Strong Vincent by John Hinman

Author:John Hinman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2024-06-20T00:00:00+00:00

THE PENINSULA CAMPAIGN: GAINES’ MILL

— 1862 —

After the victory at Hanover Courthouse, General McClellan took his time moving his army forward.

For a few weeks, life was easy for Strong. The day began at four thirty a.m. Then, from five thirty to six thirty, Strong was in charge of putting the soldiers through drills. The rest of the day was spent hanging around camp, until a five-p.m. drill officially ended the day.

On May 31, the Union Army fought the Confederates at Seven Pines. While the 83rd could hear the gunfire, they did not take part in the battle, in which the Confederate leader General Joseph Johnston was wounded. His replacement was General Robert E. Lee, who would prove to be much more aggressive than Johnston. General McClellan was about to face a new kind of foe on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, as the soldiers continued to camp around the Chickahominy River, they were already facing a new kind of foe, one that did not come bearing a rifle. From the swamps that lined the river’s bank emerged a disease called the Chickahominy Fever, a combination of malaria and typhoid. After doctors treated several cases, they determined that the disease was spread by the many mosquitoes that inhabited the area.

The first sign of the illness was an elevated temperature, followed by vomiting and diarrhea. As a sick soldier’s body temperature climbed, he developed chills and pains. The longer the illness, the more the patient was at risk for liver and kidney failure. Once a soldier became unconscious, death was a worry.

Not everyone who came down with Chickahominy Fever faced all of the symptoms. There were many light cases. But for the soldiers camping near the Chickahominy, a mosquito bite always bred a fear that sickness might follow.

One of the first members of the 83rd to come down with Chickahominy Fever was Colonel McLane, although he had a minor case and recovered rapidly. Others in the regiment weren’t so lucky. More than one hundred and thirty 83rd Pennsylvania soldiers were hospitalized with Chickahominy Fever. Of those infected, twenty-six died.

Toward the end of June, the 83rd moved camp to prepare for the next battle. It had been almost a month since they had fought at Hanover Courthouse, and the next battle would be at Gaines’ Mill. Colonel McLane ordered the soldiers forward. But there was something wrong with Strong. He was having a hard time riding in the saddle. He was afraid that the disease that had taken down so many soldiers had now affected him. When the soldiers camped for the night, General Butterfield and Colonel McLane came to visit.

“Lieutenant Colonel Vincent, I think that you may have the disease that’s been goin’ ’round the camp. I suggest you check into the field hospital right away,” Butterfield said.

“I’ll be fine by the morning, General. If not, then I’ll see the doctor tomorrow,” Strong answered.

“No, it’s best you treat this thing right away,” Colonel McLane objected. “I went to be seen by the doctors as soon as possible, and I got better in a hurry.

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