Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-10-15
AS Chaplain of the Ninth Mas
sachusetts He Was of Great
Assistance.
Untiring i'm His Efforts, He Sue
cOred Hundreds of Wound
ed Soldiers.
RECIPIENT OF A BEAUTIFUL MEDAL.

Friends of Chaplain Patrick Bower
Murphy, of the Ninth Massachusetts
United States Volunteers, banqueted him
at the Thorndike Hotel, Boston, Septem
Der 81, and presented him a beautiful
gold medal, commemorative of the Span.
ish war.
The medal is fine specimen of the
engraver's art. On the face of it is a
raised figure of rustic altar, surmounted
by the coat of arms Of Massachusetts
and the national colors.
On the reverse side is a representation
of priest bending over a dying soldier,
administering the last sacraments. with
the following inscription:
presented Rev. p, B, Murphy by his
friends at a banquet given in his honor,
Boston, Mass, September 81. $685."
Father Murphy was greeted with APP
plause, and told his story in plain,
straightforward way as follows:
"The Ninth Regiment landed in Cuba
on Friday, July |, after sunset. On that
day the battle of San Juan was fought. l
was the first to land, and, knowing that
many would want final private word of
cheer, selected a convenient pile of rail-
road sleepers, quite near an unused rail
road track, to hear such confessions as
might come.
"Nor did have to tarry long before l
began. In a short time a long line of
silent men was in place, each patiently,
or, perhaps, impatiently, waiting for his
turn. 1t was so long line, in fact, that
before the end was reached our regiment
had proceeded on its midnight march,
and the end or left Of De lime had quite
disappeared ere the last man was heard.
" Let's find Col. Logan, said the last
man to me, then join my party, and we
will start at 3, in the cool of the morning,
and perhaps overtake the boys
"We found the Colonel and procured
quarters for the night in an old shack
only short distance away. The Colonel
complained of the cold, of having in the
darkness of the night lost his orderly, of
the long and weary march for the boys,
but never closed an eye.
at was only 3 O'Clock in the morning
when my friend, whom must call the
last man, came to where we were and
said: Come, all aboard, chaplain; if you
propose joining our party, come along.
"At $40 that Saturday morning, July
?, our little party was on its way to the
front
Before O'Clock we arrived at Shaft
er's headquarters, thanks to our very
early start. From here could be heard
the shot and shell and the general fusil-
lade taking place at the front. The war
correspondents who accompanied me
went to the press tent little to the rear
of Skaters, our linguistic friend Dowley
reported to the General, while l stepped
into the general hospital just across the
opening, and in less time than it takes to
tell it, one of the stewards offered to care
for my haversack, and at the same time
remarking, Father, that man over there
wants YOU
That poor man did want me, and
what did for him l did for scores of
others, both those inside the large tents,
those poor wounded men in the small or
quarter tents, and those who were ex-
posed, lying under the trees all around.
was pleased to find Major King, first
surgeon of the Thirty-fourth Michigan
Volunteers, was in charge, and as
entered in the morning was performing
his third operation that day.
"More than 400 wounded soldiers,
many of them Catholics, and was the
only priest at that hospital.
"Nor was all the work accomplished
there on this Saturday, for a very fair
amount of work. was performed by me
there the following day. About this time
had the pleasure of meeting Father
Fitzgerald, post chaplain of the Twenty
second Regulars, who informed me that
he had lost, through no fault of his, all
his altar outfit, even his holy oils, ritual
and stole. l will not soon forget his Joy
on learning that l could accommodate
him with set of holy oils, ritual and
stole, as had duplicate set. We agreed
that, as we were sending the greater part
of the wounded to the new hospital at
Siboney, should go there, and he would
look after the general hospital here.
"Then, in company with a Boston
reporter and Bennett, of the Chicago
Journal, who sketched our tramp, and
which appears in the Pilot of September
3. we arrived back at Siboney, ten miles
distant, footsore and weary, in due time.
Hundreds of wounded, placed in great
heavy army mule wagons-hard vehicles
to ride in even for we'll man, as they
had no springs and the roads were fright
ful-passed us on the way.
''The day after my return to Siboney.
July 3, there were less than 100 in the
hospital. But every day brought more,