Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-06-15
ing fatigue, and hardship, or for weeks of suf-

;.r f,tioue, and hardship, or for weeks of sui
feTing in an army hospital.
| Al The expiration of my leave of absence,
reported myself ready for service, and wa.
assigned to duty us a member of the invalid
detachment, at this hospital In the pursu
ance of my duties | have met with some ex
periences of fortitude and courage, equal to
any that old Sparta could show in her palmi.
est days. One, boy Of eighteen years OF
age, whose leg from the knee down VI as shat
tered to almost homogeneous consistency,
by spent solid shot, when the doctor feared
to tell him that amputation was necessary,
lest the shock of such intelligence might de-
press his spirits, said, doctor, l know that
my leg must come Off do not think | am too
Dig coward to know the worst. l come of
fighting stock. My great-grandfather was
Killed at Saratoga; my grandfather lost an
arm ut New Orleans; my father was a soldier
in Mexico; and am to lose leg in the best
cause of them all. So you can operate as
soon as you like, Doctor" | have dressed
the stump ever since the operation, and have
yet to hear the first groan or cry of distress
from him.
Of the many instances of deaths that have
occurred here, two have interested me more
than ordinarily, because they illustrate the
spirit with which the north entered the war
for the Union. Both were boys, aged seven
teen and nineteen years--the eldest from Yer
mont, the other from Massachusetts The
young Vermonter received shot which pass
cd through his lungs, giving him great pain,
and at times almost sufocalng him. Many
times he said to me, Il know l must die, but
thank God | am not afraid" Mr.. and Mrs.
Tourel (whose names You may have seen in
connection with the soldiers free library,
were with him at the time Of his death, and
when they asked him what message he would
leave tor his friends, lie replied, ''teH mother
| lcaS fighting for Liberty and the right. /
lras shot IN The. front, and I am not AFRAID to
de IN such a cause" He added, ''sing, i
am going home to die no more, and as sweet
voices chanted the familiar words, the soul
of our brave comrade went home to his Faith
er's house.
Young X. lost his leg as his regiment was
making a charge during the second battle of
Fredericksburg. During his sickness, he
won many friends by his patient, quiet, cheer.
full bearing, He seemed to be recovering
rapidly, but all at once he became worse, and
it was evident he must die As his hour APP
preached, he said, MY friends are not ex.
pecting this, and fear it will kill my mother"
After an hours sleep, he awoke, but seemed
more conscious of sights visible only to his
eyes, than Of our presence. Extending his
arm to its full length, he pointed upward and
exclaimed beautiful. beautiful There
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pam.
The arm dropped, a few more gasps and he
was gone, another martyr sacrificed to the
ambition of wicked men.
You may have read of blind Joe Parsons,
soldier belonging to one of the Maryland reg
ments, who lost his sight and smell, and
whose taste is also very much impaired, from
the effect of Il shot he received in the head.
He is here, and is so full of cheerfulness and
humor that he seems to make sunlight wher-
ever he goes. He was wounded at the second
Bull Run, and laid on the battle field until
the rebels came on to the ground where he
fell. Coming to his senses he beard groan
near him, and, calling, found that a rebel lay
near him who had lost his leg. Joe says i
toid l'i'a if he would lend me his eyes, would
loan nm my loSe' and 50 we could both get to
a hospital. He agreed, and | got him on my
back, and we soon found doctor. The doc
tor asked me if [ wasn't sorry l had been
fighting against the south, and trying to do
prive them of their libertyY Not a bit Of it,
says |, for | think any one that rebels against
as good government as we have got ought
not to nave any liberty or anything else. Al
ter some more gaSsing the doctor said he
reckoned | was a hard case, but he dress ed
my head in good shape | tell you"
| have alluded to Mr.. and Mrs. Towre, and
though their names may not be known to the
good people Of Worcester, yet l assure you
they are household words with hundreds of
soldiers they have befriended in Washington
BY their eXertions lot of ground has been
given by congress to establish free library
for soldiers. A small but convenient building
has been erected upon it. and furnished with
several hundred volumes of good reading mat
ter, large number of periodicals, weekly and
daily papers, from all parts of the country, and
embellished with pictures, so as to make the
soldiers free library and reading room an
agreeable place OF resort to young men who
may wish to spend some of the hours of con-
valescence outside of the hospital walls. But
this is not all. Twice week they meet the
soldiers there, and hold meetings for prayer
and singing, and every Sabbath morning
Bible class receives instruction at the same
place God bless them for their earnest,
hearty efforts in behalf of the soldier
Yours. LANKToN.