Report of Inspection of Division
Commanded by Maj. Gen. Price, May 18, 1863
Division Head Quarters
Little Rock, May 18th, 1863
General,
On the 15th Inst. we visited and carefully inspected each regiment belonging to the Brigades commanded by Brig. General Parsons and McRae, now encamped three miles distant on the north side of the Arkansas River.
The ground occupied by them as encampments is well selected, high, sufficiently shaded, and to all appearance healthy. In Gen. McRae’s Brigade the tents are regularly and systematically arranged, and sufficiently remote from each other as to admit of being properly policed, and in pint of fact are kept with a commendable degree of neatness. Sinks are prepared and regularly used both for the reception of the offal accumulated in cooking, and other purposes. Each company is divided into messes of ten, and to each mess one man is detailed to cook, who is exempt from ordinary military duty while in camp. This salutary arrangement is common to the entire Division, while Gen. McRae’s Brigade alone the cooking is all done adjacent to but outside of the encampment, thus avoiding the smoke as well as the unpleasant accumulations which are apt to occur when cooking is done between the rows of tents. The health of this Brigade is at present good, the average of sick for each regiment reported on Surgeon’s cal the morning of our visit being twenty-seven, and most of these cases of slight indisposition.
There are, however, in this Brigade no Hospital tents, nor other arrangements for isolating the sick; consequently, they have to be crowded into their small tents along with the well to the material injury of both parties. There is also a scarcity of water, the scanty supply thus far obtained is derived from wet weather branches which are gradually drying up. Attempts have been made to supply this defect by the sinking of wells in various localities, but thus far with little or no success owing to the strata of slate rock some five or six feet below the surface which cannot be penetrated by the implements on hand. It is obvious to remark that a sufficient supply of water, not only for drinking and cooking purposes, but also for washing the clothes and keeping the persons of the soldiers clean is essential to the health of the army…(goes on to talk about other brigades)
Very Respectfully,
T.D. Wooten
Chief Surg., Price’s Div.
W.M. McPheeters
Surgeon & Med. Insp.