Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-08-31
HOW MEN DIE IN BATTLE.
The Morta11y Wounded Await Death
Calmly and Bravcly.

eff you want to know how men die in
battle, ask some Of those who have been
at Wilson's creek, on one side or the
other" said Judge David Murphy of the
criminal court.
Il was in Totten's battery, and 1 saw
them, wounded and dying, falling thick
and fast around me. You may say that |
saw nor one man funk in the face of
death on that terrible day of fight and
bloodshed. While l was firing my gun
from Bloody hill Il youngster, not more
than 20 years old, suddenly jerked his leg.
He uttered sharp, quick cry, then bent
down and tore the trousers away from
the place on his shin where Il mimic
had struck him. He looked up with
smile patted the wound with his hand,
pulled the torn trousers down, and went
on shooting. Five minutes later he yelled
again, and his hand went up to the tieshy
part Of his left arm. Hit again" he said
sat down behind the battle ranks, and
examined his arm. The wound was only
skin deep and that seemed to please him
hugely, for he tied his handkerchief around
it and again went forward into the ranks
with his mUsket.
"'You're fighting N bad luck today,
Pete said a cOmrade. The yOungster
turned his face to answer back, and by
the swapping Of his eyes it could be seen
that his mind framed Il saucy, defiant re-
plowed its way through his mouth, leaving
nothing but a bloody, tOngueless cavity.
With q hOarse gurgle the fellow threw his
gun on the ground and fled back Of the
lines He was found in a hospital after
ward, but never recovered.
"On that same day l encountered three
men under a tree. Their faces We're ashy
gray, showing that they were MORALLY
wounded. | asked them why they were
not attended to. and one Of them said that
it was all over with them; they wanted
the surgeons to attend first to those who
could be saved. One of the men was
smoking a short briarWood pipe.
''What are you doing, my friend| |
asked.
"'Taking my last smoke he answered,
his CLASSY eyes looking steadily at me.
Another was reading letter. He held
it up to his face, but | could see that he
was not making any Roadway. His eyes
bling hands folded the missive and thrust
it into his breast pocket. He was per-
fectly resigned to his fate, and had not
word to say. When | returned in the
evening, after luIl, / found the three
men dead. Their faces were white and
set in the shadow of the tree under which
they lay. BY the placidity Of the feat
ures | knew that they had met death
without hunking.
That's all bosh about men raving
about mother, home and heaven. All the
men | have seen die, or near death, were
quiet and perfectly rational. They made
no fuss. Those that did were usually
delirious, entirely out Of their minds. The
faces of these were frequently distorted
and gave every evidence of the mental
and physical agony they unconsciously
had endured.
Zone thing struck me as peculiar
Nearly all the Regulars exhibited an in
slant desire to examine their wounds
when they were hit, and the expression
of their faces indicated in a moment
whether they were slightly Or mortalIy
wounded. They seemed to know with
slight and in a place where they could
tie it up conveniently they did so, and
then went back into the fighting lines. If
it was mortal, their grave, pale faces be-
trayed their knowledge. The volunteers
were not we'll posted, but they were
brave lions, and seldom gave up I'M
less seriously hurt"