Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1870-02-11
.uOTuER BICBHDPHE's .'BU'
I'E.ER's ET'E, 1904.


me / always said she had n commission
from above;'
Hardly was the battle ur Lookout Noun
tain ended, when Mother Bickerdyke was
established at the base of Mission Ridge,
in field hospital, on the northern Aask of
the Tennessee River. Here she was The
only woman at work for nearly six weeks.
In the very midst of the din and smoke Of
the carnage, she began to receive the wound
ed and exhausted, until very nearly two
thousand of the worst eases were assigned
to her nursing. Never did she render moro
invaluable service. The Sanitary Com
mission had pushed through from Louis
willie with immense trains of wagons heav-
lily loaded with supplies, and had hounti-
fully provided Mother Bickordykc with
the stores most needed after battle. The
railroad running from Nashville, being
built of poor material and for light travel,
had been used up long before. But MS
| Chattanooga was to be the base of the army
for some time, another road was necessary
for rough army use, and this was no% in
| process of construction. Everything for
the army, rations and clothing for the men,
provendor for the horses aud muIei, hos
pital supplies for the wounded aud sick,
were hauled through IN army IAons,
while this work was being done: - H'h
can depict, no tongue can narrate, w stf-
ferings, hardshins and privations Of our
brave men in southern and eastern Ten
nessoe during the months of November,
December and January of 1868 and 1864.
Mother Bickcrdyke's field hospital was
in forest, five miles out from Chat;nnoo-
ga. The weather was as wintry rs Is the
same season in New England. Men were
detailed to fell the trees, and pile log-heaps,
which were kept burning continually to
warm the camps and hospitals. These log
fires were the only cooking stoves they
had, till the railroad was completed. By
these log-fires Mother BckerdylSe did all
the cooking for her two thousand patiens.
Here she made tea and coffee, soup and
toast; here she baked bread; here she
broiled beef and mutton, without grid
iron, blistering her fingers by the process,
and burning her clothing. A dress which
she wore at this time came into my hands,
and it was kept for sometime as curlosi-
ty. 1t was burned so full of holes that it
would hardly hold together when you took
it up. 1t looked as if grape and canister
had played "hidc and seek" through it.
"The boys were all the time putting me
out" she said, meaning her clothes, land
dozen of 'em were grabbing at me all the
time, when I was cooking by them log
fires, for the fire would snap, and my
clothing would catch. hut 7 couldn't tell
where"
After time she obtained detail of men
who tore-down some of the barn-like store
houses. with which they put hunks into
other similar buildings. and with bricks
from the demolished chimneys construct
ed ovens of bcr own design. in which she
bal,ed broad In her forapinp exneditions
she had found hinge potash kettles a seces-
sionist's mill. where was plenty of flour,
and cattle and sheen hidden away for the
use of Gen. Braqg's discounted army.
The last day of the year 1868, was one of
memorable GOODNESS. as was the first dav q
the wear 1864. The last will long be re-
numbered in the West as "The cold New
Years day" The rigor of the weather
~ atuaily suspended all outdoor bnsaiei
icaso, and I'D ~ epbarg9- pm
Verer where Mother bickeruyKe was ioca'
co. ior 'ne ICY "Ihus swept uowh Loohou'
MOUNTAIN, where 'hey were reihiorceu ny
euire"'' tla' Ho"ieu ."r"uSn 'no N"'''NS VI
hisSioh h'use' iiiaA'"R l"rl""N N'c''c
''' ,'" o''''"i "e" wv "'SP,''',
'o"'N III "'''n t"o must "tu.S "ounue"
''ie" "eIe ioo''eu' IL hurleu ''lc P'r'iu'i9
'ceoNereu P"'leh's OUT mo thc PouIIne
i'i"' U'u' oec'''le sure zee "s II 'ou'n'e
'he e'r'l, breaking 'he'r l'i'pS anew ana
chIlliig thelr altehua'ed frames win inc
P''i''.s "''''"''." gaze, i"u i'iil '''''
Poureu uo"I 80 luriousty an" suuuen'y'
zen i" Sucn torrents III the "lounu''n lh"'
II hlauo II hood around theih' Whlch ueIoro
'"o eaIe s'lneileu their heaulo"s '"rre"lS'
"ctu"iiy sweep out INTO the sWoleh' rush
ing creeks several OIL the leeoieSt Oh Inc
men uhder single h"spltal tents, anu 'hey
, were thus drowned. Night set IN with the
most intense coldhess, such rs the padly
htted up hospitals were wholly unprepar-
ed FOR.
All that night Mother Bickerdyke work
ed like Titan to save the bloodlesS, feeble
patients from being frozen to death. There
hNi' iiANtll hhilhiNh III hb'l'i'''i AN'iA7
wounded mcn-all bad cases. The fires
were piled up higher and higher with logs
new fires were built in closer proximity tc
the tents, until they were surrounded by q
Gordon of immense piles blazing and crack
ling in the singing wintry atmosphere
Before midnight the fuel gave out, and tC
send men out in the forest to cut more in
that darkness and awful GOODNESS seemed
barbarous. The surgeon in charge crawled
into his own quarters, and wrapping him
self in blankets, left Mother Bickerdyke ia
meet the emergency.
She was equal to it. With her usual dis
dain of red tape, she appealed to the pion-
Ger corps to take their mules and axes,
hooks and chains and tear down the breast
works near them made of logs with the