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During their march with Kirby Smith's wagon train, the 57th Georgia stopped briefly near Clinton, TN. There were a large number of men genuinely sick and many feigning illness after the ardous march and the prospect of crossing the Cumberland Mountains weighed heavily on the men.
From Page 34 of Hell's Broke Loose in Georgia - Survival in a Civil War Regiment by Scott Walker
From Page 34 of Hell's Broke Loose in Georgia - Survival in a Civil War Regiment by Scott Walker
The Brigade Surgeon Dr. George W. Peddy was "in a difficult and unpopular postion. He alone could determin whether a man was truly ill or shirking duty. Many soldiers gre angry when he returned them to active duty. As he wrote to his wife Kittie, in Franklin, Georgia, the doctor tried to ease her fears the he would suffer reprisal:
Wright Vinson wondered whether the doctor would send him back to Knoxville. Weak from physical illness and contemplating the march through Big Creek Gap, he wrote Christiana:
No doubt their are many in the Regt. that dislike me because I will not give them furloughs & discharges, & also frequently mark them for duty when they are trying to play off... Honey, you must not listen to the tails you hear of my miss treating the men. It's all falts, & so far as being killed in battle by them is concerned, I do not fear them in the least. If the Yankees were to attack us I would be more uneasy for fear they would run over me in retreating if I were behind them than to think they would shoot me, & so far as my partiality extends if any differenc I have shown it from the company from our county.
Dear I was verry sick yesterday all day. But I feel better this morning. Wee have got orders to send all the sick two the horsepitle today. Wee have got to march 150 miles. The sick will be left at Clinton or at Knoxville one. Sow if they leave mee I will write where I am at and if I get wors I shall write for you to come and wait on me for the soldiers dont wait on us heare. The women had rather kill us than to wait on us.