February 1862 would bring some dramatic developments in the Civil War, but that wasn’t obvious as the month began. On Jan. 28, Mount Vernon Democratic Banner readers were still reading about the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Camp Andrews or catching up on the political squabbling of the day.
They were also finding out that bullets weren’t the only thing that killed soldiers. On Jan. 28 the Banner reported that Frederick Keiffer of Knox County had died in Kentucky.
“He was a member of Capt. Voorhes’ company, that left Camp Buckingham at Mansfield. The cause of his death was utter prostration produced by long marches. He was a good citizen and an honest man.”
That same issue, Banner readers were informed that “there are now about 70 soldiers in the hospital of the 43rd Regiment. They are mostly cases of measles, with a few cases of diphtheria and mumps. But one death has yet occurred in the hospital, and one in camp, making two since the regiment came to Mount Vernon. Most of the cases in the hospital are getting along well.”
