, 1863-09-22

The Military Hospftals-The1r Inter.
nal C0nyeniences-1ncfIe among
the Rebel Patients.
(Fzom Our Special Co7espondentl

ton some days ago, omitted any referenc
to the hospitals, military storehouses an
stables. These temporary structures consti
tuts for the time, a striking feature In th
landscape, and serve to give to the natioua
metropolis the appearance Of an immense en-
campment. ofthe hospitals there are niue
teen. each one Of which would comfortabI
shelter village Of five hundred to O thousan,
souls, acd furnish the INHABITANTS with fl
better md more ample accommodations tha,
a1e enjoyed BY the poor In large cities. Eacl
these hospitals consist Of; series Of sinpl,
story frame buildings, from two to three hun
dred feet in length, and ten to twenty in - n
Der, all OF which are connected bv coverei
rays 90 sas to form one great family. undej
the general perintendenc OF q SURGEON. vfr
Is asted y. seSe1a4 assistant surgeons, stew
ards, nurses, attendantB. and so forth, Eacf
hospital has corps Of male AID female nurset
the latter being N some, Sisters Of Oharitr n,
Mercy, and in Others, Protestant Ladies' ~ "a
nous determinations. believe that for frf
most part the female nurses prepare Gle1;c1
caes Tor TIE patients, andadmfnfster the med
1el1es: Ihey Contribute greatly to the com
lot oi the sex ana wounded BY their regard to
Heatnees. cleanliness, and order, aud by stY.
lpg to ths hospitals ID mir If home. IN one
OF these hospitals there are two ladie7-and
young Ladies At that-acting In the humhIe
capacny OF nurses, who belong to distinguish
~ 1am1nes In boston, and bear names which
gre honored wherever the language is spoken
~ " 1ntI connectlon with literature. During
inspired By heroic loYe Of country, Of freedom
and Of humanity, have mid aside all the ele
gapt luxul1es, and denied themselves ali the
refined eD1oyments Of social life, tor the cooj
retreats Of the New England hills OF seaside,
IN order to alleviate the pains. md soothe the
sorfoTs Of the MANNED or SICK soldiers, Thei1
devotion to the holy ofHcs Of CHARITY In thIt
hour Of their countsy's trial, win re8set h;s.
to'tc honor upon the sex. But the exam Ed
of these two Indies is BY no means q singula1
one. Hundreds Of others, educated aaa re-
tined, have been equally self forgetful In theI,
lore Of country and humanity.
:. The several wards OF the hospitals are some
nmes ,1E ranged IN parallels. and are connected
py atransve1ss covered WY, running thronEt
the centre Of the group. In others, the wardl
nse ranged In ecd<201. or with one mora ati,
varced than another. Two Of these echelou
groups being placed together, form q triau
Ean u!ar aggIega:e OF buildings, With interto!
picturesque, L the arrangement has no othe1
advantage. The Whole series 'of buildings Il
hospital are Of course White-Washea, AID a1
distance they present the appearance Of ,
compact and thltring village. They are scat
tered In oil directions around Washington,
and bare serTed TO I'LL up many vacant places
az well as to enlarge the boundaries Of s.the
city Of magnificent dlstances.''
The interior arrangements Of the hospitals
astouish me BY thefr perfection. The 1loore
ale Kept perfectly clean, and the beds and
bedding are as neat and comfortable in ap.
pearance as those Of any priyate house Theee
beds are for the most part well. stuffed aad
buoyant mattresses, resting on iron bed5teads,
aE9 coEeIed with clean sheets, blankets and
bedding. There Is d window to eyery bed.
which 1s always rai5ed so that the hospital Is
thotougjy aired. The out door habits Of the
soldiers makes this arrangement quite COM
patible with safety. For extremely bad cases
tie hospitals are provided NTH water beds.
consisting Of Indh-rubber bags Of the proper
thape, md filled with that cool, yielding ele-
ment, Which instantly adapts Itself to the
e,1ghtest change Of position. Not one sol
dler in ten thousand could fare as well at
home, If sick or wounded, IS all fare at tie
hospitals. The food allowed them, isl;of
course, propo1tloued In quantity, aud adapt
ed IN Quality 10 the several conditions Of the
pa1lenls, bat It IL always the best for the oc-
caslon- In the hot summer days, oranges
atd lemonaoc are distributed from the hospi-
which are given By friends aud yisitors. or
purchased By the patients,
It IS beautiful ftature Of these hospfta1s.
which must be gratifying to ths. srae chrIs.
tan pb11antbropfat. 1ha1 the rebel wounded
end lick fare. exactly like our m soldiers.
have teund that this kindness Is highly aud
gratefully appreciated; aud / cannot doubt
that it will produce excellent fruits 1Fhan
thty return to the South, and relate to toeIr
lNnds hoH niunitcently kind the tsYaukees,I
have been to them. Colonel Peter Evans a
s1n-jn.law Of Ex-Governor Morehesd Of
North Carolina, was dangerously, and as The
Vent proved, mortal15 wounded in the cay
ny M neht at Aldie. He .Tas brought to this
city, and died ut the Stanton hospital Of his
Mounds He was An amiable gentleman, not
"a original Eeceeslontst, and seemed to be en-
ttre1y free from the bitterness which charac-
Il r1zes the Southern politicians, lie lluger-
ed seSeral Eeeks. TIE Rev. Vim. &. Clan
ntrg, the Chaplain, took deep interest in
hts fate. he informed me that he was attrac-
ted TO Col. Evans bF the beautiful and touch
lng ieitefs which he wrote to his wife, and
which 1t became the duty Of the Chaplain to
read, before mailing them. The Colonel ex-
pressed htn surprise and gratitude for The
perfection ct the hospital afrangementa. and
he 11ndneas with which be was treated,
inough wealthy nan, he admitted that be
comd lot haqe Jared better at home, nor so
HeI, tn oIe particular, a. he was furnished
with one Of the water beds,a new invention
nnk u0Wn at the Sontb.
In the same hospital there were two North
CarollDa conscriptB desperately wounded at
chance]}orsyille. They were Union men, aud
!orced TO fight against their cony;ctiDas Of
anty. They have wiges and ehtidsen at home,
'ghom they are anxious to see: aud for that
;eas on alone, they hesitate to take the oath
y slleglance, as II would prolong the eepsra-
ion. But thsy declare tnefr p1rnoae 1ie.ver
70 light again, and hope they will not quite
'ecoser from heir wounds n lille the war
aktB,
When SO maby E1en have to be emp1oyed
orth, some Of cou1se, will prove to he over.
earring, careless, OF faithlese. I have heard
Toned amors the rsbe1 soldiers WhH sesmss men
lot to be penetrated by = sense Of gratitndes
vas tbat ola slightly wounded LIeuteuant.
me Of the high bloods from North CarolIna'
rho complained Of the petty tyranny exer.
''sed oFer him by the superintendent Of the
ion for the Complaint, Otherwise. he ad.
nitted that the Recommendations were iii. (
md mole than all be could eypect.
4 Virginia Captain, wheee wound turned |
nut to be fur more serious than he had snp-
osed, aud indeed, nearly fatal. was brin fiji
+ wrath and rage against the government
shen he first entered the hospital. H. de-. |
la!ed that he WIS for raising the black fam:
td for giving no quarter to the Yankees, ii |
time rhen be WAS in their hands, wound. |
q prisoner and dependent upon Yankee be- !
eqoience for the mems OF seatota. ion to
ealt9. an not aware that he Was even re-
nkta = az h1s lnsolenee deserved, BY those |
no beard his impotent railIngs. 1t any
ne, after GONE weeks, his wound assumed
very critical and threatening aspect in coa-
equeLce Of the rupture Of q smal blood yes
Il, and for month his life mas despalred Of:
Ut NJ 2ersth. the careful watching OF the
hyficians and nurses has raised tbis blood
1iraty nan from the laws Of death: He
.ust be hardened wretch If he is-noS over
helned with a sense Of cratitude to tie
overnment and the people he go iusapeIy
ates. ~ -. -
The accommodations proyidea for ,,!sson.
rs In sound health. ct The, WOid Ci.ito1a
I'd especially those at Forrest Hal,. IN
are anything. but nleasant ard
upcted nfiscrtr5 In rtc ho;.oitn', Ia evrrthv |
I