Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1861-08-17
The Dead ON the Battle Field.

The correspondent Of the Cincinnati
Commercial, with Gen. McClellan's col
umn, gives the following account of tn,
appearance of the dead on the field of bat
tie ct Rich Mountain:
The dead presented a ghastly spec.a,
Gle, l never conceived anything half &C
hideous. No power Of expression is ade
qtate to describe it. 1t was q complete
concentration Of horrors self. 1t is said
thu the features Of those who die by other
cases are usually relieved by faint smile
hat suffering is rarely left imprinted on
the countenance OF corpse-but that the
couftenances Of those who are shot have
imposed upon them the traces of pain
Thoe which i saw-about tifty-exhibit.
ed lo.hing but the revolving charac ter of
exqtsite agony. There was not the faint.
est thinner of lingering smile, not the
slightest possible tint Of sof,ness or mild
neA rot lineament Of beauty remaining
to flleys the harsh, borrid, distorted *
onlsed faces OF the dead of Rich Mountain.
Thu bright sun, glancing through the part.
ing leaves, lent no kindly ray to soften
theugly outlines melancholy had no sad,
ques shadow to mipgle with the hard, for.
biiding aspect of the dead faces on which
l ,azed with perfect horror. Had there
ben even traces of angry passion, vindic.
tveness, revenge, death could not have
sared so horribly as it did out Of those
CHASTITY lineaments; we could have felt
there was still something left in those hu-
nan faces but mere outlines.
"The faces of our own dead were as
harfully forbidding as those of their dead
enemies. 1t was impossible to drive from
my mind reflections upon the terrible in.
tensity Of grief which those who see the
forbidding countenances Of dead loved
ones on the field of battle must experience.
| imagine it must exceed all other grief
for the dead-because every feature is SO
distorted and unnatural, so entirely devoid
of the tone of expression which friends
have loved in the living features. Some
were lying prone on the field. as they had
fallen. with limbs sprawling, great thick
blotches of coagulated blood near their
bodies, their garments saturated with the
ensanguined flow, and their gaping faces
and stony eyes staring full at the broad
brazen sky. One who h&d been shot down
in the woods above the bresst.works. Law
stark upon his face, One arm thrown with
q convulsive struggle ar.nnd Me limb of
fallen tree. Clottsd blo,d, which had
flowed out Of his side was near him !,
thick Jumps. But the most,ide Gus scena
was that of twenty nine dead bells nacked
horribly together in a tren,-m,s, nr
them with fearful orifces perft,inu tba;r
heads, through which the hrai. coed in
sickening clots; others with mn boles
full in their breasts some with A,,ornd
limbs, and others with lacerated n,,
gled flesh, with here and there a MT.
ed bone exhibiting itself. Oh hG hlo
most horrible Our own precious, nd
but few in number, had been more t.
" gathered, and kind comrades haG |
Gently composed their stitfening formT
lifted the covering which concealed II
inanimate features, but saw nothing to
move from my mind that indellible il
| r-~..:~" vf u"m;sis o.ed ugiinsss Of deA
faces Of men shot in battle.
"One poor fellow Of the thirteenth In
diana was shot in the left eye by crap
shot 1t perforated the brain and di
logged and disorganzed the whole inne
structure Of the cranium from the sku
downward, leaving monstrous cavity
unmaginable horror. The ball left tn
sTelid perfect, entering directly under tn
nose where it joins the forehead, withoy
disfguring the nose in the least--a pei
fectly clean but very singular wound.
Our own dead occupy separate grave
on the battlefield they so gaIlantly wol
The bodies of our brave but msguide
foemen were carefully laid in commo
grave, and are now resting quietly wher
but yesterday they fought so well.
"Our own aud the rebel wounded Ia
strewn together'iu blankets on the door
Of Harris house. Every available spac
was covered with their convulsive an
quivering bodies. Down under the pore
was another line Of wounded. Tnere wa
no difference in the treatment of the sui
ferers. The severely wounded of the enc
my were attended to before the slight
injured Of our army, Most Of them SUI
fered in silence, a few slept soundly, bu
some moaned with intense agony. On
poor.fellow, an Indianian, shot throug
the side of the head, who could even ye
stand on his feet with assistance, suffere
cxcrucialing agony. If he survives it viii
be almost miraculous Now and then
wounded rebel would stare sulenly at on
people, bnt the majority appeared CRATE
fully surprised at the kindness with whicI
they were treated. Indeed, everythin
possible was done to mitigate. their suffer
logs. shall not attempt to depict tn
ghas'ly pictures OF horrid wounds an
shuddering forms Of poor victims, to whom
it would have been merciful il they coul
have died, but who lay on the cold, coll
ground in quivering agony, with no cbanc
to survive, and yet could not exc out
last suffering gasp"