Today in History:

881 Series I Volume XLV-I Serial 93 - Franklin - Nashville Part I

Page 881 Chapter LVII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.

The following tabular statement exhibits the number of officers and men in each of the camps, with an aggregate of the whole, to wit:

Corps, &c. Captains Lieutenants Men Total

Fourteenth Corps 1 2 307 310

Fifteenth Corps ......... 2 533 535

Seventeenth Corps 1 1 661 663

Twentieth Corps 1 2 517 520

Miscellaneous 1 1 385 387

convalescent

Recruits from rear 1 1 301 303

Aggregate 5 9 2,704 2,718

The convalescents have arrived from the front very slowly, and generally in small squads and without officers. The greater portion of them have come to the post, and without reporting to the os commander or myself have gone into bivouac or houses, and have completed resort to patrol parties to find them. Only three small detachments have reported in charge of officers as yet. The cleaning out of the Soldiers' Home on yesterday by an armed patrol and an examination by Surgeon Jones, medical director, procured 420 convalescents fit for light duty or camp duty. These are included in the above statement. About eighty more convalescents fit for camp duty were found by patrols on yesterday in houses and other camps, and were placed in their proper organizations. The paper of al officers not on duty at this post were examined on yesterday, and four or five ordered to convalescent camp on surgeon's examination, &c.

The men, generally, come from the front without arms, shelter-tents, or descriptive rolls. They are fairly clad. I have used forty old Sibley tents and some old bell and wall tents to assist in making them comfortable, and for the residue have procured the issue of sheltertents. I suggest the use of all the old or repaired Sibley and bell tentage that may be on hand for these camps. The difficulty of procuring boards or slabs to make the shelter-tent warm and raise if from the ground makes the former tents better for this use. No arms have as yet been issued to the convalescent camps from this point. The proper lists are now being made, and the issue will commence on Monday. There are 388 armed men in the four camps. It will require, say, 1,632 stand of arms to supply the deficiency of the four convalescent camps.

The following is an approximate estimate of the number of convalescent troops in the four camps that are fit for field, light, and camp duty, respectively, when properly armed:

Field duty, say ....................................... 31

Light duty, say ....................................... 1,299

Camp duty, say ........................................ 334

No duty, say .......................................... 354

Total ................................................. 2,018

(The recruits are all fit for service in field.) This statement is not made on surgeon's examination, but is the judgment of the immediate commanders, and is probably nearly correct. The continuance of rainy weather for more than a week (since 1st instant), and the scarcity of

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Page 881 Chapter LVII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.