Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1862-03-07
Personal Adventures as Soldier and
w F Prisoner.
johnson, Feb. 9th 1862.

friends TO near how prlsoheis vi war aic
treated; | will give you something of
my own history while prisoner of war,
in the so-callcd Southern Confederacy.
was in the engagement of the 26th of
August last, when the Ohio seventh were
nearly surrounded at Cross Lane, Virginia.
The force of the enemy under Floyd
were FIVE thousand Infantry, five hundred
Cavalry, and six pieces Of Artillery,
against 75O of our Regiment, the Ohio
seventh We were at breakfast {green
corn roasted, without bread or coffee when
our pickets were driven in, we immediate
ly formed in line of battle They came
up in our rear intending to cut off our re-
treat, (our Co. was the rear company of
the Regt.) They fred npon us. we return
ed the fire, and were then ordered to deploy
as skirmishers on the hill, on the right of
the road This we did, and as was
closing up the files, received a wound
from Mississippi Life. The ball passed
through my left arm below the elbow, and
wounded me quite severely in my left
side. We there stood our ground nearly
an hour, till they brought up their Artil-
lery, and we then retreated. Some went
one way, some another, | went with one
of my company, to whom | gave my rife.
| will here say, fired twice after my
arm was broken. .. "s.I w.
After retrcating two miles, l became so
faint from the loss of blood could go
no further and stopped at a union house.
They told me would be taken if | staid
there answered could 90 no further.
Then the enemy came up and seeing me
there,-they said. What are you here
for, you d--n Yankee,--One says, shoot
him. told them in the North. they
would call man coward, if he should
shoot an unarmed man. This seemed to
to be the right answer, and the others
laughed at him, for being so much less
gentleman than the Yankees. They aske d
me if was wounded mortally. | told
them | was not. ehu .ln...H
They left two of their men to guard me,
and the rest went on. They said | must
60 back to their camp, which was six
miles.
After going two miles, we came to the
battle ground. where we found quite a
number of our wounded in log church.
went into the church, the guards told
the surgeon they had Yankee Lieut..
and wished him to look at my arm. He
did so, and found the arm was shot
through, he took out several pieces of
bones and told me that would do for the
present. then went on with the guards.
They used the Ferry House for a hospital.
The surgeon came in and looked at the
wounded but did nothing for me for five
days.
We had nothing to eat till nine o'clock
in the evening. When they brought in
some bread and coffee. The bread was
made by the soldiers. and was not very
eatable, but we were glad to get anything.
Fifteen of our wounded were in room
8 by IA; lying on the floor, without pill
lows or blankets we suffered very much
by night from the cold. During The first
night, two of our wounded died. They
left them in our room two days, before
they were buried. They we're then taken
out and thrown into pits, which we're dug
for them Their last words were, /" If you
ever see any of our friends, tell them we
died in defense Of our country They
had no kind mother to bid them farewell,
no sister to say their last good bye.
The first day of September. the brigade
Surgeon came into the hospital to look at
us, asked him if my arm would have
to be taken off. He said it would; he
then sent back to his quarters for his
instruments-but did not send for any
Chloroform, He told me it wouldn't hurt
much, and advised me not to take any
stimulant. After fifty seven minutes my
arm was bound up, They did not think
| could live through the operation, and
they asked me :" if all the Yankees were
like me-" told them yes, only a little