The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-10-09
"Come down beautiful ladies, come"


In another ward lay upon the floor
two young men just taken from an am.
bulance dead, as was supposed. Their
heads were enveloped in bloody banda
ges, and the little clothing they had was
glued to their bodies with mud and
gravel. Hastily examining them, the
surgeon ordered them to the "Dead
house," prayed they might be left till
morning and bent over them with my
ear upon the heart to try and detect q
faint pulsation, but in vain. But neither
of them had the rigidity of death in their
limbs, as | head the surgeon remark.
Turning them over he pointed to the
wounds below the ear, the jaws shattered,
and one or both eyes put out, and re.
minded me that even could they be
brought to life it would be to an exist.
ence worse than death. Blind, deaf,
perhaps unable to eat, aud he muttered
something about wasting time on the
dead which was needed for the living"
Life is sweet" I replied, "eyen to
the blind and the deaf and dumb, and
these men may be the darlings of some
fond hearts who will love them moro in
their helplessness than in their 'sunniest
hours.'"
And 80 kept my dead men," and
the more examined the youngest one
tue more was my interest excited. His
hands, small and we'll formed, betokened
the gentleman. His bare feet were of
the same type, though cut by stones and
covered with sand and gravel. After
searching for mouth to these bundles
of rags, we forced q small spoon between
the lips with drop of milk punch and
had the satisfaction to perceive that it
did not eoze out, but disappeared some.
where, and all night long in making our
rounds and passing the "dead men," we
Pnrsned the 'sp;e process. At is2gih,
With ne morning. thc grsst pressure Ras
over and we found q surgeon ready to
examine and dress again these wounds,
and we were permitted to cut away by
bits the stiff rags from their bodies, wash
and dress them, pick out the gravel from
their torn feet and wrap them in creased
linen. With what joy we heard the
first faint sigh and felt the first weak
pulsation Hour after hour, day after
day, these men lay side by side, aud were
fed drop by drop from tube less we
should strangle them. The ono least
wounded never recovered his mind,
which had been shattered with his body.
He was rather of the earth earthly and
soon returned to his mother earth, while
the younger one, though he could neither
speak nor see, and hear but little, showed
in thousand ways that, though his
mind wandered at times, he was aware of
what went on about him, and was gentle
and grateful to oil who served him. AS
he had come in without cap or knapsack,
and there was no clue to his identity,
over his bed was marked
"NAME AND REGIMENT UNKNOWN"
In the meanwhile, by flag of truce
from the North, had como newspapers
and letters making inquiries for q young
man who, in fervor Of enthusiasm, had
run away from school in England to
fight the battles of the South. His
mother having been South Carolinian,
he told his father he had gone to fight
for his mother country, and for his moth.
er's grave! Traced to Charleston, he was
known to have gone to the army of
Northern Virginia, and to have entered
the battle of the Wilderness as color.
bearer to his regiment, in bare feet. As
nothing had been heard of him since the
battle, he was reported dead, but his dis
tracted friends begged that the hospitals
about Richmond might be examined to
see if any trace of him could be found.
We saw instantly that this runaway boy
was our unknown patient. Informed of
our suspicious, the. assistant surgeon.
general came himself 10 nee and examine
him, being himself Carolinian and
friend of his mothers family. But the
boy either would not or could not under.
stand the questions addressed to him.
And so weeks passed ia the dimly lighted
room to which he was consigned, and
many months went before we could lift
the bandage from the one eye; before he
could hear with the one ear aud eat
with the wounded mouth. Fed with
soups and milk, he grew strong and
cheerful, and was suspected of seeing q
little before he confessed it, as I often
saw his head elevated to an angle which
enabled him to seo the pretty girls who
came from the city to read 10 him and
bring him dainties. These, moved by
compassion for his youth and romantic
hi5t0Ty came TO neip us nurse him, and
risked daily choaking him in their we'll.
meant endeavors 10 feed him.
At last all the bandages were removed
saye ribbon across the lost eye. and our
"deed man" came forth d handsome
youth of l8 or 10, graceful and elegant.
And now the surgeon. general claimed
him for his father, and with much regret
we gave him up to the flag of truce boat,
and he was lost to us till the end of the
war. Sent to, England ne had new eye
made, and came to see us after the fall
of Richmond, bringing me- fine present,
his enthusiasm and his gratitude nothing
damped by time and change. Even with
the two eyes, he saw go imperfectly that
he was soon obliged to seek for life
companion to guide bis uncertain steps.
In Charleston he fell in love with one of
his own family connection, and like the
prince and princess in the fairy story,
"they we're married and lived happy
ever after"
a, THE BREAD RIOT.
Everyone who has known hospital
life, in Confederate times especially, will
remember how the stewafd-the man
who holds tho proyisions--is held re.
sponsible for every short. coming by
both surgeons and matr0ns, aud more
especially by the men. Whether he has
money or nc, he must give plenty 10 eat,
aud there exists between the steward aud
the convalescents, those hungry fellows,
long starved in camp aud now recovering
from fever or wounds, deadly antago.
nism constantly breaking out into covert
acts. The stewart Is to them O "cheat
--the man who withholds from them tho
ratfons given ont by the Government
He must have tho meat, though the
qnartermaster may not furnish it, and it
10 his fault alone when the bread ra.ions
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