The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-04
WOUNDED MEN IN BATTLE
Some Are Cool as Can Be and
Others Greatly Hurried.
MANY CONTINUE TO FIGHT
A Day in the Battle of the Wilderness
and a Few of Those Who Received
Slight or Mortal wounds-Ex-
pressions on Faces.

Men wounded in battle behave in va
rious manners, according to the nature
of their hurts and the degree of physi-
cal courage possessed.
While the subject of the dead and
wounded is the least touched on by
writer's on the war. IT is nevertheless "A
topic equally as interesting, If not -
pleasing. as those having to do with
the glory of war.
ON the second day of the battle of the
Wilderness, when ! fought as an infan-
try soldier. ! saw more men killed and
wounded than / did before or after the
same time. | knew but few of the men
in the regiment in whose ranks ! stood.
but | learned the Christian names OF
some of them. The man who stool
next to me on my right was called WIN.
He was cool, brave and intelligent.
In the morning when the second
corps was advancing and driving Hilis
soldiers slowly back | was Hurried. He
noticed IT.. and steadied my nerves by
saying kindly. Don't fire so fast. The
fight will last all day. Don't hurry.
Cover your man before you pull your
trigger. Take it easy, my boy, lake 1t
easy, and your cartridges will last the
longer
During the day I la learned to look
up to his excellent soldier, and lean an
him. Toward evening, as we were be-
ing slowly driven back to the Brock
road by Longstreet's men. we made 4
stand. | was behind "A tree firing, with
my rifle barrel resting on the stub #
a limb. Will was standing by my side,
but in the open. He, with "A groan,
doubled up, and dropped on his hands
as he fell.
lie looked up at me. His face was
pale. lie gasped for breath a few
times and then said family: That ends
me. ! am shot through the bowels.
| said: crawl to the rear. We are not
far from the entertainments along the
Brock road" ! saw him sit uD, AMI
indistinctly saw him reach for his rifle,
which had fallen from his hands as he
fell.
Again | spoke to him to go to the
rear. lie looked at me and said i'm
patiently: Il tell you am as good as
dead. There is no use i'm fooling with
me. ! shall stay here Then he
pitched forward. dead, shot again and
through the head. We fell back before
Longstreet's soldiers and left VIII.
When we got to the Brock road en-
trenchments a man a few files TO my
left dropped dead, shot just above the
right eye. He did not grOan or sign or
make the slightest physical movement.
except that his chest heaved a few
times. The life went out of his face
instantly, leaving it without a particle
of expression.
1t was plastic, and as the facial mus
Giles contracted IL took many shapes.
When this mans body became cold.
and his face hardened, it was horribly
distorted, as though he had suffered in
tensely. Any person who had not seen
him killed would have said that he had
endured supreme agony before death
released him.
Sometimes the dead smile, again
they stare with CLASSY eyes and lolling
tongues and dreadfully distorted Wis
ages at you. one death was as pain
less as the other.
After Longstreet's soldiers had driv-
en- the Second corps into their en-
trenchments along the Brock road 4
battle-exhausted infantryman stood
behind q large oak tree. His back
rested against 1t. He was very tired
and held his rifle meekly in his hand
The confederate were directly i'm our
front. This soldier was apparently in
perfect safety. A solid shot from a
confederate gun struck the oak tree
squarely about four feet from the
ground. but il did not have sufficient
force To tear through the thick wood.
The soldier fell dead. There was not II
scratch on him. He was killed by con-
cussion.
While we were fighting savagely over
these entertainments the wood i'm our
front caught fire. and | saw many y
our wounded burn Ia death.