Robert SimsmoraleWed Feb 21 22:46:44 2001 The documents I abstracted earlier on my ancestor, H.J.Sims of Sumter Co., age 46 in 1864 confirm this in a microcosm. If I read the docments well, it states Pvt. Sims was hospitalized for 8 months for dysentery. Since most men his age were past middle age and considered old, I was genuninely and respectfully surprised he survived the war at all. If health and sanitary conditions allowed his "emaciated" condition for so long I will try to find how many others were hospitalized. Records I stumbled upon for other hospitals years ago seemed riddled with chronic problems indicating parasites. That reminds me to ask you good gentlemen what methods currently exist for copying private papers that might indicate this sort of thing but too large or old to consider ordinary remedies for researchers?Alternative copy methods — Hayes Lowe, Thu Feb 22 10:45 Photocopy — Robert Sims, Thu Feb 22 11:34 Hospital records — Hayes Lowe, Thu Feb 22 13:29 District hospital records — Robert Sims, Thu Feb 22 13:58 Hospital Records — Rick Greene, Sun Feb 25 09:04 private papers — Robert Sims, Sun Feb 25 16:20 Stout's papers — Hayes Lowe, Sun Feb 25 18:47 Hospital records — Robert Sims, Sun Feb 25 18:54 No, not published yet. n/m — Hayes Lowe, Mon Feb 26 06:40 Hospitals — George Purvsi, Thu Feb 22 16:09