The 950 men of the 6th regiment arrived in Helena, Arkansas, on June 23, 1864, spending the next four months in what Private Charles W. Johnson of Company D described as "a series of swamps, bayous and flat lands, overflowed from the Mississippi in high water, reeking with miasma and covered with green scum in dry weather." On September 30, 1864, 654 members of the 6th regiment were reported as sick; by then, 461 men had been sent to hospitals in the North.
The passage describes the challenging living conditions faced by soldiers from the 6th regiment stationed in Helena, Arkansas, during the Civil War. It details their struggle with swampy terrain and poor sanitation, leading to a significant number of sick soldiers being sent to hospitals in the North.