Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-11-08
From the Perryvine Hospitals.

EDITOR LEADER Here 1 am, on tn
very field and in the village around and il
which the fierce conflict ragged between til,
forces Of Buell. and those of Bragg. Thr
village is a small one of 600 inhabitants
surrounded by hills, and presenting to
military eye many points of attack and
defence. Literally the whole surface Of
the earth was parohed for want of water
None was to be had except from few
living springs, which gush from the lime
stone rock, and these were in the posses.
sion of the enemy, and throughout that
scOrching hot October day, with clouds Of
dust following every movement of the COM
batants, cur troops fought without drop
of water. Much censure, we'll or Hide
served it becomes me not to say, is cast
upon General Buell., and charges of high
character are freely made by soldiers and
officers, showing a Generalization really
alarming. If General Buell. were a second
Napoleon, would not wish him retained
for the reason that his army believe him
incompetent if not criminal. I believe
him neither, but do believe that he has
officers under him who, for selfish or de-
signing purposes, are bounding him, and
if not assigned to another command viii
make his name execrated.
To see the wounded-to visit their bed
sides in the hospitsl-to see them suffering
with amputated limbs and disfguring
wounds, to smell as I do, with every
breath Of air from the field Of carnage, the
smell of decaying human bodies and of
horses beat to death in the fierce encoun-
ter of men of the same land-to see the
long line of graves where the dead are
buried, and to meet at every step some
broken-hearted parent, brother or friend,
seeking the remains of one dear to them
in life, is a sad commentary upon glorious
wan Seeing these things, and with it q
country ravaged by hostile armies, and re-
fecting that God is just, how terrible must
be the punishment of those who caused
this fratricidal war. Better for them that
they were in the deep bosom of the ocean
buried-better if mountains could fall upon
and hide nhem from the eye of an offended
day a realizing sense Of their own guilt
What would have been the situation of
the wounded, had it not been for the efforts
of the Sanitary Commission, 1t would be
impossible to tell. Their agents have dis
tributed supplies which otherwise could
not have been had, and without which life
could not have been saved Could the
Ladies Of the Aid Societies of Northern
Ohio, and others of every section, have but |
witnessed the use to which their stores |
were applied, the alleviatiOn Of pain and |
the comfort they caused TO the brave men |
who periled their lives on the battlefield, |
they would thank God that their charity |
had been directed in the proper channel. |
Without the Soldiers Aid Societies to fur
nish and the United States Sanitary Com
mission, the chief of whom in the West is
Dr. Newberry, of Cleveland, many brave |
soul would have left its earthly tenement |
that now viii soon be again fit for duty, |
thanks to the noble charity that succored |
and saved them.
Among the wounded here, no one article
is now more needed than pantaloons.
Generally those worn on the day of battle
are cut to pieces, either by shot or by the |
surgeons in getting at the wounds, or else
are so clotted with blood as to be stiff, with /
an Odor of blood highly offensive. Next
to these are sheets and drawers, wooden
preferred.
In every hospital, and there are dozen
or fifteen in number, each with wards in
other buildings numbering one, two, and
sometimes as high as FIVE, there are Ohio
ans and in these the Western Reserve has
One poor fellow, dread
fully in want told me that he had made
crutches in Ashtabula county which he
sent to the Aid Society in Cleveland, and
added, as the tear stood in his eye, "Lit-
tie did l then think that would ever draw
aid from that source" l think men
toned in my last that of all the donations,
those from Northern Ohio were put up
with the most care. If did not then
say itnow, with all the pride beftting a
resident Of that region.
As q general rule, the Southern prison
ers here and those I saw at Louisville, are
spare, thin and wiry, less flesh, and Of
smaller bone than the Northern troops.
Contrary to the generally received opin-
ion, they can stand, or rather do stand,
more hardship. The discipline Of Bragg,
Lee, Jackson and others, is prompt and
5tCAA- puAa6AAA4CAb AOlAoWAlB a DLbdSn VI
discipline with certainty. This gives
them an advantage in the fight Another
and a great advantage is their uniform,
kind Of dark color, which can scarce be
from the earth or the leaves
of Autumn, and thus on they creep upon
our troops without discovery, and when
present no particular mark for
the rife. Still another advantage they
possess, and it is one that I have never
yet seen in print. They use, whenever
they can get it, the old musket, loaded
with one rife ball and three or five buck
shot. That is why they generally seek
close quarters, and then not unfrequently
one shot wounds two or three men. They
do not seek, as do our troops, to kill in ac-
ton, because they know that one wounded
man is worth two or three dead, for it re-
quires two or three men to carry one
wounded off the field of battle. Thus you
see the rebel leaders coolly calculate all
the chances and act accordingly.
do not give you any particulars of the
battle-these you have from other sources.
Colonel W. P. Reid, of Delaware, with his
the 12lst Ohio, commands and
garrisons this post. The regiment is one
Of the new ones, and in action it fought
with the most determined bravery, yet its
name is scarce heard in the braggadoeio
accounts of the battle.
Truly yours,
-S-@s- ,
Our Financial COpditIou