Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-11-09
AFTER THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
Death In the Hospital stsamboats-1hs
Confederats Dead-An Incident.

Death In the Hospital steamooats-lhe
Confederate Dead-An Incident.
The morning of April 8, 1862, broke
clear and crisp over the tired remnants
of both armies. The Confederates had
the broad rolling country from Shiloh
Church TO Corinth to lay down their
wounded upon-to bury their dead. The
Union army had not a hospital on land
on the first or second day of the attic,
excepting the few temporary ones for
surgical purposes in what has been ele-
gantly described as ~the pocket between
the river and an impossible creek The
Union dead lay where they fell until the
sth. The Confederates were promptly
removed or buried. Few of them were,
or their wounded, encountered when we
advanced and retook our old camps
during the afternoon of the Sth OF April
The mortality in the open air was
great; the death-list in the hospital
steamboats, was far greater. Soon as a
poor, mutilated fellow died from loss of
blood or exhaustion on board he was
wrapped up in blanket and carried
ashore, up the steep, slippery bluff, to be
buried as soon as convenient 1t was
not an uncommon sight to see wounded
soldier with his garments stained with
blood, borne along in the arms of loving
comrades, or taken from the ambulance
at the landing, and there to encounter,
while going down the bluff, the corpse
of comrade ascending the same, going
to his shroudless, coffinless grave. Ar
irving at the boat, he was placed on one
Of the decks that had a vacant place.
Should he happen at one without room
he was carried to another. There his
comrades duty ended. The ambulance
when it delivered its precious but sor-'
rowful load turned to the south and
brought again and again to the landing
its load of fbroken-limbed, bleeding Union
soldiers.
Visiting the steamboat that had car
ried us from st. Louis only few days
before, to seek dear friends and COM
rades on this day. we were amazed to
find the unfortunates lying along the
main saloon floor and stretched out upon
the blood-stained decks in space Of six
inches or so between the heads of the
two rows, one on the port side, the other
on the starboard, and hardly any more
space between them literally. The odor
was NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. We had
to retire to the open air. The doctors,
however. toiled away at their sacred but
painful tasks. Many of them were stained
with blood. brave human gore, from the
knee to the breast, while both arms were
purple with the wine of life. Several OF
them intended to carry away as souvenirs
the balls extracted from the limbs of the
wounded, but they found that the num-
Der increased so rapidly that they were
obliged to throw them away. Few of
them retained any except those taken
from general officers or personal friends.
Thus were the wounded of the Union
army -cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd," with
inadequate hospital supplies, few sur
geons, and no nurses, on the day after
the great conflict. This was the cause
of the fearful mortality on board the
steamboats,, the greatest of all in pro-
portion to numbers at the battle of
Shiloh.
About noon our first camp over the
bluff was deserted. With the remnant
of our equipage we set out for the front,
as we did on Sunday, but this time our
ranks were thin, indeed, and at the
first step forward sad recollections of
the past two days crowded upon our
minds. On our way we found dozen
or so of the Confederate dead some dis
tance south of the famous peach orchard,
lying within from two to five feet of
each other. A shell from one of the
gunboats had killed them. The sight
was heart-rending. They were torn to
pieces headless, disemboweled, arm
less, legless. They had been there from
Sunday evening to this Tuesday noon.
Gently the broken forms were gathered
together and buried One young fellow
/ remember well. His beardless face,
fine under-clothing and small white
hands indicated that he was not much
used to the vigorous vicissitudes of life
or long a soldier in the Confederate
service. shall never forget the har-
rowing spectacle; it deeply impressed all
who had the misfortune to see it; but it
was only war.
When we arrived at our camp we
found that the Confederates had, in our
absence. pitched some of our tents which
we left boxed up when we precipitately
@fell back" on Sunday morning. Enter
found half dozen or so of the southern
wounded. One or them was from Ala
bama. He fixedly gazed at us as we ap-
preached him. His wan, wasted features
and shock head were strange contrasts.
His furred lips and weak voice told of a
night in the vicinage of the dark valley
Of death and the indescribablc sufferings
Of q wounded human being upon the
battlefield perhaps during the preced-
ing twenty-four hours. Bending down
to him we softly and fraternally inquired
where he was wounded. He imploringly
turned his face toward US and in a low
tone, with his brown, bare arm ex-
tended, begged, Don't kill me; you
won't kill meT
Some of the soldiers good-naturedly
began to laugh. They were chided for
their levity and dismissed; the poor
wounded were assured that no one
would touch them but with the broad
hand of kindness.-Capt r. F. Fernett,
Ex-U. 8. Consul. in Philadelphia Times.
rbs Thou~ht nj Frssndiiussa