Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1855-06-01
War as Seen in the Hospital.

The following paragraphs are from
Household Words. They were written
by gentlemen who visited a British
hospital filed with soldiers from the
Crimea. 1t gives glimpse Of the
"shady side" Of war:
First is a foot-soldier, wounded by
shell in the knee, who thinks he
would like 10 write to his first cousin.
This first cousin is his only relative,
and does not know even Of his having
volunteered for foreign service; he is
not sure about his direction, but
knows it is somewhere in the county
Clare. In the next bed a woe-begone
sad creature answers your question in
hollow, dcspairing voice: 81 hcve no
friends" he says, and "let me alone.
The brain Of this poor fellow is affect
ed, and we can be of no service to
him at present, SO pass on. There is
a boy OF only seventeen, wounded ut
the battle of the Alma. His face is
quite beautiful, round andhealthy look
ing. He seems quite happy and con-
tented, and answers cheerfully enough;
that he would wish to write to father
and mother, and tell them he had lost
his leg: such letter he dictates as
would shame a whole army Of philos-
ophers;-when he gets used to "those"
he says, pointing to the crutches by
his beds head, he will do well enough
The case is one Of dysentery. A
giant of an huzzar-the skeleton OF
one at least-all shaggy hair and eyes.
With cough, accompanied by moaning,
would like to let his wife and children
know about him; they have not heard
since he went out FIVE months ago;
they will not see him again in this
world, he feels sure, and truly his
state is very sad; his attenuated legs
find even the weight Of bed clothes in
supportable. he can only fetch his
breatn to speak at intervals; has been
deadly i'll these six weeks, as far as
he could take note Of tagging time;
would have sent home some money
long ago, but that theya had rob-
bed him in Scutari hospital Of all he
had-which they cut from around his
naked neck where he wore it in bag;
there was some more due to him if he
had his rights, and they should have
all; they must have wanted it, he
knew, through this sad winter. Yes,
he was in the horse-charge that was
so famous, borne up by the men
around him through the rain of bull
lcts-borne and back again 10 the
Russian guns, and back again, he
means, without much thought of dan
ger; there was no time. He does not
wish that to be set down'in the letter;
said it to inform us only; We have
written all he wishes; and SO, with a
"Thank ye, thank ye," he sinks back
on his bed and groans.
The fifth place has no tenant; its
latest occupant was borne out yester-
day to still narrower resting-place.
The sixth is manned man; his
right arm was shot off at Inkermann:
he was in all the previous battles.-
This man talks freely Of the war and
without pain in utterance, which most
men can do (and let it be kept in re-
membrance by all those making them
selves useful TO the sick, not to al.
low their compassion to be sacrificed
to curiosity.) The fearfullest thing
af battle field is the heading upon
the bodies of the fallen. The thunder
of the guns and the flashes, the trem-
bling of the ground under the horses,
seemed as though heaven and earth
were coming together; but the STEP
ping on II wounded man--that was
the worst; before the fighting. it was
not unpleasant, perhaps; and after. it
was dreadful time,--but the fight
itself was enough to flush man, a
great while of excitement and mad
ness; often and often used to think Of
it as he lay in bed and on board ship.