hospital fund for July must be determined by the number of sick in the hospitals. Your presence in Columbus will probably be necessary in making arrangements for the exchange of prisoners and I wish you to remain there for the present.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. HOFFMAN,

Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners.

HEADQUARTERS, Camp Douglas, Chicago, August 7, 1862.

Colonel WILLIAM HOFFMAN,
Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich.

COLONEL: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of August [1] in which you refer to the report of Post Surgeon McVickar upon the scorbutic condition of the prisoners and sanitary condition of the camp. I forward a letter from Doctor McVickar from which you will see that all your orders have been carried out as well as our means admitted. The first specific authority to supply extra vegetables to the prisoners was received July 22 (see Captain Lazelle's letter of that date), one day after the date of Doctor McVickar's report. The scorbutic tendency had been observed and an extra supply of vegetables obtained through the contractors before that authority was received, as you will notice by referring to my letter to Captain Lazelle of July 24. With regard to the sanitary condition of the camp referred to by Doctor McVickar in his report of July 21 he did not intend to imply any neglect of the ordinary daily police duties, but to refer solely to the inevitable measures which an ample system of drainage, and an abundant and well-distributed supply of water can alone abate.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOSEPH H. TUCKER,

Colonel Sixty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Commanding.

[Inclosure.]

CAMP DOUGLAS, August 7, 1862.

Colonel J. H. TUCKER, Commanding.

SIR: In reply to yours of this morning I beg leave to say that that portion of my letter of the 21st July touching the existence of scurvy in the camp referred to a condition of things which was first brought to my notice on or about the 15th, at which time I assured written instructions, a copy of which I brought to your notice, with reference to its care and treatment. The existence of and tendency to the disease has much diminished and its entire subsidence under the free use of vegetables now introduced may be confidently looked for in a very few days. As regards sanitary matters connected with the introduction of water into and the pooper drainage of the camp I merely meant to say that the sanitary condition was inherently bad owing to the want of these to improvements. The general condition as far as can be accomplished is ordinarily good independent of the needs in that particular, the principal fault now being the bad condition of the sinks, which have not been repaired and cleansed owing to the delay in the adoption of some definite system with regard to them.

Very respectfully,

B. McVICKAR,

Post Surgeon.

23 R R-SERIES II, VOL IV