The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-12-03 00:00:00

A DOCTOR'S STORY OF THE WAR.

Dr. J. Marion Sims, who hue resided eight years in
France awl recently returned to the United States,
has been' interviewed" by a reporter of the Neon York
Timat, and in answering his inquiries made the fo:low-
ing statements, which we give in A connected shape
without the questions put. The doctor said :
" I was surgeon-In-chief of the ' Anglo-American Ambit.
lanoe ooniposed of eight American and eight E4J glish-
men. ,A's went out from Faris under • French organisation.
They gave us tents, and waggons, and Instruments, and
everything necessary to make an ambulance corps complete
—everything for giving aid to the wounded on the field of
battle. There were 11 French ambulance, besides this one
seat from Faris. I am glad to any we were the most fortunate
of the 12, arrived In the right time at the right place, while
the others were driving through the comary on the look-out.
'We left Palle on the 2hsh of August, and arrived at Sedan
on the 30th. There we found that • barrack, con-
taining two hundred and sixty od-1 beds, had already
been converted into a hospital, which the French authorities
very glaell) gave us. Before we got possession of the hos-
pital the battle of the 31a1 began, and at night we went to
the field et battle, which was between Bailin and BazeLlles,
Just outside the walls of S-olian, and there we attended to the
wounded, and transferred many of them to the hospital In
Sedan, leaving many other. at Milan in cottage., where we
established a branch of stir ambulance. Fighting began
early on the first of September, and during that and the fol-
lowing data the wounded were brought In Krems, a. it
were, to the hospital In Sedan, The 360 odd bed were filled
en the 2nd.

lie wounds made by modern implements of war are
truly terrific. Yet I have seen extraordinary csaes of re-
covery of men shot through and through the breast and
abdomen. There Is not so much bleedirg ; the bullet In Its
passage seems to lacerate the puts so as to close the bleeding
vessels. We saw wounds of every form and variety, made
by the bursting of bombs and by the needle gunk the chasse-
pots and the mltrailleuse This Is a dreadful weapon, and
must become so essential arm of the service. Its effects
are terrine, and the noise it makes Is something dreadful;
that of musketry and cannon Is music compared with it, I
could not describe the effect produced by

--
o In regard to the killed and wounded at Sedan I must ob.
serve that It was not no bloody as the battle of Gravelotte.
0/ the French there was lees than 15,000 killed and wounded
at S.dan, while the Germans suffered much more severely
The Germans do not state falsehoods In their bulletins, tat
they cover op their own lessee; and without mentioning the
names of German doctors 1 may state I learnt from medleal
men who had a perfect knowledge of the facts that the
Bavarian and Wurtemberg legion. ocmpying the centre of
the Prumlan lines went Into battle 130,000 strong, and lost 129
fh.lers and upwards of 2.400 tneu killed, the wounded
making up 15,000, or one fourth of the whole amount hors de
eombat. A great number of French batteries of artillery-1
cannot state the ex•ct number, but they covered quite an
acre of ground—came in from the battle of the let of Sep.
Comber to the hospital yards so early as one o'clock in the
day, and on inquiring why they left the field of battle they
told us they were out of amndin Moe, and were only in she way,
We were under the Frussian fire for 14 hours. The Prussian
batter'es were about two cities from us. Our hospital was
on the heights of Sedan. only. 30 or 40 steps from the outer
wall. Toe French army was in our rear, the German left
in our front, and the Germ..na were firing over us aU day.
If we had Loans quarter of a mile nearer to the Prussian
batteries we would not have been in any danger. As it was,
bombs were bureting around us all the time. Fortunately
our hospital was bombproof. It was 3eoll long, two .tortek
high, and had IS large windows on the side exposed to the
fire each window opened into a ward containing 24 wounded
soldiers, besides doctors and nurses. The building was
struck several times. One bomb struck about 10 or 15 feet
above one of the upper windows. The Prussian artillery
continued for 14 hours tiring across the town at the French.
It was a regular artillery battle for two days. In the hos-
pital yards six men were struck by exploding bombs from
the PEIIO.III batteries, and others item struck outside it.
Many were killed 50 yards on the other aide of the hocpital,
We had two of our servants (IPIIIM; killed In the hospital
)ard, also a demoralised French soldier who retreated from
the army,

I can state that the Marines fought unflinchingly, also the
7.011/11/011 and Turco., but I smarm., ',Amy that the men of the
Line-1 do not know how many regiments, bit great many
were demoralized and retreated after firing once or twice.
in spite of the imprecations and commands of their officers,
A great many of these retired within the walls and around
the hospital. It was impossible for the French to do other-
wise than surrender. Tee Emperor was not to be blamed.
it was simply an net of humanity to surrender. When the
F.mperor had an interview with the King, and talked
of capitulation, General Wimpffen said he couldn't sign
the articles ; but Itiamarck showed him how the forces
were situated, the French hemmed in and without ammo
nition or provision, and 110 way of escape, so that there was
nothing for it but to surrender. Then General Winipffen,
seeing he was surrounded by three times his own strength
and was powerless, had to isign the articles, however implea-
Bent it must have been, after being but a few hours in com-
mand. The town was not provisioned ; the army had eoni-
paratively nothing to eat ; even In the hospital we were on
short rations, and could not get what we wanted for the
sick and wounded. I was the only doctor out of le who
was not sick, and all because they hadn't proper food to
eat. It was a most revolting sight to see soldiers skinning
the bodies of horses and eating the raw flesh, they were scl
hungry..

"The Krupp cannon fires with wonderful accuracy. It will
Shoot a mile further than the French cannon, and the Prus-
sian bombs are exploded by percussion, and do not beret
until they strike some object but the French bombs were
fired by fuses, and bunt sometimes In the air, and often fell
short of their amt. But of the great number of the Prot-
ean lemh.shells that fell in the yard and around the hos-
pital at Sedan we found only two that had not exploded.
As to arm the chaesepOt is superior to the needle-gun. It
will carry farther; but I do not think that Is much an coos-.
mono advantage, for great master of men do not tire at
each other undtr GOO yards, arid the needle-gun is ae effective
as the other at that distance. The Prussian artillery fired
with wonderful accuracy. Their officers are gentlemen and
educated. The physique of the Germans is superior to that
of the French. I count not help making the comparison ag
the 50,000 French prLoners passed along the Prussian lines.
I may add here a fact that may Interest some; every French
and German soldier smokes tobacco, and It was ludicrous to
see a whole German regiment moving along &molting. French
and German smoke to a man, and, contrary to some theories
with the moat perfect Impanity. It is worthy of note that
subsequent to the surrender typhus was very prevalent
among the Germans, while there was none among the French,
I do not aCel,llot for it.
" Among the French wounded In the hospital at Sedan
were 26 officers, and they all aalti all they lacked was a
General; that it WY want of generalship demoralised the
soldiers, because they had no confidence In their leaders.
The French offices% were all burning with a desire for
revenge. Sty own belief la that if they changed Generale
they would change the issue of the contest. I do not think
the Emperor ever looked better In health than on the day of
his surrender. 'Tin • gnat mbtake to suppose he is a
decrepit old man. His intellect was never more vigorous,
and his physical health is perfect, with the exception of
some mere infirmities. Ile Is occasionally subject to sciatica,
but to no Mamma that threatens life. It Is said the Prince
Imperial Is • acrofulous boy; that Is another great mistake,
Ile h strong anti rosy, In perfect health, and very Intel.,
gent—a splendid boy, take him all in all; and when he was
111 a few yeses ago, and was reported scrofulous, he Simply
had an absceu, the result of pressure in taking horse-riding
lessons—nothing connected in the least with disease of the
bones or joint,.

I resigned my position on the 24th of September, and
Dr 'Thos. P. Pratt is now In command of the ambulance. I
have no doubt at the future usefulness of the Atilo.Americ.an
ambulances under Dr. Pratt. They are liberally supplied
with all they requlra from Colonel Lindsay, the chief of the
English society. Ido not know what would have become
of the sick and wounded at Sedan were it not for these
volunteer ambulance. Almost the whole of the French
sick and wounded were attended by volunteer am-
bulances. as to French army surgeons, I state •
fact, and you can emotion it If you think fit. There.
were 40 or 60 army surgeons at Sedan after the surrender
and Dr. ai.Carmick, Dr. Pratt, and others told tue those
surgeons were walking about the streets with their hands
in their pockets anti cigar. In their mouths, and did not •
single thing for their oleo sick They did not even go down
to the place whtre the be WO prisoeers were starving and Its
sickness. It may be asked what would be wanted on the
field of battle I It Is this :—Water, brandy, essence of beef,
chloral chloroform, and morphine, besides lint and bandage%
The greatest relief was given in hunireds of cause by a sub-
cutaneous injection of morphine. On the field of battle very
little more s needed than trees few &Melee.'
Being asked about repotts of inhumanity to French
prisoners, Dr. Sima said :
" The newspaper reports were not in the least exaggeratedS
The particulars are not llt for publication of what the pri-
soners suffered. Some 80,100 French marched from Sedan,
before the Pruulan lines, to the little peninsula formed by
the river, where they were halted alter the capitulation. I
...there and saw the peasants come in and sell bread to
the t oor fellows at 25 cents a slice It was the saddest day
In my life when I followed the poor French prisoners, ,na
if I lived a hundred years I could never forget • hat I saw
them endure. They were several days there on that pleCe
Of laze, absolutely dying of sickness and starvation."

The preservers or rate for the Paris market htfa alm vie
way of catching them. They dig hole. In the go.mon
where these animals most abound • they till the hole. with
otilltilitalf matter highly Sweetened, the rat* run eagerly into
the holes, and once there, el course not being able ;9 get °lit
ilia, an quietly tateu,