The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-10-26
THE HOSPITAL AT sEBAsTopol.


The Crimean correspondent of the Iondof
Times gives the following horrible and near
sickening account of the Hospital ut Sebas
topol, after its evacuation by the Russians:
or all the pictures of the horrors of wal
which have ever been presented to the world
the hospital of Sebastopol presents the most
horrible and heart rending and revolving
1t cannot he described, and the imagination
of Fuseli could not conceive anything at all
like unto it. How the poor human body can
be mutilated and yet hold its soul within,
when every limb is shattered, and every vein
and artery is pouring out the life stream, one
might study here at every step, and at the
same time wonder how little will kill The
building used as an hospital is one of the
noble piles inside the dockvard wall, and il
| situated in the centre of the row at right an
gIes to the line of the Redan. The whole
row was peculiarly exposed to the action of
shot and shell bounding over Rcdan, and to
the missiles directed at the Barrack Battery,
and it bears in sides, roofs, windows, and
doors, frequent destructive proofs of tho Sc
verify of the canOnadc. Entering one of these
doors I behcld such sight as few men,
thank God, has ever Witnessed In n low
room, supported by square pillars, arched at
the top, and dimly lighted through shattered
and unglazed window frames, lay wounded
Russians, who had been abandoned to our
mercies by their general. The wounded did
| say! No, but the dead, rotten and fostering
cOrpses of the soldiers who were left to die
in their extreme agony, INTENDED, uncared
for, packed as close rs they could be slowed,
some on the floor, others on wretched trcstles
and bedsteads, or pallets of straw, soppcd
and saturated with blood which oozcd and
tricked through upon the floor, and mingled
with the dr0ppings of corruption. With the
roar of exploding fortresses in their ears with
shells and shot forcing through the roof aud
sides of the rooms in which they lay, with
the cracking and Kissing of fire around them,
those poor fellows, who had served their low
ing friend and master the Gar but too WELL
were consigned to their terrible fate. Many
might have been saved by ordinary care
Many lay, yet alive, with maggots crawling
about in their wounds. Many nearly mad BY
the scenes around them, or seeking escape
from it in their EXTREMIST agony, had rolled
away under the beds, and glarrd out on the
heart-stricken spectators, oh, with such looks
Many with legs and arms broken and twisted
the jagged spnters sticking though the raw
flesh, implored aid, water, food, or pity, or
deprived of speech by the approach of death,
or, by dreadful injuries on the head or trunk,
pointed TO the Iethal spot. Many seemed
bent alone on making their peace with lleav-
en-. The attitude of some was so hideously
fantastic as to appal and root one to the
ground by sort Of dreadful fascnation.-
Could that bloody mass Of clothing and white
bones, ever have been n human being, or that
burnt black mass of flesh have ever had hu-
man soul! 1t was fearful 10 think what the
answer must he. The bodies of numbers of
men were swollen and bloated to IN incrcdi-
bic degree, and the features distended to n
gigantic size, with eyes protruding from the
sockets, and the blackencd tongue lolling
out of the month, compressed tightly by the
teeth which had set upon it in the death rat
tie, made one shuddcr and reel round. In
the midst of one of these 'chambers of hor-
rors'--for there were many of them-were
found some dead and some living English |
soldiers, and among them poor Capt.Vaughn,
of the goth, who has since succumbed to his |
wounds. confess it was impossible for me |
to stand mt the sight, which mortified our most |
experienced surgeons-the deadly clammy
SitHCIl, tHc SuiVl' w t"S VIZ" h'""u',
of corrupt blood, of rotting flesh, were intol- |
cradle and odous beyond endurance. But
what must the wounded have felt who were
obliged to endure all this, and who passed
away without hand to give them n cup Of
WATER or voice to say one kindly word TO
them Most of these men were wounded on !
Salurday--many perhaps, Oil Friday before
indeed, it is impossible to say how long
they might have been there. In the hurry of
their retreat, tho Museovites seem to have
carried in dead men to get them ont of the |
way, and to have put them upon pallets in
horrid mockery. So that this retreat was
secured, the enemy cared but little for their
wounded. On Monday only, did they receive
those whom we sent out to them during a
brief armstice for the purpose, which was,
believe, sought by ourselves, as our over
crowded hospitals could not contain, and our
oveworked surgeons could not attend to any |
more.