Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-10-07
TORN BY A MUSKET BALL.
The Nature and Cause of lIancOck's
Wound Mt Gettysburg.
His Fall Upon the Field of Battle State.
ment of the Surgeon Who Extracted
the Bullet What Gen. Mitchell
Knows About 1t.

NoRRIsTowN, Pa, Sept. 2S.-Mr.
Francis Jordan, eX-Secretary of State,
having, in recent speech at Harris
burg, made use of "Col. Baxter's"
contemplate aspersion of Gen. Han
cocks conduct at Gettysburg, Mr..
Ovid +. johnson wrote letter to
DIR. L. w. Read, of this place, inqur-
ing into the nature of Hancock's
wound. DIR. Read was the Generals
attendant surgeon after his removal
from the battle field to be cared for at
Norristown. Following is the state.
ment made by Mr.. Jordan in his Har-
risburg speech:
On his arrival on the field of Gettys.
burg, Gen. Hancock reported to Gen.
Slocum, and from a peculiar cannonad.
ing accident was struck in the back with
nail from a board fence; he was taken
to the hospital, where he remained un.
til the fight was over. From sworn tes.
timony from persons who were near the
General when he was wounded it can
be shown that he was not in command,
and did not fight the battle as is claim.
ed by his friends.
In answer to Mr.. Johnson's inquiry,
DIR. Read wrote as follows:
DEAR SIR: Your communication dat
ed September Is has been received. In
response to your rinterrogatory, "Did you
extract bullet from Gen. Hancock
after the battle OF Gettysburg?" | did
"a conical one of large size. 1t enter.
ed the anterior and upper third of the
thigh, Just inside of the femoral artery,
penetrated eight inches and was im.
bedded in one OF the bones of the pei.
Wis. The operation was performed
nearly two months after the receipt OF
the injury"
This conclusively settled the ques-
tion as to the nature of the wound and
the cause of it. But it did not settle
another point in the dispute, and COM
munication was at once opened with
Gen. William G.. Mitchell, which re-
suited in the receipt of the appended
history of the manner and time in
which Gen. Hancock was wounded
at Gettysburg. 1t appears in the col
umns of the Norristown Register.
Gen. Mitchell at that battle was
Gen. Hancock's assistant adiutant-
general, and, although not present at
the time Gen. Hancock was wounded,
was with him few minutes after he
fell:
"At Gettysburg, where Gen. Han
cock commanded the left center of the
army, July 3, 1868, he received a
wound which was supposed, at the
time, to be mortal. He was struck by
a musket ball while on his line of bat
tie just at the moment of the enemy's
grand final assault on the third day.
The ball passed through the front OF
his saddle and carried into the wound
with it large wrought nail from the
saddle tree. The bullet and nail en-
tered near the groin, the ball passing
back through the thigh and lodging
near the socket of the thigh bone
which it slightly splintered. The Gen
was assisted from his horse by two of.
ficers of Gen. Stannard's staff, who
were near him at the time. He re.
mained upon the ground until the
assaulting column had been driven
entirely from the field-giving order:
to his troops (from the point at which
he lay he could see the field Of battle
by raising himself on his elbow,) and
from that point he sent one of his aid.
to inform Gen. Meade that we had
won great victory.
"This wound so disabled Gen. Han.
cock as to unfit him for field service
until the following December, wher
he returned to the army of the Poto
mac and resumed command Of the
Second Corps, to take part in the cam
paign of 1864. The wound, however
had not healed and gave him greal
trouble and annoyance during tho
campaign, and although he continued
with bis command, he was obliged Il
travel in an ambulance great por
tion of the time. His habit on III,
march was to remain in his ambulahc,
at the head Of his column until il
the vicinity of the enemy, when h,
mounted bis horsc and so remained
until the fighting was over. Durin,
the whole of the summer of 1864 h
was daily attended by surgeon, Of
account of his wound, which at tina