Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-09-29
On the Battle Field of Santiago.

In tne 0eptemDer numOer OF OcTlp-
ner's Magazine Edward Marshall, one
Of the newspaper correspondents
wounded on the battlefield of Santiago,
writes as follows:
81 saw many men shot Every one
went down in lump without cries,
without jumping up in the air, without
throwing up hands. They just went
down like clods in the grass. 1t
seemed to me that the terrible thud
with which they struck the earth was
more penetrating than the sound of
guns. Some were only wounded ;
some were dead.
There is much that is awe-inspirlng
about the death of soldiers on the bat
tlefeld. Almost all Of us have seen
men or women die, but they have died
in their carefully arranged beds with
doctors daintily boarding the flicker
ing spark; with loved ones clustered
about. But death from disease is less
awful than death from bullets. On
the battlefield there are no delicate,
scientific problems Of strange microbes
to be solved. There is no petting, no
coddling-nothing, nothing, nothing
but death. The man lives, he is strong,
he is vital, every muscle in him is at
its fullest tension when, suddenly,
'chug' he is dead. That 'chug' Of the
bullets striking flesh is nearly always
plainly audible. But bullets which
are billeted, so far as l know, do not
sing on their way. They go silently,
grimly to their mark, and the man Is
lacerated and torn or dead. | did not
hear the bullet shrek that killed Ham
ilton Fish l did not hear the bullets
shrek which struck the many others
who were wounded while | was near
them l did not hear the bullet shrek
which struck me.
"This bit of steel came diagonally
from the left. | was standing in the
open, and, from watching our men IN
the front, had partially turned to see
Roosevelt and his men on the right.
The troops about me were full Of tales
of Roosevelt's bravery and the splen-
did conduct of his soldiers. But l did
not see Roosevelt. 'Chug' came the
bullet, and l fell into the long grass,
as much like lump as had the other
fellows whom had seen go down.
There was no pain, no surprise,
The tremendous shock so dulled my
sensibilities that it did not occur to
me that anything extraordinary had
happened-that there was the least
reason to be worried. [ merely lay
perfectly satisfied and entirely COM
Portable in the long grass. 1t was
long time before any one came near
me. Tha fighting passed away from
me rapidly. There were only LETT In
the neighborhood of my little episode
the dead q could see dead man not
far away if I looked through the grass
near the ground level,) others wound
ed, few frst-aid- or-the-injured men
who were searching for us. heard
two of these men go by calling out to
wounded to make their whereabouts
known, but it did not occur to me to
answer them. The sun was very hot,
and I had some vague thoughts, OF
sunstroke, but they were not especially
interesting thoughts and 1 gave them
up. 1t seemed good notion to go to
sleep but 1 didn't do it.
Finally three soldiers found me,
and putting half shelter-tent under
me, carried NE to the shade.
There were several wounded men
there before me. The frst-aid men
came along, learned that my wound
was at the side of and had shattered
the spine, and, shaking their heads
gravely, gave me a weak solution OF
ammonia as stimulant. | heard one
of them say he would run for a sur
geon. He came in few moments,
and was surprised because he exam
ined me FIRST. He told me | was about
to die. The news was not pleasant,
but it did not interest me particularly.