The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-10-06
MILITARY MEMOIRS.
ON THE WAR.


THE SANITARY CONDUCT OF THE CIVIL WAR
THE AMERICAN STYLE OF FIGHTING-ITs
CHARACTER COMPARED WITH THE EU RoP-
EAN-THE STYLE or ARMS UsED AND THE
METHODS OF DEFENSE AND oFFENsE-TH 2
REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN MILITARY
LEADER.
From the forthcoming work of Gen. Sher-
man on the character of our late civil war
and its military lessons and suggestions, the
| following extracts are taken, the first re-
ferring to the care of the sick: For the
more delicate and costly articles of food
for the sick We relied mostly ON the
agents of the sanitary commissions. I
do not wish to doubt the value of
these organizations that gained so much ap-
plause during our civil war, tor no one can
question the motives of these charitable and
generous people; but to be honest 1 must
record an opinion that the sanitary commits
sion should limit its operations TO the hos
pitfalls at the rear, and should never appear at
the front. They were generally local In feel-
ing and aimed to furnish their personal
friends and ne'ghbors with better class of
food than the government supplied, aud the
consequence was that one regiment of a
brigade would receive potatoes and fruit
which would be denied another regiment
close by. Jealousy would be the inevita-
BILE result, and in an army all parts should
be equal: there should be no 'partiality
favor or affection" The government should
supply all essential wants, and in the hospi-
tails 10 the rear will be found abundant op-
portunities for the exercise of all possible
charity and generosity. During the war
several times gained the ill-will of the
agents of the sanitary commission because
forbade their coming to the front unless
they would consent TO distribute their
stores equally among all, regardless of
the parties who had contributed them.
The sick, wounded, and dead of an army
are the subjects of the greatest possible anx-
iety, and add an immense amount of labor
to the well men. Each regiment in an
active campaign should have a surgeon and
two ASSISTANTS close at hand, aud each brig
ade and division should have an experienced
surgeon as a medical director. The great
majority of wounds and of sickness should
be treated by the regimental surgeon on
the ground under the eye of the colo
TO the brigade or division hospital as
possible, for the men always receive better
care with their own regiment than with
strangers, and, as rule, the cure is more
certain; but when men receive disabling
wounds, or have sickness likely to become
rear the better for all. The tent, or the shell
ter of a tree, is better hospital
than a house, whose walls absorb
fetid and poisonous emanations. and
then give them back to the atmos-
phere. To men accustomed to the open
air, and who live on the plainest food
wounds seem TO give less pain, and are at
tended with less danger to lite than to ordi-
nary soldiers in barracks. Wounds which
in 1861 would have sent man to the hospi-
tai for months, in 1866 were regarded as
mere scratches, rather the subject of joke
thaHof sorrow. To new soldiers
THE SIGHT OF BLOOD AND DEATH
always has a siclxening effect, but soon men
become accustomed to it, and / have heard
them exclaim ON seeing dead comrade
borne to the rear, "well, Bill has turned up
his toes TO the daisies!" OF course during
a skirmish or battle armed men should never
leave their ranks to attend dead or
wounded comrade; this should be seen to in
in advance by the colonel, who
should designate his musicians or COM
ants with with rag on their arm TO ind-
cate their Office, A wounded man should go
himself (if able) to the surgeon near at hand,
or, ii he need help he should receiveit from
one of the attendants and not comrade. 1t
is wonderful how soon the men accustom
themselves to these simple rules. In
great battles these matters call for
more enlarged attention, and then it be-
comes the duty of the division general to see
that proper stretchers and field hos
pitfalls are ready for the wounded and trenches
are dug for the cead. There should be no
real neglect of the dead, as it has bad effe ceI
on the living, for each soldier values him
self and comrades as highly as though he
were living in good house at home.
Ths regimental chaplain, if any, usu-
ally attends the burials from the hospital,
and should make notes and communicate
details t. the captain OF the COM
pany and TO the family at home. OF course
it is usually impossible to mark the graves
with names dates, ETC., and consequently
the names of the unknown" in our ma
tional cemeteries equal about one half of all
the dead. Very few of the battles
fought as described in European text books,
viz: In great masses, in perfect order, |
by corps, divisions, and brig |
ades We were generally in a wooded
country, and though our lines were de- |
ployed according to the tactics, the men |
fought in strong skirmish lines, |
taking every advantage of the shape OF
orally the assailants, and i'm wooded and \
broken countries, the defensive" had a
positive advantage over us, for they were al
ways ready, had cover, and always knew |
the ground to their immediate front,
whereas, we, their assailants, had
ground, and generally found a cleared field
or prepared entaDglements that beld us for
a time under close and whitening fire.
Rarely did the opposing lines in compact
order come into actual contact, but when,
as at Peach-tree creek and at Atlanta, the
lines did become commingled, the men
fought Individually in every possible style,
more frequently with the musket dubbed
than with the bsyonet, and in some in
stances the men clinched like wrestlers and
WENT 10 THE GROUND TOGETHER.
Europeans frequently criticised our war, be-
cause we did not always take full advantage
of avictory; the true reason WIS that habit
ually the woods served as a screen, and we
often did not realize the fact that our enemy
had retreated, till he visa already miles
away and was again eptrenclied, having left
thin skirmish line to cover the
movement and to fall back TO the
new position. Our war was fought with the
muzzle-loadlng rifle. Toward the close had