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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Participants of the War - Mikitary & Civilian > Other People of the Civil War > Discharged for Good For Nothingness |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Participants of the War - Mikitary & Civilian > Other People of the Civil War > Discharged for Good For Nothingness |
| Moderated by: javal1 |
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| Discharged for Good For Nothingness | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 18th, 2006 10:18 pm |
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1st Post |
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amhistoryguy Member 
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Anyone who has spent time in the military can tell you that there are some recruits that just don't belong there. After the first couple of days, even those recruits might be prepared to admit that they made a mistake. The army feels duty bound, however, to make a soldier out of every recruit. This seems to have been true in the Civil War, as well as today. Being able to eliminate the men who may endanger the rest of the unit, or who cannot pull their own weight, was a skill very new to most volunteer officers. Arnold Sutermeister was a 31 year old drawing school instructor. "Sutermeister's Battery" was the product of some very persuasive Fort Wayne, Indiana city fathers. Sutermeister and John Otto, a former Prussian artillery man, set about recruiting the best men they could find in the Fort Wayne area. Unfortunately, some of their new recruits proved to be unable or unwilling to adapt to military life. One roster of the unit I found listed a number of men as having been "discharged for disability of good for nothingness." Not the wording of an "official" discharge, records at the National Archives revealed that Captain Sutermeister had found a sympathetic surgeon to help him fabricate discharges, eliminating problem soldiers and making the battery more efficient. Sutermeister's notations on one of these discharges was that, "he is nothing but an incumberance to the company..." Another noted that the soldier "was never fit for service & ought not have been received in the army because he is insolent and indifferent." While the ailments that the surgeon filled in may have been valid, I found it fitting that one man who was discharged, was discharged with the ailment "coccylgia," which is defined in Dorland's Medical Dictionary as a pain in the butt region. This seems to have clearly reflected Sutermeister's opinion of the man quite well. Regards, Dave Gorski
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 12:53 am |
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2nd Post |
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Widow Member
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Dave, that's the best yet! Now I know who Beetle Bailey's ancestor was. "Coccylgia," huh? I know several who are incurably afflicted. Regards, Patty
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 02:39 am |
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3rd Post |
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ole Member 
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Dave: A most interesting example of ordinariness! Who needs forms and bureaucratic BS? If you have to fill in that blank, why not good-for-nothingness? Loved it. Ken
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