Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-03-27
ONE OF THE WOUNDED,
On the Field of Battle, Among the
Dead and Dying.
bloody Ditch at Groveton to .
Clean Cot by the Potomac.

The following article taken from the
Philadelphia Times. was written by
Mr.. j. S. Slater at the request of the
editor of that paper. 1t deals not only
With a remarkable episode, but tells of
a phase of soldering rarely touched
upon in published narratives:
Attic before five o'clock in the af-
ternoon of August 80, 1862, at Grove
ton, Va. l was wounded. The missile,
a large sized mimic ball, struck me- in
the throat. close alongside the .Adam's
APPLE (about five inches below the
left car), passed between the windpipe
(Which it grazed) and the jugular and
carotid veins and made its exit at the
back, q little lower down, between the
spinous processes of the fifth and sixth
ccrv. cal vertebrn, which it fractured.
The blow bcnumbed me, as q matter
of course, and the blood gushed in hur-
ricd jets. responsive to the throbbings
OF my heart, as l fell, covering my face,
getting into my eyes and mouth rs I
gssped for breath; but yet, wonderful
Il, it may seem, l never lost conscious
less. On the contrary, my mind APP
peared kecnly active, although
for a moment the sense of sight failed
altogether and sounds were confused
as if l were in the midst of a hurricane.
CURIOUS SENSATION.
A comradc helped me to a sitting
posture, and while l was endeavoring
TO repair damages by stopping the leak
in my anatomy with q small ball of lint
and handkerchief l CHANGED to have,
the lighting was going on fiercely all
about and over me and men were fall
ing by dozens. But l did not mind that
so much. l was in nc pain. I regard
cd the bullets that flew by and sang
their deadly music only with a languid
interest. 1t was q curious sensations;
the lying there SO helpless in the very
Vortex OF death without realizing the
DAGGER of the situation. To think of it
now, after more than twenty years
nave passed, causes ME to shudder.
AN oNERrowERING THOUGHT.
1t was not until I saw our boys driven
and going back that my mental facul-
ties took fairly hold of realities. Them.
IN the twinkling of an eye, came the
thoughts: Il must die here, with no
laml;ar face to cheer, no voice to COM
Tort, no kindly hands to care for my
eead body when I j have done using it"
II was terrible. Never before had l,
nor have l ever since, felt the awful
anguish OF that moment, 0 do I ever
expect to again, not ever in the final
Srapple with the great destroyer.
Death was then bending over me; l was
saz!ng into his fearful features; his
ch'il'ng breath was stealing its way to
my heart; but the mental agony did
lot long continue.
~ SPEEDY CHANGE.
1t was speedily succeeded by the
ino't exquisite physical suffering, ag-
sraVated by another wound caused by
d piece of shell that struck my left hip
aS lay upon the earth. The benumbed
sensation produced by the bullet as it
breed It's course through the bundled
Ae."ork OF nerves and muscles of neck
ahu spine gave way to the most excru-
'aaC'hg pans. which manifested them
slVes most cruelty throughout my
1.it sale, no part of which, above the
%ast' was sensible to the outward
touch' 1t seemed as if millions of red
t needles We're being thrust into my
n.>a' or as If each nerve and muscle
were being rceled off my bones by
s massive enginery of irresistible
at the base OF my skull, too, . hands
hIaeauth above the place where the ball
Aao made its exit, there was a curious
ihonsat!on' which can only be described
~ saying that it felt as though some
Ine Were cndcayoring to bore into my
V%rl;h' upward, with a gigantic auger.
.sl' al first, this feeling was not SO
very paioful; it was simply ANNOYING
tlo uncomfortable. 1t was, perhaps,
TWO hours after l fell that thirst began