Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1862-05-14

10 our surgical Instruments He received
none OF the attention from the surgeons OH
the other side, 'which,'' to use his own Lam
gage, "l should have shown to them had our
position been reversed"
The testimony of William F. Swain, Asss-
tant Surgeon of the Fourteenth New York
Regiment, who was taken prisoner at Sudley's
Church, confirms the statement of DR.. Ii omi-
ston, in regard to the brutal operations
Corporal Prescott. He also states that after
he himself had been removed to Richmond,
when seated one day with his feet on the win
dow sill, the sentry outside called to him to
take them in and on looking out be saw the
sentry with his musket cooked and pointed at
him, and withdrew in time to save his life.
lie gives evidence OF the careless treatment
ana cruel manner in which the surgeons oper-
ated upon our wounded previous to leaving
for Richmond, aud ten or twelve days after
the battle he saw some of the Union soldiers
unburied on tho ground, entirely naked.
Walking around were a great many Rebels
goatiDg over tho horrid sight.
The case of DR.. Ferguson, Of one of the New
York regiments, is mentioned by DR.. Swain.
"When getting into his ambulance TO look af-
ter bis own wounded he was fred upon by the
Rebels. When he told them who he was,
they said they would take u parting shot at
him, which they did, wounding him in the
leg. He had his boots on, aud his spurs on
boots and as thoy drove along his spurs
would catch in the tailboard Of the ambu-
lance, causing him to shrek with agony"
An officer rode up, and, placing his pistol to
bis hoad threatened to shoot him If he con-
tinucd to scream. This was on Sunday, the
day of the battle.
One Of the most important witness was Gen.
James B. Ricketts,we known in Washington
ana throughout tho country, lately promoted
for his daring and self sacrificing courage.
After having been wounded in the battle Of
Bull Run, he was captured, and az he lay
helpless on his back party Of Rebels passing
him cried out, "knock out his brains, the DID
Yankee" He met General Beauregard, an
old acquaintance, only year his senior at the
United States Military Academy, where both
were educated. lie had met the Rebel Gen
eral In the Sonth number of times. BY this
head OF the Rebel army, on the day after the
battle, hc was told that his General RIckett's)
treatment would depend upon the treatment
extended to the Rebel privateers. His first
Lieutenant, Ramsey who was killed, was strip
ped Of every article of his clothing but his
socks, and left naked on the field. lie testi-
fled that those of our wounded who died in
Richmond were buried in the negro burying
ground among the negroes and were put into
the earth in the most unfeeling manner.
The statement of other witnesses as to how
the prisoners were treated is fully confirmed
by General Ricketts,. He himself, while in
prison, subsisted mainly upon what he purch-
ased with his own money brought to him by
his wife. "We had," he says, Hwhat they
called bacon souD-soup made of boiled bacon,
the bacon being a little rancId-which you
you could not possibly eat and that for
man whose system was being drained by
wound is no diet at all.' In reply to a ques-
tion whether he had heared anything about
our prisoners being shot by the Rebel sentries,
he answered :-'sYes, number of our men
were shot. In one instance two were shot
one was killed, and the other wounded, by a
man who rested his gun on the wind ow- sill
while be capped it.
General Ricketts,, in reference to his hav-
ing been held as one of the hostages for the
privateers states ID considered it bad treat
ment to be selected as hostage for a priva-
teer, when | was lame that | could not
walk, and while my wounds were still open
and unhealed. At this time Gen. Winder
came 10 see me. He had been an officer in
ny regiment; | had known him for twenty
odd years. 1t was on the 9th of November
that he came to see me. He saw that my
wounds were still unhealed he saw my con-
dition; but that very day he received an order
to select hostages for the privateers, and, not
withstanding he knew my condition, the next
day Sunday, the 10th of November, was Sc
ected as one of the hostages" 81 heard" )"
be continues, of great many of our prison
ers who had been bayoneted and shot. | saw
three of them-two that had been bayoneted
and ene of them shot. One was named Louis
Francis, of the New York Fourteenth.
He had received fourteen bayonet wounds.
He had one wound very much like mine, on
the knee, in consequence Of which his leg was
amputated after twelve weeks had passed
and / would state here that in regard to his
case, when it determined to amputate
his leg, heared DR.. Peachy, the Rebel sur
geon, remark to one OF his assistants, 81 won't
be greedy; you may do it ~ and the yonng
man did it. L number in my room,
many of whom had been badly amputated.
The flaps over the stump were drawn too
tight, and some of the bones protruded. A
ferred to in the testimony of surgeon Homi
ston) was amputated twice, and then, /
think, moved to Richmond before the flaps
were heaed-Prescott died under this treat
ment. L heard a Rebel doctor on the steps
below my room say, ''that he wished he could
take out the hearts of the Id Yankee as cas-
lily as he could take off their legs" Some
Southern gentlemen treated me very hand
somely. Wade Hampton, who was opposed
TO my battery, came to see me and behaved
like generous enemy
1t appears, as a part Of the history of this
Rebellion, that General Ricketts, was visited
ed by his wife, who, having first heard that he
was killed in battle, afterwards that he was
alive but wounded, travelled under great diff
culties to Manassas to see her husband. He
says :-ssShe had almost to fight her way
through, but succeeded finally in reaching
me on the fourth day after the battle. There
were eight persons in the Lewis House, at Ma
nassas, in the room where lay, and my wife,
for two weeks, slept in that room on the floor by
my side, without bed. When we got to
Richmond, there were. six of US in a room, a
mong them Colonel Wilcox, who remained
with us until he was taken to Charleston.
There we were all in one room. There was
no door to it. 1t was much as it would be
here if you should take off the door of this