St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1861-09-12

A correspondents Of the Savannah Re-
pmJ3tcaa thus describes . second visit. to
.lhc lscens.sf ne battle Of Manassas Oh the
Wednesday following the struggle, and
what he saw there:
On Monday our dead were buried or
boxed up. and sent home for intermcnt.
and many Of the enenly's wounded were
brought in and atten.cd to. All day
Tuesday was devoted to burying the dead
on the other side, and yet the work had
not beef half finished when l arrived on
the field Wednesday morning. So intol-
cradle was the stencil arising from the
dead, and especially from the horses. that
our men had been compelled to suspend
their humane labors l did hear that
somc Of the prisoners we had taken were
sent out and ordered to finish the work,
which they did. though reluctantly
1t was sad sight the battlefield that
day. The enemy's dead still lay scattered
i'll every direction. and the silent vultures
had begun to circle above them. They
were well clad, and were larger and stoutrr
men thau ours. Nearly all Of them were
lying upon their backs. some of them with
their legs and arms stretched ont to the
utmost. Many had their feet drawn up
somewhat, while their arms, from the el-
bows, were raised, and the hands rather
closed, after the fashion of boxers. 1t
was singular and yet the. prevailing at
titude. Most of them had sandy or rssl
hair, and have observed that this is the
predominant coIor among our own soldiers.
Those who were not killed instantly had
almost invariably torn open their shirt
collars and loosened their clothing about
the waist.
There was another mark 10 addition IN
this by which VIC could tell whether their
death was sudden or lingering. 1t was
the color Of the face. If the body had
time to become cool and quiet before
death. the corpse was pale, though not 50
much SO rs those who die from disease.
Those who were killed instantly, however,
and while heated and excited, we're purpl.
and black iu the face In such cases the
blood being in full circulation. there was
not time f'r it to return to the heart befon.
the badly had ceased all its functions. At
least. l suppose such is the explanation,
aud physician confirms me in it.
Such Of the poor wrctches as had been
buried were placed in long bitches or
trenches. sometimes twenty or thirty in
the ssm'e trench. Of course it was im..
possible to procure cofins or boxes for
them. They were laid away in the sa,ue.
attitude in which they were found. and in
which their bodies aud limbs had become
stiff and rigid-one with his arms and legs
stretched out--another ben, nearly double
"A third with his hands raised, as de.
scribea above. One poor fellow haG: died
with ais arms cla.pesi around small tree.
aud others with their hands clas,s.d
tightly about their muskcts. Or such twigs
Or rooss AS were in their reach. One Was
found with his Bible opened upun his
breast Some had their hands crossed
and the whole b.xiy composed afte, the
manner Of corpse. A few were found
upon whom there WAS not the least wound
or mark. Whether they died from sun
stroke, or from exhaustion. or simple
fright, it was impossible to cay. though
probably it vas from the FIRST cause