The times., 1898-02-27
STORIES ABOUT WOUNDED 4 { . MEN.
Things That Interested and Puz-
zIed Officers and Surgeons.
From the Chicago Inter Ocean.

expected forgiveness for one harsh
judgment of his. In the midst of a bat
tie he was trying tddstop the flight of
panic stricken men. !, Obe man came
stumbling along, not needing word
that was said to him. Indignant and
impatient, Fuller as he came near him,
\ leaned from his horse and touched the
man with his sword, saying sharply:
Go back, sir! The man looked up
with look that said as plain as words:
L am looking for a place to die He
opened his blouse and showed a great,
gaping wound in his breast. Then he
dropped to the ground. The general dis
mounted as soon as he could, but al
| most as he took the mans head in his
| arms the poor fellow died.
Some men when struck showed no
sign. | remember one little fellow who
| was struck three times in as many min
utes. The first shot struck his right arm
and he proceeded to load with his left.
The next shot struck him in the leg,
] and brought him to his knees He had
his left arm up, ramming home a load,
| when a bullet struck that arm. Then
he looked up and said quietly: They
/ have particular spite against me. i
guess I'll quit, and he dropped down -
w ft fIeiu OIlt man III company,
said the sergeant, who was shot
through the body at Shiloh He was
| carried off in an ambulance and the
! boys supposed they would never see
him again. But three days after the
! battle the regiment went into camp not
far from the field hospital, and that
! afternoon the men were surprised to
see the man VINO had been shot through
and through walk into camp, using his
! a. a a nn h l.,
! had had enough OF the hospital and
wouldn't go back to it. The regimental
surgeon SWore a good deal, insisting
/ that the wounded man should return to
/ The hospital, but in the end agreed that
| the plucky fellow should be cared for in
/ the company's quarters. The boys took
! great care of him. He improved rapid
/ ly, went on duty as soon as he was
/ able to walk, and was with the COM
/ pany to the end of the service.
''Other men who couldn't bear phys
/ ical pain We're greatly troubled by flesh
wounds, and received less sympathy
/ than they deserve. The hardest
! wounds 10 bear were those from spent
balls. These were more painful than
the wounds from the hard hitters. but
/ men struck by spent bullets received
/ no sympathy at all. For some reason
I 1t was counted disreputabIe to be hit
.
+ rock. and many men worried along un-
I der the most painful wounds without
going To the hospital or without even
consulting the surgeon. Some of these
fellows carry the m3rks- today and say
nothing about them.S
The official report of the capture Of
/ Lookout Mountain" said the major.
4 stated that Gen. Walter c. Whitaker
was wounded, but that ne didn't leave
/ the field. That is ali true, but II is only
half the story. Whitaker was one of
the most impetuous. driving officers in
the Army. He was irregular old Storm
err He was pushing, things I'm great
shape in front when be5was struck by
a rife ball. He becanls deathly sick,
and IL was supposedsst fast that he was
fatally wounded TheS surgeons and
some of his associate officers gathered
( about him, anxious and nervous. A
surgeon opened the genkrai's coat and
vest and looking fottthe wound. which
seemed to be in the Vicinity of the
stomach. He found between the vest
and the underclothing a rifle ball that
had NOT broken5.th .the skin, ~
He said quietly. 'A,spent ball The
general opened his eyes and looked
UP wrathful and indignant. What's
with a spent ball? ! won't stand it,
Bring me my horse And fairly throw
ing aside all the people about him. he
sprang to his feet. climbed on his horse
and with his clothing in disarray and
his hat banged down on his head, start
ed for the front, swearing at the man
who had hit him with a spent ball But
the old general after that probably had
more sympathy with the men who We're
struck by balls that seem to fall from
the air or that came down with as little
force as a stone thrown by a vicious
boy. Sometimes these would strike
man on the foot and fairly craze him
with pain. Sometimes they would drop
on his back as he lay face down
on the ground kicking UP his heels, and
he would writhe as though he were in
the agonies of death"
Gases of malingering We're so COM
mon," said the doctor, that surgeons
We're suspicious over wounds that had
any mystery about them. Sometimes
man would come from the battlefield
pretending to be dazed or unconscious,
and would shrink from the touch as
though he We're sore all over. There
were so many cases of fraud among the
men who acted in this way that sur
geons We're in danger of doing injustice
to severely wounded men.
One day a man was brought back
who seemed in great agony, but upon
whom We could find no wound. He
couldn't talk coherently, but he press
ed his hand constantly to his right side.
Close examination showed that he had
been struck by fragment of shell or
a piece of rock so large as to make a
bruiSe two or three inches across. 1t
was, in fact, one of the most difficult
cases to treat that came under my
personal notice, and the mans suffering
for weeks was intense. And yet prob
ably no mark of a wound is on that
mans body.
while / was in charge of one of the
hospitals at Nashville the most difficult
cases We're those in which the soldiers
were influenced by hallucinations or
superstitions. The patients were ar
ranged in a large hall, the cots in long
rows, extending the full length of the
room. One night patient about half
way down the hall died. The next night
the man coming next in the row died
and the next day the third man in or
der died. Immediately Nos. 4, and 6
insisted on being moved from the row
and they were so wild about it that
they had to be moved.
mo. Z, L noticed, was a quiet, uncom-
planning man of equable temper, and, !
feeling that L must in some way stop |
the panic and break the line of super |
stitious dread, I went to him and led |
up to the point by asking him if he had |
any SuperStitious notions. He said he |
hal not. Then I asked him if he would |
be satisfied to remain where he was, |
and explained that if he did not insist |
upon being moved 1 could quiet the ex- !
citement. He smiled and said he would i
trust himself in the uniucky row. |
Trifing as this circumstance was it had !
the greatest influence on the patients |
in the row. They watched that man for |
t,,ra ~ flo =, inf