary of M estern Department: Sir: In my last report I allrded at the close to the wrong done the soldier in not forwarding his descriptive list when he was sent too far from his regiment to be mastered with it for pay. I did not at all exhaust the subject, aa it relates to sick or wounded soldiers sent to a hospital hundreds of miles from tbeir com- panies. There can scarcely be anything more depressing to the spirits of a sick man, or tend more to retard bis recovery, than his inability to get his pay, especially if he has a family, and they are in need. And it amouuts to a cruel torture when his comrade ia the adjoin- ing bed is paid and he is patsed by, because bis Captain, from wilfulness, ignorance, or neglec, has failed tofoiward his descriptive list,. There has been much more attention given to the subject since my last report, greatly to the comfort of the soldiers, but there are Mill many unnecessary cases of distress. I know th^re are reasons that many Captains would urge, calling them good, although con- tiary to the regulations, and also that there are difficulties in the way at times, incident to an army changing its position. But these ex- cuses do not answer, when month's pass and letter after letter has been written for them. Only the other day a soldier told me be had been three months in hospital, had written himself ami had gotten others to write again and again, urging hi. Captain to send his list; nearly all this time he had been a subject of discharge. Finally, in desnairof anything better, be bad determined to leave his papers behind and go home on a discharge furlough to a distant part of M ichigan, aided by you from the Ware fund. At the last moment, however, bis descriptive list cime, and I was enabled to carrv his money from the Paymaster to his bedside and start h;m on his journey home. Tbere has not yet been enough said or done about this sad neglect. In many cases the lists are made out eo carelessly or ignoranily that when sent they are almost useless. Sometime* a soldier suff rs only in the amount paid him, and generally he will bear this, rather than waitfor his paper to be returned to bis Captain for correction The other day a Captain of cavalry neglected to mention on a soldier's descriptive list that be had furnishei his own horse, and conse- quently he must lose the "forty cents a day for the use and risk thereof for all the time he was in actual service, or wait for the correc- tion of bis papers. He chose to take what- ever he could get. And to-day a Captain has neglected to mention the date of enlistment on a aescriptive list, and, though the papers were all made out with this exception, as his clothing account had never been settled, the soldier must wait, how long I do not know, till his list can be corrected by his Captain. I felt sad as I glanced at the certificate of dis- ability—his disease was consumption. The great cruelty and oppress on of Captains to Bick men, when, as haj been the case in the past, they have six or more months' pay due, and it may be their families suffering, cannot be too strongly characterized. The knowledge of a single case of sucb a kind would degrade a man so ially in almost any community, and a wilful neglect should, it seem9 to me, cashier any Captain, who, in addition to the great wrong to the soldier, violates the regulation.) of the army. While i^eaking of the troubles connected with descriptive rolls I may mention that in many hospitals a number of these papera are now remaining. In one I found aa many as fifty, some of deserters, some who have died in hospital, but others of men who have gone to other hospital* or joined their regiments. At the Medical Director's where all should be collected, tbere are a very Urge num'.er, a h t of which has been made out by the clerk T >e difficubies a captain would have in atiemptm^ to certify to the financial standing of a soldi, r who had been absent for months in distant hospitals is w»-ll known, and if a captain lad no scruples, the paymaster's personal liability would prevent his pitying upon a roll so de- fective. I would suggest that the list already made out should be per'ected by the addition of those remaining in the hopitals and pub- lished in one of the daily papers, and the same type arranged in some convenient foim to be sent to all the hospitals where these men may have gone, and also forwarded to the army in the best way to reach their company com- manders. Of LETTERS NOT DELIVERED. Quite a iarge number of letters remain in the hospitals and have from them been accu- mulated at the Medical Director's office. If some plan could be adopted by which the address of the persona could be made out, and the letters forwarded to the owners, a great kindnesa would be effected. Sad stories are in too many instances being accumulated by the delav of these letters. After all were sent that could be, might not the remainder be returned to the post-office, a.,d through its present ar- rangement sent back to the writers? hospital fund. The hospital fund, which is the commuted value of the rations issued to a hospital which bave not been consumed by the inmates, ia now, in well-managed hospitals of the city, sufficient to supply in a great measure those wants which in earlier days the Commission 2 has exerted itself to meet. I give a-t an illus- I trationthe fund accumulated in Hospit.1 No. 7 in a single month and some of the item* in its disbursement. There are many things that can yet be supplied to add to thee unfortof the Bick aoldier here, hut it is appirent from the following extracr, that tie burthen of the san- itary stores should now be forwarded as they are to hospitals having greater need nearer the front, and that the Commission can here turn its attention to other cianties connected with the soldier. The report from which I have taken the extract and summary wa-t furnished me by the surgeon in charge, Dr. W. W. Gold- smith. The whole amount, of rations dne hospital No. 7 for the month of Februarv was 24 414, valued at 16 cts per ration, $3 906 24—ration-* for about 800 men one month. Th-> value of the regular rations drawn was $2,486 45, ltav- ing a hr spital fund for the purchase of articles of diet beyond these rations of $1 419 79. The hospital had already accumulated from pre- I ceding months no less an amount than $1 438 90. In their purchases this month they draw upon this fund, for they spent $2 161 63. leav- ing still a balance due this month of $697 05 The list of articles ia too long to be inserted here, and a few items will answer tbe purpose of the whole: Of butter 2.051 pounds; of milk 1,400 gallons; of eggs 589% dozen; ot mutton 1,302 pounds; $57 for caus of peaches; $55 for oysters; $40 for oranges; $22 tor rab- bits; $76 for chickeus; dried peaches$3*; dried apples $44; potatoes $159; onions $35; tur- nips $29; cabbage $42, Ac. SPECIAL RELIEF. The work of aiding the invalid discharged soldier, which for some time baa been so thor- oughly and kindly done at Washington, D. C, ia now being carried out very completely hare. The Kentucky branch have their special Relief Agent stationed at the Soldiers' Home, which has now been increased to doutde its former capacity. He attends to that depart- ment, where, besides furniaTing the discharged s ddiers lodging and food without charge, while waiting for hia pay, all needed asaist- ance in procuring hia pav ia rendered him. Papera are also examined there, and soldiera whq are unable to care for their own pip°rs have them prepired and carried to tbe pay- master and the money brought 10 them. Tbia work will be greatly facilitated in a short time by the removal of the payniaatere to the rooms being prep ire 1 for them at tha Ho ne It is true the discharge papers say that an agent is an unnecessary expense, and under the supposed circumstances it would bj. But when so large a business is done as the piying a great many thousand dollars upon separate gmall accounts the business has to be aystem- atized and time economize 1 to prevent unnec- essary delay and confusion, ani necessary rulea do not have at all times much reference to the ignorance, convenience, or comfort ot the soldier. Many ot the difficulties might be removed through information given by largs posters. I w>uld suggest that the Commis- sion furnish such for the hospitals, the depart- ment, and the offices of the Paymwter for the instruction and warning of soldiera. But this relief does not bear upon the soldier confined to bis bed, scarcely able to write hia name, and, in too miny insrances, only going home to die among his friends, or of others desiring to husband their strength for the journey be- fore then, or of others still too feeble to go to the Paymaster-, with their panrrs The form*1 which have been printed to ficilitate the tin siness and make the wh'.le intention plain to the sick soldier answer the purpose very well. On**, an order on the comin mder of the post for his papers, another mi the piymu>«ter, and a third, a certificate, to leave with the soldier when hia papers, duly signed, are taken to the paymaster. I was only able to commence this work on the 24th ult., but in tbe seven days since I have conveyed to these di>eh:irged *oldiers more than seven hundred dollars. The tiret money I carried *n this good work whs to the bedside of a poor in in in hospital at N'ew Al- bany, and indeed 'he mo*l>>f 'he above amount has been carried to the.-e hospitals, lhey troin their distance availing themselves the more readily ot the kindness I was glad that the fir»t case was one of si great charity, lie was very feeole and obliged to support his h ind by a pillow to make the nee ssary signa- tures. He had evidently only got permission to go home to die. His brother had been with him over two weeks waiting impatiently for his discharge. It would have done your heart good to have been the means of giving this aid and comfort to these two men. I learn that one of tbe State agents has pro- cured an order that no one shall collect any- thing for a soldier of hia State except himself and the soldier. This may work well against sharpers, but it also interferes with this good work of the Commission, and I should think it would be desirable to procure a general order that exceptions be always made in favor of the Commission against any sectional policy. GRAVES AT NEW ALBANY. Upon inquiring about the manner in which the graves of soldiers were marked at New Albany, I found it was only by a board placed at the head of the grave. This being but a verv temporary means of designating for frienda the places of their dead, 1 suggested to the surgeon in charge that the ground be sur- veyed, the blocks measured carefully, and the graves numb-red and a regiater kept of future interments. This he very cheerfully un ler- took, and a record of the place of burial of each soldier ia now kept. FUNERALS. Many have no doubt noticed the manner in which soldiers have been carried through our streeU to the burial. It seemed a very rude wiv. unsuited to the character of tbe person burie 1, and the G )vernment that was conduct- ing hia funeral services. The body was met at the grave in the beautiful cemetery near the city by a United States Chaplain, and was low- ered to its final resting place with the Chr 3- tian ceremonies of the Episcopal Church. This passage from the hospital to the grave was the only thing that marred the proprieties of a Christian community. I presented the subject of tbe remedy of the evil formally to the Kentucky Branch of the United States Com- mission as a kindness to the living relatives for which they would ever be most grateful. I learn by inq airing from their secretary that they have secured such attention hereafier as they think will meet the neglect. "' ". SOLDIERS' PAPERS ANO CLAIMS. "T The whole business of the array is a new thing to almost every one connected with it, aud in e.ve.-y uepartmeot it is an immense work. A propc. plan ahouii be adopted and 3 the work should be systematized, and as thoroughly organized as any of the depart ments at Washington. The exigencies ..r Hih times, or local convenience often crowd one department with the business that be.. n:> to another In the work that relates to the dn,- rhnrged soldier and his claims, the rnakinu out bis final papers, and the filing of those need- ing correction, is an accumulating business with accumulating papers. Adequate fixtures should be furnished, and rooms enough to sep- arate the work and the papers from all possi- ble confusion, and large enough to do tbe work conveniently. To say nothing of the unnecessary distress lhat may arise from the loss of a single paper, or the making of a single mistake which could with care and conveniences and addi- tional h.dp now, be easily avoided, tbe gov- ernment might, save itself in afier years from endless prosecutions for claims, aud relieve many a case of distress that it was surely not its intention to aggravate. LETTERS WRITTEN. I have written letters to Captains, urging them in cases of distress fir the sake of char- ity-, to forward to surgeons of hospitals the descriptive rolls of their men, aud have olten gotten the surgeon or steward to write again, when it seemed almost useless. 1 have writ- ten and answered letters concerning the death or extreme sickness of soldiers. In two instances letters were sent to the postmaster of this city, in despair of any other plan ot reaching thei.- destination. They were referred by the postmasttrto the Com- j mission, and I took upon myself the duty of | answering. One was to convey to a mother j the sad news of the death of her son, whom j she knew ha1 been sick in one of the bospi tals of the city. The other was to communi- i cate information from a wifeti her husband, who was at a hospital in the country, and, ! more important, to convey to her the know- j ledge that he was alive. She knew he was in the battle of Murfreesb iro, but had not beard : from him since; and. finally, the had come to i puch a condition of suffering that she could j neither eat nor skep. The letter was written ! for her by a relative. Judging from tbe pleas- , ure of the husband, who had been equally un- j successful in hearing from home, the wife must have been overjoyed to know that he was still living and moving about tbe hospital as a convalescent. BURIAL UP DISCUAROED SOLDIERS. Discharged soldiers that die in a militnry district of the active army, while on tbeir way borne, stiil under the care of the Government that has furnished transportation and not yet fulfilled its obligations, ought to be buried with soldiers instead of citizens, where the Government has a burying-ground, and should be buried, it seems to me, at tbe expense of Government. The soldier has requested his discharge, and has thua voluntarily relieved the Government from the expense of caring for him in his last moment*', and burying him, if he is fortunate enough to arrive at bis home. Again, the fact of his death is presumptive evidence that he has given hia life tor bis country, and in so small a matter it is uot gen- erous to turn over his little effects to make out the price of hia burial And further, the cases are comparatively few. A number of instances have come to my knowledge, and in one I was forced to retain from the widow's ! mite his funeral expenses. The undertaker tells me that hia orders are now to bury them with -oldiers, bnt to take the amount froui their effects. CONTRACT NURSES. Thpd«sign in having civilians for nurses in to relieve the army of the care of its own sick. I But these nurses, many of whom volunteered with more of patriotism ihan some in the ar- my, have, with it may be a few exceptions, i never received their pay, and, »** was to be ex - I pected, they have, atter wai in? for many : month*), left, one after another, till there are ! few remaining, and these are still with their j families suffering. Tbe business of taking care of the sick of its armies, that tbey may i be restored to health and take their place- again, ia entered upon by every government as a matter of necessity, humanity, and fluty. Even thing is managed with reference to these purposes, and among other necessary things it ia intended that tbere should be goo.l nurses. It ia not good for a convalescent to take care of the sick, nor ia it good tor the sick m-.ii to be waited upon by a convalescent Good nurses among the hearty and well are not always to be found. For the bene fit of tin* sick a process of selection should be going on all the time till tbere is a first-rate class ot at- tendants in every hospital, an! these ^houhi be changed only as tbe good of the sick re- quire Tbe keeping of good men from their regi- ments is a source of aggravation to tbe captain of every company, and is the reason, many times without knowing the condition of the soldier, that be keeps back his descriptive roll. hoping thereby to force him back to his regi- ment for his pay. LODOK-*. 1 learned from Mr. Frederick N. Knapp. who has been accomplishing to much in Washington for the invalid soldier as special agent for tbe Commission, that lodges in dit- f.rent and distant parts of tbe city for invalid soidiers passing through to their homes were found to be a great comfort. He suggested during his visit the probability of a like ne- cessity at Jeffersonvilie and New Albany. I visited the foimer place with him, and aa t|i»- reault of our observations a card wa-< printd which will, through the attentions of Dr. W. F. Cullum, test tbe need of further efforts. I saw the doctor yesteiday, and he thinks h room large enough for from ten to twenty bed-i would be a very great kindness to the invalid waiting lot* the train At New Albany l"found, upou inquiry, a like or greater need, and aa it was difficult t.. obtain a place near the depot, upon consulta- tion, a card was arranged referring the invalid to Mr D Snively, at tne U. S. Sanitary Room* of the New Albany branch, for a place of rest and food without charge. The design is not only to furnish the discharged soldier wi»h fooJ and rest near the depot, but to keep him from falling into tbe bands of sharpers who are constantly hovering around to devour the little pittance which, with a ruined body, be is carrying to hia home, an amount in to. many cases which will but partially pay for the funtral expanses that must in a short time fall upou his family. Auotber branch of kindness thai may be undertaken by the Commission here suggests itself—that ot informing persons of tbe plao of tbe burial ot their friends and giving sun. ■i information with reference to their disinter- ment as they desire. KINDNESS TO PATIENTS. v A surgeon told me that he or his steward devoted two hours a day, if necessary, to writing letters for the patients. This Ua very great kindness and much appreciated by the sick man ultimately, though at the time be can scarcely say yes to the question. Much more of this kind of attention could be shown to the sick than they generally receive. Every surgeon, as he feels the pulse physical of bis patient, should try also his mental pulse; should ask whether he got hia pay at tbe laal muster; whether his family are suffering or in a poorhou3e, aa was the ca3e of one who had not been paid for months. These men are not generally insensible to such acts of kindness. Even the man who can only make his mark for his signature, though he has ne- glected his intellect may have cultivated nis affections till he suffers more from separation from hia family, or from their distress or death, than the intel- ligent physiciau who has cultivated bis intellect at the expense of his heart. There is a continual necessity for exertion on the part of all, to keepin its best discipline and condi- tion that which has required so much effort and watching to bring to its present peife- tion A single week of ind fference ou tie part of the surgeon and attendants will bring into the utmost confusion the whole machine- ry of the best regulated hospital. Surgeons are not always attentive enough to make their requisitions complete, and to use that reason- able foresight that meets the difficulty before it arises. A man well fitted for his poaitiou as the guardian of sick men, whose lives depend to some extent upon his management, should know not ou.y all the difficulties of bis own department, but of every other connected with it. He should persist in accomplishing bis purpose till ha has all that is allowed to the number of sick men in bis charge. LAUNDRESSES. Scarcely anything is more ne.eisary to the htalthof a hospital than cleinliness. When a soldier enters a hospital he should not only have a thorough change given him of hospital clothing, but also have his clothes, which he has not had tbe opportunity or strength to wash for a long time, thoroughly cleaned. This is no doubt the business of the soldier when on duty. i>ut whenever a convalescent is turned out of the hospital for the barracks or his regiment, ha ought not to carry away clothing'that has been piled away in its tin- cleanliness for months. Some way should be provided to overcome this evil, even though the expense is added to his descriptive list. Some of the hospitals now try to have thia work done. Laundresses do not have the or- dinary washing of a family, and yet every family pays more than $6 a month and ra- tions for service? of this kind. But now even bandages that would have been thrown away in former times must be washed, and the other differences between the washing of a hospital and a family can be easily conceived. I know that Surgeons who are trying to accomplish cleanliness so necessary to any hope for tbe sick in some cases, Jo exert themselves to the utmost to overcome tbe difficulty. Besides this trouble, these women have been kept so long from their pay, that, as they were not enlisted and feel that they must manage in some way to support tbtir children, they have in almost every hospital gotten up something like a strike or rebellion, and many times some of trhem have been forced to leave, greatly to the discomfort of the sick and the annoyance of the physiciau. I suppose this difficulty of the pay already due them will soon be obvia- ted _ It is, considering all the difficulties, wonder- ful that surgeons have managed to keep tbeir hospirals in such a cleanly condition. I may spehk before I leave the subject of that which may happen without great care in any hospital and has occurred in some—the giving out of damp clothes to the sick. Sometimes they have been thoroughly dried but have been sprinkled for ironing and not again dried. Aud of another matter connected with the ap- proaching warm weather—tba allowing pa- tients to change at their own discretion their woollen for cotton clothing. It may seem of little importance, but the lives of many may depend upon care in this respect. I have spoken of the matter r>ecause I recently heard of the case of a soldier sent from one hospital to an other who had his flannel clothing changed for cotton just before the journey, and the conse- quence was, in the opinion of ray informer, his death in a very short time thereafter. I did not exaniina the evidence, but I can affirm that the ' h sest attention to these matters is neces- sary, and that in some diseases the life of the patient may hang upon this care of the nurse. HOSPITAL DIRKCTORY. In connection with the Directory I have hunted up information generally very sad, and 1 would allude, in passing, to the good work done at this office. The few items connected with the names in its booka are oftentimes of tragic interest, and the exciting scene happens frequently in the office—sad as when a father learns most unexpectedly of tbe death of his eon, or joyous as when a wife who has been trying in vain to obtain a pass to see her sick husband in Nashville, ia re- ferred to the Directory and tinda that he is in a hospital in the city. Or sad again when a mother writes to know if they can inform her ahoutherson, last heard of in a hospital in New Albany, and is informed, as I was forced to return answer to the Directory, that, he had been buried four months already. CONDITION Or THE HOSPITALS. There are now in the hospitals of the city and vicinity some 2,600 patients, leaving about 1.500 vacant beds. Since the establishment of theaa hospitals they have never been apparent- ly in so good a condition. The hospital fund ia now confined exclusively to the diet of the sick, and, well managed, the soldier can have, according to hia necessiiies, better tare than generally he could have commanded at home. The condition of the sick ha* also greatly im- proved; so many of the patients are able to leave their bads that some of the hospitala upon a sunny day have the appearance of con- valescent barracks. I may speak here, in closing, of the uniform courtesy with which I have been received in ray visits to the differ- ent hospitals and departments. I undertook thia work with tbe approval of the General in command and the Medical Director, but I have had no occasion to use their indorsement, as the interest generally in any good work for the suffering soldier has been a sufficient mo- tive to furnish me every facility. With much esteem, your ob't serv't, F. H. BUSHNELL.