e of General Lee, from the 14th
to the 22d of August, 1898. Again, September 27th, I assumed
command of the corps and retained it until October 6th, when I took
a leave of absence home, returning _via_ Washington for consultation
with the authorities. I resumed command of the corps (then removed
to Camp Onward, Savannah, Georgia), October 25th, and retained it
until November 11th, 1898.

General Lee being about to depart for Havana, Cuba, I assumed,
December 8th, command of all the United States forces at Savannah,
consisting of regulars and volunteers.

The President, William McKinley, the Secretary of War, R. A. Alger,
and others of the President's cabinet, visited Savannah, December
17th and 18th, and reviewed (17th), under my command, all the troops
then there; about 16,000 of all arms, some of whom had seen service
at Santiago, Cuba, and in Porto Rico.

The Springfield rifles with which the volunteers had been armed,
were exchanged at Savannah for Krag-Jorgensen magazine (calibre
.30) rifles.

The troops while at Savannah were generally in good health, although
a few cases of cerebro or spinal meningitis occurred, owing to
frequent changes of temperature.

The secret of preserving the health of soldiers is in regular drill
and exercise, ventilation of clothing, bedding, and tents, and in
cleanliness of person and camps. Exposure to sun and air purifies
and disinfects better than lime or chemicals.

I superintended the final equipment and shipment to Cuba of about
16,000 troops; about one half were volunteers of the Seventh Corps,
who went to Havana.

While at Jacksonville, the war with Spain having ended, a number
of volunteer regiments were mustered out, and the Seventh Corps
was reorganized into two divisions. The 1st Texas, Colonel W. H.
Mabry (who died near Havana, January 4, 1899), and 2d Louisiana,
Colonel Elmer E. Wood, only, were left of my original First Division,
to which was added the 3d Nebraska, Colonel William Jennings Bryan
(who resigned at Savannah December 10, 1898); the 4th Illinois,
Colonel Eben Swift; the 9th Illinois, Colonel James R. Campbell,
and the 2d South Carolina, Colonel Wilie Jones. The first three
regiments constituted the First Brigade, commanded by General Loyd
Wheaton, and the last three, the Second Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier-General Henry T. Douglas, who had served in the Confederate
Army in the Civil War. He was an excellent officer.

I embarked for Havana