Adruain
Thanks for clearing this us, I appreciate you digging out the book and
checking. The way it is written makes sense. The complications from having
had smallpox were similar to other common problems, thus making it difficult
to assign blame to a specific cause of death.
Maybe I am too suspicious of authors because I have seen some whoppers. We
have a Confederate Chronister soldier that one author stated died "while
stationed in Indianapolis, Indiana". Of course the Confederate Army didn't
"station" anyone in northern territory and rarely ventured there (Sharpsburg
and Gettysburg being the notable exceptions). In reality, the service
record showed that he had been "stationed" in Indiana by the Union Army,
having been captured and sent to Camp Morton prison in Indianapolis as a
POW. He was willing to sign the oath and be released, but died of phthisis
(tuberculosis) and is buried there.
The transcript of Alton prison records posted by Cynthia verify that J.H.
Cate is buried there.
Peggy Reeves
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adruain Cato" <cato324(a)bellsouth.net>
To: <CATO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 5:05 AM
Subject: Re: [CATO] Fw: Eakin Book
Peggy:
Name of the book on Alton
Alton Military Penitentiary in the Civil War:
Smallpox and burial on the Alton Harbor Islands
St Louis district Historic properties Management report No. 36
By Jann Cox PO Box 15272
Alexandria Va 22309-0272
This book is 152 pages. Page No. 70
In our study we cannot consider smallpox alone. Variola, a form of
smallpox, and variloid, a milder form of smallpox usually occuring in
persons
who have been vaccinated or have previously had smallpox, were not
seperated in consideration of the disease at the time and cannot be
seperate here.
While there were very few deaths due to variloid, when deaths occured they
almost always were accompanied by other fatal disease contracted while
weak from the first disease. Counts of death due to smallpox are
complicated
as well, as pointed out by Dr J Rectanus of camp Nelson, Kentucky, because
"many who are recovered of smallpox die of complications later," e.g.,
infections of the skin and mouth, such as erysipelas, other streptococcus
blood stream infection, pleurisy and pneumonia.
I'm sorry if I misquoted her, this is a very informative book or report.
As you may or may not know a hospital and cemetery were started on
an island on the Mississippi there by the prison, referred to as "small
pox island". In her book she says J H Cate (John Cato from Ar) is buried
on that island. I had read in another place where many of the graves on
this island have washed away during flooding of the Mississippi river.
Adruain
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peggy K. Reeves" <peg(a)reevesweb.com>
To: <CATO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 8:51 PM
Subject: Re: [CATO] Fw: Eakin Book
> Adruain, is it the same author?
>
> The word "variola" refers to the smallpox virus in general. There are a
> number of different strains of variola, characterized by different
> descriptive words. For example, "variola major" is a severe form of
> smallpox, characterized by a fatality rate of 25 to 40 percent. "Variola
> minor" is a milder form of the virus, with a much lower fatality rate.
> There are other descriptive words for the various strains that have to do
> with the size of the spots, etc... (reference: Dorland's Illustrated
> Medical Dictionary, 26th Edition, p. 1437). In other words, lots of
> people survived smallpox.
>
> While I'm sure there were a number of deaths all at once when smallpox
> visited, to say that all other reasons for death at Alton prison were as
> a result of smallpox...that is absurd. Civil War medicine is no mystery,
> since Union pensioners have detailed reports of medical examinations in
> their pension files, made by Army surgeons. There are also hospital
> records available, not to mention the actual prison records that list
> cause of death for those who died there.
>
> "General debility" is kind of a catch-all phrase that they used to show
> when a person's health was failing for multiple reasons, without giving a
> whole laundry list of what all was failing them. When one part of the
> body isn't working right, it affects other parts and other things start
> breaking down. Because there weren't any antibiotics at the time of the
> Civil War, a lot of men had bacterial infections, rheumatic fever, etc...
> that would cause scarring of their heart valves, and other problems that
> we no longer see in our modern society today. Over the years, scarring
> of the heart valves would lead to "dropsy" (archaic word for congestive
> heart failure), which many were pensioned for. Others were pensioned
> because they caught cold from sleeping outside on a damp night and
> developed pneumonia or tuberculosis. They might survive, but would be in
> a weakened or debilitated condition afterward. Drinking bad water gave
> them chronic diarrhea. Some died from it right away, in the prisons and
> in field hospitals, for others it was a slower process that lasted long
> after the war until they finally became debilitated enough to die from it
> years later. These problems happened with or without ever having had
> smallpox.
>
> My apologies for going on so off-topic, but historical research is really
> set back light years by authors who print undocumented and unresearched
> generalizations such as: "All of the other reasons for death at Alton
> were as a result of Small pox". Who told her that, and why would she
> print such a thing without checking it out first? Research is for
> revealing history, not for rewriting it.
>
> Peggy Reeves
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Adruain Cato" <cato324(a)bellsouth.net>
> To: <CATO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 7:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [CATO] Fw: Eakin Book
>
>
>> Peggy,Cynthia, & grp
>> I have a book on Alton and the Author said Variola was a lighter case
>> of
>> Small pox. She also said all the other reasons for death at Alton were
>> as a
>> result of Small pox. she said if you for some reason survived the other
>> diseases
>> probably got you.
>> Yes Chapman died from Variola
>> Nathan died from Pluersy (this is my great great grandfather and it took
>> me 10 yrs to
>> prove it through the process of elimination) There were 3 Nathan's in
>> the war and I
>> tracked the other two to the end of their lives.
>> Wilson Sr --General Debelity??
>> The John H who died also from small pox is from Jacob Cato from Tn to
>> Ill to Ar.
>>
>> Adruain
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Peggy K. Reeves" <peg(a)reevesweb.com>
>> To: <CATO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 6:14 PM
>> Subject: Re: [CATO] Fw: Eakin Book
>>
>>
>>> Wow, I have never seen this! I would like to know what her sources
>>> are, too. Has anyone ever looked for information on Confederate
>>> soldiers at the MO or AR State Archives or the various Historical
>>> Societies in those places? They might have information that NARA does
>>> not. Each state varies in what kind of information they have
>>> available.
>>>
>>> "Variola" is smallpox. "Plurtus" is probably
"Pleuritis", which is
>>> inflammation of the membranes covering the lungs and chest cavity.
>>> "Gen Del" is probably "General debility", meaning that
the person was
>>> already in ill health, perhaps an older person. It usually refers to
>>> people who are old and in a broken-down state of health. (my previous
>>> occupation was that of a medical transcriptionist)
>>>
>>> Men who were sent to "City Point" were going there to be
exchanged.
>>>
>>> "Ball and chain" was a penalty, and "execution" was a
penalty. This
>>> really doesn't make sense to me, to be sentenced to both. A person
>>> cannot be executed and then be made to drag around a ball and chain.
>>> I'll have to compare this list with the court-martial records.
>>>
>>> I would also like to know if Ms. Chiles has additional sources, other
>>> than information sent to her by other individuals. There is a real
>>> need to look at the original documents.
>>>
>>> Peggy Reeves
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Adruain Cato" <cato324(a)bellsouth.net>
>>> To: <CATO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 6:09 PM
>>> Subject: [CATO] Fw: Eakin Book
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Adruain Cato
>>>> To: cato324(a)bellsouth.net
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 5:05 PM
>>>> Subject: Eakin Book
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Joann Chiles Eakin Book--Missouri prisoners of War
>>>>
>>>> Name Rank Regiment Captured Date
>>>> Prison Remarks
>>>> Cata, Chapman B.W. Bollinger Co Mo Stoddard Co Mo
>>>> 8/24/1862 Gratiot To Alton 10/24/62
>>>> Cata, J.T Sgt Morgans Co I Boonville Mo
>>>> 10/18/64 Myrtle St To Alton 12/6/64
>>>> Cata, Nathaniel Citizen Bollinger Co MO Bollinger Co Mo
>>>> 8/2/62 Gratiot To Alton 9/12/62
>>>> Cata, William B.W. Stoddard Co Mo Stoddard Co Mo
>>>> 7/24/62 Gratiot O&B 10/24/62
>>>> Cata, Wilson, Jr Citizen Bollinger Co Mo Bollinger Co Mo
>>>> 8/2/62 Gratiot To Alton 9/12/62
>>>> Cata, Wilson Sr Citizen Bollinger Co Mo Bollinger Co Mo
>>>> 8/2/62 Gratiot To Alton 9/12/62
>>>>
>>>> Cato Abner S pvt Fieldings Stoddard Co Mo
>>>> 1/27/63 Gratiot To Alton 2/25/63
>>>> Cato, Chapman Citizen Bollinger Co Mo Stoddard Co Mo 8/18/62
>>>> Alton Il D=1/3/63 Variola
>>>> Cato, Nat pvt Recruit Bollinger
>>>> Co Mo 7/9/62 Gratiot To Alton 7/19/62
>>>> Cato, Nathan Citizen Bollinger Co Mo At Home 5/2/62 Alton
>>>> Il
>>>> Cato, Nathan Citizen Bollinger Co Mo At Home 8/3/62 Alton
>>>> Il To City Point
>>>> Cato, Nathaniel pvt Phelans Stoddard co mo
>>>> 11/27/62 Gratiot EX=12/12/62
>>>> Cato, Nathaniel pvt Reeds Co Wayne Co Mo
>>>> 5/18/62 Alton Il
>>>> Cato, Nathan Citizen Bollinger Co Mo Bollinger Co Mo 8/2/62
>>>> Alton Il D=2/5/63, plurtus
>>>> Cato, William pvt 2nd Mo Cav Wayne Co Mo
>>>> 11/25/62 Alton Il To City Point=Ex
>>>> Cato, William pvt McCulloughs Wayne Co Mo
>>>> 12/1/62 Myrtle St
>>>> Cato, Wilson Jr citizen Bollinger Co Mo Bollinger Co Mo
>>>> 8/2/62 Gratiot Oath 3/10/63
>>>> Cato, Wilson Jr citizen Bollinger Co Mo Bollinger Co Mo
>>>> 8/2/62 Alton Il
>>>> Cato Wilson Jr Citizen Bollinger Co Mo At home 5/2/62 Alton
>>>> Il
>>>> Cato, Wilson Sr Citizen Bollinger Co Mo At Home 5/2/62 Alton Il
>>>> D=11/9/62 Gen Del
>>>>
>>>> Cats, Jno H pvt Gordons Co F Fayetteville Ar
>>>> 11/4/64 Alton Il D=2/8/65--smallpox
>>>>
>>>> As you can see there are many mistakes, I'm not critizing Joann, it
is
>>>> hard to track this family even if you
>>>> know them.
>>>> William Cata under remarks O&B--Joann says in her footnotes that this
>>>> is violation of Oath sentenced
>>>> to Ball and Chain--penalty is execution.
>>>> Abner Cato is really Abner Cates and she has it right previous to this
>>>> entry--Phelans Co
>>>> We know thes Cata's are Cato's for there are no Cata's in the
census
>>>> during this era.
>>>>
>>>> Adruain
>>
>
>
>
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