Well over 200 soldiers are known to have died of disease during Camp Calhoun's short
existence. The number is probably higher but many records are missing or incomplete.
"there health is so very bad"
It was not long before illness and disease were rampant at Camp
Calhoun, a situation that was, unfortunately, common in many garrisons
and recruiting camps. Once measles, mumps, typhoid, pneumonia and
influenza entered camp they spread rapidly, with deadly results. Calhoun
became a city of makeshift hospitals. The Courthouse, Methodist
Church and a number of private homes were filled with ailing soldiers.
Crowded Conditions, Poor Hygiene and Rats
Why did so many men die of disease while at Camp Calhoun? Many of the young
men who came to Calhoun had never traveled far from home and they had never
been exposed to common diseases. These men were thrown together in cramped
and often unsanitary conditions. There was little understanding of how diseases
were contracted or transmitted in the 1860s. The causes of infection were
unknown. A large infestation of rats made matters even worse.
Camp Calhoun's dead were buried here, in two lots set aside for a community cemetery in the original 1852 plat of Calhoun. Those who died in camp
are not the only soldiers buried here. The eight men killed during the Battle of Sacramento on December 28, 1861 and the two who later died of wounds sustained in that battle were also buried here. Several soldiers died in accidents. They too were interred here.
Restoring Camp Calhoun Cemetery
Efforts to identify those interred in the Camp Calhoun Cemetery and to erect suitable memorials began in 1997. The restored Camp Calhoun Cemetery was dedicated in May 2008.
. . . i have been visiting my friends in the 31st reg, at calhoun kentky to my sorrow
they are in bad condition of health caused by imprudence incompatincy or neglect of the officers there health is so very bad only near half of the reg is able to turnout to service . . . many of the sick and feeble have spent there last money and there friends money to procure some little nourshing food . . .
from a letter to Indiana Governor O. P. Morton dated January 10,
1862 from a visitor to Camp Calhoun (Spelling original).
Photo captions:
Top right: Dr. James M. Baily was a surgeon in the 26th Kentucky Infantry, organized at Camp Calhoun in December 1861.
Bottom left: Thousands of patriotic young men enlisted in the Union army. Many did not survive their short tenure in recruiting and training camps.
Comments 0 comments