Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-04-21
The Battlefield of ton
of the Wounded--Ihe Horrors OF
war.

The Battlefield of Standardization
of the wounded--The Horrors OF
war.
We copy the following xtracts from the letters
of the editor of the Lafayette Journal. who has
just returned from the hattie field of Shiloh,
graphically describing what he saw and heard Of
that terrible conflict:
PITTsBURG LANDING, April -.
have just arrived at Pittsburg Landing, and
even here e are greeted with most dscourag ing
and Startling rumOrs. Our great victory has
turned into great repulse Wounded and dying
men I'LL the tents | see for miles stretched along
the shore. An attack j. even now mOmentarily
expected rom the reinforced enemy
Gen. Halleck arrived about the same time our
boat touched the landing. III he can bring order
QUE OF the universal confusion, hope out OF the
general dependency, his arrival is most timely
APRIL l3.-We spent six hours yesterday in
travelling over the battlefield. Ii would take
three days of constant travel, with intelligent
guides to enable YOU to form anything like
correct idea of il. Few, even OF those who were
in the battle, have been over the field. 1t Is
coverel with woods and underground The
rush of armed hosts and the constant moving OF
army teams over the ground. saturated with rains,
have converted 1t into aquagmlre. Ii Is impOssi-
BILE 10 walk over the ground, SO deep Is the mud
The evidences of the terrible conflict 10 be
seen on every hand We passed. over acres Of
ground where the bullets had cut every twig off
close to the gruund--as closely as though some
huge mower had passed over it, In hundreds of
trees as many forty balls were sticking. Many
large trees were cut off by cannon shot Through
others balls had passed leaving holes through
which 4 mans hat might be passed. Dead horses
are scattered thickly over the field | saw seve-
raj whose heads had been shot of by cannon balls.
Weplssed over the field five DAYS after the fight
and yet there were many bodies uuburied In
one place nearly two hundred rebels were lying
in the space of an acre We saw frequently a
single corpse separated from the others tar out in
the thcket, where the wounded rebel had crawled
to die
IL was noticed singular fact by the sur
geons of our party that the faces of our soldiers
were pallid, while those of the rebel dead had
turned very black. | do not know how this j.
accounted for. Among other strange reasons
one was that the rebels were heavily dosed with
whisky and gunpowder before going into battle.
have heard rebel prisoners say that this was the
fact. and many of our own men assert that the
rebel soldiers exhibited unmistakeable evidences
of intoxicaton. Some of them threw away their
guns and rushed upon the artillery with closed
fists and wild screams and laughter.
All over the immense field in the open woods,
the dense thickets the hill sides and the deep m
vines. are scattered guns. cartridge boxes, caps.
coats, swords, bullets, she'll cannon balls knives
and bayonets.
On Sunday night the rebel army slept on our
camping ground aud occupied our tents. destroy
Ing nothing, so confident were they of victory
next day. Our men ON Sunday night crouched
close up to the river bank, shelteress and gloomy
Monday night found the rebel horles far away,
cavalry in pursuit OF them and their dead
strewn thickly over the field
Intelligent officers place our loss at 10000 in
killei. wounded and missing that of the rebels
at 5000 Our wounded have been and are he
ing sent away by steamboats, To the Ohio river.
\ dozen have already left, crowded with their
hapeSs, helpless freight Such scenes of misery
some of these bo is present defy description.
The most graphic and lively description must ut
tery fail in conveying anything like IN adequate
idea of the misery and Indebtedness of these
floating hospitals. lie is singular, too. how soon
men become accustomed to such scenes and un
affected bv them Men chat carelessly with dy-
ing and dead around them. Corpses lie
almost unnoticed in the mud teamsters driving
almost over them. aud the crowd surging two
and fro, hardly stopping To look at them
The loading o. the wounded and sick soldiers
into the boats sent up to carry them TO the North
was sad sight, | assure YOU Over the hills
picking their way through the moving throng,
came squads OF soldiers from all parts of the
field, bearing upon siretchers their disabled com
pani0us Ii WIS a difficult task, that OF carrying
the poor fellows down the steep and miry hills
through the long lines of wagons, mules and sol
diers As they came cautiously picking their
WAY along the gangway 20 the decks. look cd
with interest upon tie faces OF the poor fellows
Some seemed delighted and cheerful IN the pros
pect of reaching home; others were silent. sad
la trttIa o. ,f all fhap
tlced a number of soldiers carrying wounded
companions To the boat on their backs evtlently
proud 20 render this last friendly service % their
brave and helpless fellows Many cane support
el between two friends. and crowds came limp
ing. hating along. supporting themselves bv
sticks. and occasionally resting their painful
journey Once on the boats, they dropped down
in the first convenient place. no matter how dirty
il might be. and utterly careless. though hun
dreiS had 10 step over them IN moving about the
boat Far down on The boiler decks among the
machinery. the freight and coal, You would ire
Queniy come upon sleeping soldier, his blanket
over INN. his knap-lcS Tor pillow.
No wonder the wounded and sick soldier j.
ANXIOUS 20 set home. There l. lttle 90 hope for
in tie hospitals Such food and attention n most
of them get would Kill well men There are
from twenty i've 20 thirty places SO P,ducth
called h0smtals-gre1t gloomy, damp, cherries
tG1I4lf-~. Ia tlt-t 4c-ttsttt ltttt- A4tNN Ntil
der have fingered for four months. A week
home attention and comfort would restore them
There they must linger on, an expense u the
Government, an With nut faint hope OF Tecov-
erv until somebod, cuts the red tape cables that
conhue them. In Tar too many cases this must
be death Nth BIZ, scythe
asn a~toni-hed % ind many soldiers SEX
Our Indiana regiments DO not average 51O eiiec
tive men. Some regiments have men scattered
all the way from Western Virginia % Pittsbnrg
Landing lli, said that We have believe, abou,
fits eight regiments. and vet feel certain Jhai
We have not thirty thousand soldiers Who will be
able % do duty duriag the reminder OF this war
You should az every landing and camp the
crowds OF pale, emtCiaied. feeble men. who Greer
about sishiug for health and home IL looks A.
though al the grave yaris IN the couptrv had
emrtiei themselves Ny advice to every one
Who has a son or brother ia this war IS see - HIN
YOURSELF Comfort not yourself with the idea that
M, req mental Surgeon Is a clever ie.loW--thal
you know him ami he is your friend Al home
War work wonders in developing seld-huess anC
latent meauueSs. Surgeons and friends grow
callcus and careess anu the soldier dies, IN nin'
cases 0ut % ten from mere want OF attention aud
home comforts Trust not u tie hospitals
They are ciauel hOuse>-vestibules tO the grave
wards The food furnished 10 most soldiers il
execrable-ooliee ike I've. raw. half cooked beet