Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-10-18
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
WOUNDED LAWMAKERS.


L nave talked with twenty wound
ed members OF tho Senate and
House as to the sensation which results
from being shot in battle. l find that
n great many received wounds, even
mortal wounds, without being conscious
OF hurt Mt the time. Tho degree OF
| pain expert enced by those who are con-
scious OF wound depends much upon
what part of the body is struck, and
much on the temperament and sensibil-
ity of the person injured.
"Tho severest pain ever experienced
in BATTLE" said Senator Cockrell, who
was wounded three times, twas caused
by bullet that did not hit me at all.
was riding at the head of my regiment
when it passed under my chin with a
devilish whistle and slash like a saber
stroke. 1t stung me like red-hot iron,
and l thought it had cut my throat, but
on putting up my hands only caught n
lot of whiskers that had been cut off.
There was no blood and no harm. l
was shot through the arm and through
both legs in the same battle, breaking
the bones, but none of these clips hurt
half rs much as the bullet that did not
hit me. In fact, while my right leg be-
came suddenly benumbed, did not sus-
pect till half an hour afterwards that n
bullet had gone through my left leg,
too The boys discovered it when they
were carrying me of. 1t had not panied
touched"
Senator Henderson was severely
wounded several times. "How much it
hurts depends on where you are hit" he
said. II was on horseback when l was
struck at Lovejoys Station, and for some
minutes felt as if a charge of red-hot
Goals had been shot into me-forit struck
the vital center-the spine. Presently
began to feel benumbed in my eXtrem-
tiles, and the mon carried me off on
their guns. But one OF my men had q
finger shot off and didn't know it. He
was lying in his tent pointing up at
something when comrade said: Look
at your finger Joe-what's the matter?"
"'Hello! suddenly exclaimed the late
owner of that member, somebody must
have shot it off,"
In reply to question, Senator Man
derson said: Manifestations of ex-
treme fear in battle were not common.
think the soldier generally feels that
he personally is in the charmed zone of
safety-that his body is where bullets
do not come, but that il he were to move
much either way he would get into dan
ger never could get rid of that no.
tion."
"How does it feel to be shot?" asked
Colonel Stone, NJ. c., of Kentucky, who
goes about with one leg and two
crutches. 81 don't know. l was on
Morgan's raid, and in the fight of June
II. at Cynthiana, l got my hit. didn't
feel the stroke and didn't know was
hit, but 1 knew that my walking ma
chinery was out of gear. All felt was
slight twitch of the bullet at my
trouser leg, such as a cat might make
with playful paw to remind me she
was there. But could not stand on my
leg, and its feeling was suddenly dead
ened. / felt the loss of its support, and
tried to brace myself up with my gun.
Then l knew must fall, and twisted
and fell uphill. 1 lay on the field all
day and all night
"Did you ever dodge, Colonel?"
"Yes l never failed to dodge, but sup
pose it did no good. You can not see
any sort of missile, and you can not hear
the spit of the bullet when it is coming,
but only when it is going"
1t isn't the luck of every man who has
been three times successfully made
target, and the fourth time slashed with
| q sword, to come out with his body as
sound as the day he entered the service.
That's the luck experienced by Hon.
James Laird of Nebraska, who, besides
having the usual number of arms and
legs possessed by other mortals, has for
| years been counted physically one of the
| most powerful men in the House.
AT Gaines Mill, June 27, 1862, Mr..
Laird, private soldier, was shot
through the right lung; at Gettysburg
! he received flesh wounds in the head
and right leg; at Laurel Hill, Va, May
/ S, 1864, in hand-to-hand encounter dur
ing night attack, Confederate saber
cut an ugly cash in his right leg, and at
Hatcher's Run, Va, February 6, 1865,
his horse was shot under him, and he
J was shot through the right foot.
The worst wound OF the series was
that received at Gaines Mill, when a
ball from smooth-bore musket plowed
Us way through his right lung. Its
lucky" he said to me, "that it was a
! smooth bore and not rifle ball, else it
| would have torn me all to pieces. AS it
was, when the ball entered my body it
felt very much as If was on fire. and at
the points where the ball entered and
emerged the pain was awful. l started
ahead with the regiment again, but
was soon choking from internal hemorr-
hage, and had to give up"
(Which is worse, to be shot or saber-
ed?" i asked.
"A ball wound, as general thing. /
don't think men feared cold steel as
much as they did lead, although they
had horror of knife or any weapon
which would make jagged wound"
"Did you experience any fear?"
~ can't say that l did, because, to
use commercial expression, / had
discounted my life in advance when