The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1861-03-19
ATTITUDE OF THE DEAD ON THE
FIELD OF BATTLE.

1t appears that during the recent battles in It.
ally. of the French physicians directed
by their superior med cal .tfcers in addition to
their more immediate da.ies the living, to study
| the phvsinogica mechanism il one my speak
of death Itself, as it occurred m h. atle field; tha!
l. t. say. the p',ysioyn"my positions aud attitudes IN
cidenal to death from the of war. during. or
| as as possible after the conflict. Thus the
surgeon passed from operating ambulance to view
| the fallen. Is not this an intensifcation of the
moral sublime? an unique study? original? French?
more than tragedians conceived?
Thus nr Armand physician mljnr of the first
class. chief of the ambulance of headquarters ot
the fourth corps of the French army of Italy. re.
lates from personal. observation some interesting
particulars concerning the AMI atiru les of
| the battle fields of the Crin"a and of Italv-a
| condensed translation sketch If which (frnm
Gez Hehdom de Med Sept Is 1Sj9D will be
| subioined as worthy of consideration, physically
| ph, sinlngcnlly. and traumrricay
| During the day of the battle of Magenta includ-
| ing the night, 5000 wounded Frenchmen and Aus
trains underwent capital minor operation aud
dressings at the amlpulances of DR. Armand
| With his two assistants he had completed his
work at the dawn of the following day. when he
nroceede1 to inspect the bloody field of Magenta
and the attitudes of the slain-a very melancholy
but not "A useless study.
Dr. Armand observed that great number Of
| the dead preserved nearly a. may lie. the same
attitudes in which they had been when the
sencers of death struck them-a proof tha: they
had passed from life to death without agony with
ont commissions. Thnse struck in the head gen
orally lay with the face and abdomen fl: upon
the ground. a position which the death stiffness
had not changed. holding for the most part, their
weapons still -rasped in their hands
DR.. Armand mentions peculiarity often atti-
tendant upon wounds of the head. in which the
patient thinks himself by no means dangerously
hurt, although sometimes he dies, may say
81 nntane US y or by surprise. During the battle
of Solferinh so:der. wounded in the head by IA
ball entered the nmhu once. and was dressed by
DIR Lambert. The ball had perforated the skull
and To- lgcd in the cerebral mass; nevertheless: the
patients intelligence perfect; he made light OF
his W, und; lay down having his lighted pipe in
his mouth. with his head raised upon his knap
sack against the wall. where he was found after
ward with his pipe still in his mouth He had
pired without movement n"se Dr. Armand
details similar case. that of segrant major
whom DR.. Lambert Or. A 8 assistant) dressed in
the Crimean The soldier smoked on for
dozen of days after having heen wounded. and
having lighted his pipe for the last time died sud-
denly. keeping it still in his moath These
are, therefore, attcsied by at least two medical
witnesses.
LIZ S5Es iIdI SoIuicTS WI" IeSSI'e tuclF
death wounds IN the heart, fall aud rest in the
same manner rs those do who are killed by injury
to The brain though the death is not ins,an-
taneous but that it may allow an attitude, which
so to speak is active. We have seen, among 9TH
ers Zouave struck fairly in the chest. who was
doubled upon his musktt as if taking position
to charge bay"nets. his face full Of energy as it
advancing. with attitude menacing than
that of lion 1t is reported that his Majesty
had observed a similar at Palestrn
On the other hand an Austrian. who had died
by hemmorrhase from ball which had d vided
the crural vessels. whose agony had been OF snIue
Duration proven by the blood in which he was
bathed, presented the attitude of suiplieation he
lay his back. little bent Z" the right. his face
and eyes turned toward the heavens. both hands
joined together. with the fingers intetaced and
contracted. The man died in the attitude of pray
er. In fact, religious ideas appear to have pre-
vailed quite extensively among the Russians in
the campaign of the Crinea
In wounds of the abdomen, the agony was
more iRtoprable. attended with vomiting and
hicenugh the face nf the c.rTse was generally
found contracted, the har:is and firearms crossed
upon the abdomen the body doubled upon itself,
and resting on the side.
At Ponte Yecchio di Magenta Hungarian
hnssar killed las was his horse) remained nearly
in The saddle. lying the right side, having the
point Of his sabre in advance. in the position uf
horseman when charging He had risen still fresh
in his topak, his forehead pierced with ball; his