Today in History:

196 Series I Volume XLII-I Serial 87 - Richmond-Fort Fisher Part I

Page 196 OPERATIONS IN SE. VA. AND N. C. Chapter LIV.

The medical inspector Second Corps reports the hospital fund therein for November as follows:

Expended On hand

in November 30

November

First Division $776,85 $2,075.77

Second Division 202,61 1,805.85

Third Division --- 1,282.427/8

Artillery Brigade --- 64.14

The hospital fund in cash of the other corps, and at City Point depot field hospital, also amounted to some thousands of dollars. The capacity of the depot field hospital, Army of the Potomac, at City Point, this month was 6,419 beds. Five hundred barrels of apples, received from the patriotic merchants of New York (as per letter of Charles A. Righter, esq., dated November 26, 1864), were distributed to the hospitals.

In December I expended nearly $2,000 from funds in my hands in purchase of turkeys, celery and cranberry sauce, which were distributed and served throughout the army hospitals on Christmas day. The colored division of the Ninth Corps having left this army late in November, the hospital for such troops was broken up and discontinued thereafter. The divisions of the Sixth Corps returned to the Army of the Potomac at different dates early in December from duty in the Shenandoah Valley. They were promptly supplied with medical, hospital, and ambulance property, as their supplies could not be brought with them. At this time also (December 7) an expedition moved against the Weldon railroad, to the southward, composed of the Fifth Corps, four batteries, Third Division of the Second Corps, and General Gregg's cavalry, one battery, with the bridge equipage of canvas boats. Men unable to to march were sent to the field hospitals, and a flying hospital organized to accompany the command according to previous usage. Medical Inspector C. K. Winne, of the Fifth Corps, and Surgeon-in-Chief E. J. Marsh, of the cavalry, detail the operations of their respective commands. Their reports accompany this. The total number of wounded admitted to field division hospitals of the army during this month was 390.

The forts and lines occupied by the Army of the Potomac in the siege of Petersburg are delineated in the accompanying map of the engineer department. To collect the sick and wounded from the front line, picket stations for ambulances were designated. In some corps almost one-third of the ambulances were sent out. Each ambulance when used returned to its park from the division hospital and was relieved by another. After a short stay in division hospital, if the cases were serious, they were sent by surface railroad to depot field hospitals, and thence, if no improvement was noticed in them, they were transferred to General were used exclusively, except when great emergency made it proper to send more rapidly than the regular medical steamers permitted. General Ingalls, chief quartermaster, in such cases promptly placed the quartermaster steamers at the disposal of this department.

The steamers conveying sick and wounded from City Point were the State of Maine, Surgeon Janes in charge, capacity 500 beds; Connecticut, Surgeon Hood in charge, capacity 400 beds; steamer Western


Page 196 OPERATIONS IN SE. VA. AND N. C. Chapter LIV.