The Monitor-register., 1897-10-01
AMAZING VITALITY.
BULLETS AND SHELLS COULDN'T KILL
JOHN PETERS.

Discharged From the Service rs . Hope
less Cripple. He Recovered and Re-en-
listed Saved by . Noble Foe on the
Field at ChanceIIorsvilIe.
Among the numerous instances of
remarkable endurance and wonderful
vitality of wounded soldiers that l had
knowledge of during the late war, " said
a former hospital attendants II recall
none so remarkable as that Of John Pc
tiers. At the battle Of Balls Bluff he
was a member Of the Forty-second New
York regiment. He was badly wounded
in the hip, and he fell on the field
While he lay there another ball frac-
tured his right knee joint Utterly help
less, he was trampled beneath the feet
Of the contesting soldiers until the close
OF the engagement and was then taken
prisoner tt Richmond He remained
there four months, when he was ex-
changed and sent with other wounded
to the Philadelphia hospital | was an
attendant there Peters wounds had
been so carelessly attended to that he
was worse off, if anything, than when
he was first wounded. We>did the best
we could for him, but he was IN such
shape when able to leave the hospital
that he was discharged from the service
as permanently disabled
"Some months afterward / was trans
ferred to a hospital at Washington and
was there when the battle of Chancei-
lorsville was fought, Two weeks after
that engagement a number Of soldiers
who had been wounded there were
transferred from the hospital at Aoquia
Greek to the Washington hospital
Among the most desperately and appar-
entity hopelessly wounded of these |
was amazed to discover John Peters,
the soldier who had left the Philada-
phia hospital to pass officially as a life
long cripple When he was at last able
to tell his story, | was still more
amazed After being discharged from
the service as permanently disabled he
had placed himself in charge of a noted
surgeon of that day and after some
months was made almost as sound as he
ever was At any rate he was able to
~re-enlist, which he did in the One Hun
dred and Fifteenth Pennsylvania and
became orderly sergeant Of his COM
pany At Charlottesville he was shot
in the right thigh, the bullet causing a
compound fracture, and almost at the
same momen a mimic ball struck him
in the left hip and lodged there against
the bone. He fell and attempted to rise.
AS he raised his head he was hit by a
flying piece of shell, which fractured
his skull and knocked him senseiess.
when Peters regained consciousness,
his regiment had taken another posi-
ton, and he lay there between two rak-
ing fires, bullets, cannon balls and shells
whining over him for hours, until at
last he managed to drag himself a few
yards away to the bank Of a stream
where there were bushes Grasping a
bush, he pulled himself over the bank
and let himself down into the water.
waist deep, which relieved his pain.
Our troops retreated soon after that,
and the Confederate army swept by
where Peters hung. After it had passed
Peters e~ndeavored to draw himself out
OF the streNhn to the bank, in hope that
he might be picked up, but he found
that the bush to which he chung, while
sufficient to support him as he crouched
In the water, was not still enough to
bear his weight III efforts to pail him.
self up On the bank. There was a bush
just below him evidently strong enough
to enable him to accomplish his par
pose, but it was ont Of his reach, and il
he released his hold OIL the bush that
was supporting him to make the at-
tempt to reach the stronger one no knew
he would drop helpless in the stream
and drown.
while he was thus facing death he
saw a movement on the bank, and the
next moment an eiilaciated face with a
deathlike pallor Oh it appeared over the
edge. 1t was ne unmistakabie face of q
badly wounded Confederate soldier who
was dragging himself to the water. The
sunken eyes fell on Peters, and the
owner of them must nave comprehend
ed instantly Peters peril for he dragged
his body forward and, placing both
hands on the bush that Peters longed
for, bent it down toward his helpless
LUG duu SdSpeu'
"'Huyh, Yank, grab itf
1.-THE bush dipped so close to Peters
that he summoned all the little strength
he had left. let go the bush he was hold
ing to and grabbed at the other Il He
caught it 1t withstood his weight. and
after a long and painful struggle he
pulled himself by it to the top of the
bank. AS soon as he could recover
breath enough he turned to the wound
ed Confederate, who lay quiet OH the
bank, to thank him for his kindness.
The man was dead His dying breath
was spent in saving the life of a foe.
1.-TWO days Peters dragged himself
about that bloody field of battle before
succor reached him. He had been re-
ported dead in the list. He was sent to
the Acquia creek hospital, hnA II days
passed before his wounds were dressed
His case being decided to be hopeless
he was sent to the hospital at Washing
ton He was there a month. during
which it was expected hourly that he
would die, so desperate was his case
But he did not die. and | heard subse-
quently, having quit the hospital serv-
ice, that he had been discharged from
the hospital 50 much restored In health
that he was preparing for a third en-
listment Whether he did enter the
service again | never knew. New
York Sun