Reports are reaching us that unfortunately there has been a severe outbreak of scarlet fever in the brigade, believed to have been contracted from a welfare visit to a Colored Church Sunday school. The artillery and cavalry of the brigade have been unaffected as they are located by the horse lines away from the main body of the brigade. The new regiment was also not affected as it had not joined the brigade before Dr Cruize-Rouge had advised the quarantining of the brigade, which was upgraded to an order by the XI Corps chief surgeon. The 54th, 55th, and 63rd Massachusetts Infantry regiments will therefore not be available for the forth coming battle.
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| Colored Ambulances |
For the artillery the news is more comic than tragic. Corps have supplied the wrong ammunition for the rifled guns, 10lb parrot shell rather than 3" rifled shells. No sign of 12lb shot for the Napoleons, do they know that we have them?
The ammunition supplied for the howitzers is faulty, either the fuses don't fit the shells or the shells don't fit the fuses.
To attempt to prevent this mess in the future General Banks is appointing a Brigade Quartermaster officer who will oversee all supply issues. I don't think we can go on trust with 3rd Division or XI Corp any more since they are mostly white Germans and we are most definitely not!
Lastly, it has been found that the artillery horses shoes have been shed with tin nails! (actually very low quality iron) Half of the shoes have fallen off while in camp! The farrier team from 5th Cavalry has been sent for to assist the artillery farriers, but they have a couple of long days work to make good the faulty nails. Unfortunately this means that batteries D & E of the 2nd USC light artillery will not be available for the forth coming battle.
Nathaniel P. Banks
