The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-05-22


ing account of the wounding and death of the
great Confederate chieftan Stonewall jackson
is taken from. the May number Of the Rich
mcnd Medical Journal. No one will regret the
space it occupies in columns The battle
of Charlottesville was fought on the Cd and Sd
! of May, 1868. 1t the night of the I'd
that the dreadful accident General j. having
received his wounds at the hands of his own
men) occurred, which was the turning point in
the fortunes Of the Contederacy. We append
the account:
Last Wound of the late Gen. Jachson-TAe
and Deoth-By Hunter MEG uire, NJ. D.,
! Professor of Surgery in the Medical College
of Virginia. and late Medical Director OF
! General Jackson's Command.
Supported upon either side by his aids, Cap
tains James Smith and Joseph Morrison, the
General moved slowly and painfully towards the
rear. Occasionally resting for moment to
shake off the exhaustion which pain and the loss
of blood produced, he at last reached the line
of battle, where most of the men were living
Gown, to escape the shell and canister with
which the Federals raked the road General
Pender rode up here to the little party and ask
ed who was wounded, and Captain Smith, " no
had been instructed by General jackson to tell
no one Of his injury, simply said "a Confederate
officer" but Pender recognized the General, and
ringing from his horse, hurredly expressed
his tegret, and that his lines were SO much bro
ken be feared it would be necessary to fall
back. AT this moment the scene was fearful
one. The air seemed to be alive with the
shrleks of she'll and the whstng Of bullets;
horses riderless and mad with fright, dashed in
every drection; hundreds left the ranks and
fad r hor of tHo IoI
and dying mipgled with the wild shouts of 9TH
ers to be led again to the assault. Almost
fainting as he was, from loss of blood, fearfully
wounded, and as he thought, dying, jackson
was undismayed by this terrible scene The
words Of Ponder seemed to rouse him to life
Pushing aside the meu who supported him, he
stretched himself to his full height, and answer
ed feebly, but distinctly enough to be heard
above the din of battle, General Peuder, you
must hold on to the field, you must hold out to
the last" it was Jacksons last order upon the
field of battle Still more exhausted by this
effort, he asked to be permitted to lie down for
few moments, but the danger from the fire,
and capture by the Federal advance, was too
imminent, and his aids hurried him on. A lit
ter having been obtained, he was placed upon
it, and the bearers passed on as rapidly as the
the thick woods aud rough ground permitted
struck down, and the litter, having been sup
ported at each of the four corners by man,
fell and threw the General to the ground. The
fall was a serious one, aud as he touched the
earth, he gave, for the first tine, expression to
his suffering, and groaned piteously
Captain Smith .sprang to his side, aud as he
raised his head, bright beam Of moonlight
made its way through the thick foliage, aud
rested upon the pale face Of the poor sufferer
The Captain was startled by its great paIlor and
stiffness, and cried out, ''Oh! General, are you
seriously hurt?" no." he answered, "don't
trouble yourself, my friend, about me- and
presently added something about winning the
battle first, and attending to the wounded after
wards. He was placed upon the litter again,
and carried few hundred yards, when | met
him with an ambulance. | knelt down by him,
and said, Il hope you are not badly hurt, Geo
eral" He replied, very calmly but feebly, "I
am badly injured, Doctor; | fear l am dying
After pause he continued, Il am glad you
have come. | think the wound in my shoulder
is still bleeding" His clothes were saturated
with blood, and hamorrhagc was still going on
from the wound. Compression Of the artery
with the finger arrested 1t, until lights being
procured from the ambulance, the handkerchief
which had slipped little, was readjusted His
calmness amid the dangers which surrounded
him, and at the supposed presence of death, and
his uniform pOteuess, which did not forsake
him, even under these, the most trying circum
stances, were remarkable. His complete con-
troll, too, his mind, enfeebled as it was, by
loss OF blood, pain, &a, was wonderful. HIS
suffering at this time intense; his hands
were cold; his skin clammy, his face pale, and
his lips compressed and bloodless; not a groaD
escaped hlm-not a 81 IN of suffering, except
the slight corrugation Of his brow, the fixed
rigid face, aud the thin lips SO tightly compress
sed, tha. the impression of the teeth could be
seen through them. Except these, be control
led, by his iron will, all evidence Of emotion,
and more difficult than this even, he controlled
that disposition TO restessness which many OF
us have observed upon the field of battle, at
tending great loss of blood Some whiskey and
morpnia were procured from DIR. Strath, and
administered to him., and placing him in the
ambul lance, 1t was started for the Corps Field
Infrmary, at the Wilderness Tavern Col.
Crutchfeld, his Chief Of Artillery, was also IN
the ambulance wagon. He had been wounded
very serious y in the leg, and was suffering H.
tensely.
The General expressed, very feeling'y, bis
sympathy for Crutchhed, and once, when the
latter groaEed aloud he directed the ambulance
to stop, and requested me to see if something
could not be done for his relief. Torches had
been provided and every means taken to carry
them to the hospital, safely and easily as
possible. | sat in the front part of the ambu-
lance, with my finger resting upon the artery,
above wound, to arrest bleeding If 1t should oc-
cur When | was recognized by acquaintances,
aud asked who was wounded. the General would