The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-09-28
BY CHARLES l.. SHIPLEY.

the parting of soul and body to
some extent less hideouS in their
aspect, and when his will is re.
signed and he has finally submit
ted to the last summons of his
Creator, his countenanCe. as a
rule, bears none of the startling
expressions, nor his body any Of
the grOteSque contOrtiOns that
have always been noticed among
the heaps Of slain men that nave
in every conflict strewn the bat
tlefeid.
Many writer's have given ac-
counts of this gruesome subject,
which. while they will cause
many a faint heart to tiutter, are
yet both valuable and interesting
in their details, as they describe
a subject that has a direct bear
ing upon every citizen of coun-
try-military duty and many
times its fatal result; death.
All battlefieldS are not alike.
and while some are streWn with
men in every hideOus state of mu-
tilati0n-headleSS. armleSs. leg
less, breasts and StomachS torn
open. and ViScera streWn around.
there are others where the specta-
Gle of life like corpSeS, in which
sudden death was succeeded bY
"rigor mortiS, in which the body
retained the exact attitude and
position in which it was when
overtaken by the hand of death.
In the latter instances the cause
Of death was generally a rife
ball either through the brain or
heart, causing i'll nearly every in
stance immediate death, yet not
inllicting the terrible mutilation
OF shell, grape or solid shot.
Death from lightning strokes
has produced a like phenomenon.
and men and amin Is have been
found dead in upright ana lite
like positions, "a horse even stand
ing erect on hi, four legs. with
with his eyes wide open and nos
trIls dIlated by the terror which
the storm produced. Where
death is slower this phenomenon
does not occur but where sud
den advent OF death gives no
chance either for a physical or
mental action. the body usually
retains lie last position, and tile
couutenance the last expression
adopted il life.
At the battle Of Inkerman. in
the Crimean War, it is said that
long files of dead looked as if
they only needed the word Of
command to recommence the
battle, as they lay with guns and
swords i'll firm clasp, cartridges
IN the mouth, and arms extended
as if eager for the fray.
Almost every death on the bat
tlelield is different, and the man
ner OF death depends upon the
nature of the wound and on the
man, whether he is cuwardly or
brave, whether his vitality is
large or small, whether he is
man of active imagination or dull
i'll intellect, or whether he is of
nervous or sympathetic tempera-
ment.
\ celebrated writer who served
i'll the late war gives a graphic
description of the behavior of
wounded men. He says:
son the second day of the
battle of the Wilderness,
when l fought as an infantry
soldier, i saw more men killed
and wounded than | did before
or after the same time. | knew
but few of the men in the regi-
ment in whose ranks | stood, but
| learned the christian names of
some of them. The man who
stood next to me on my right was
called Will. He was cool, brave
and intelligent. In the morning
when the Second Corps was adj.
vancing and driving Hilrs sol
dierS slowly back, | was Hurried.
He noticed it, and steadied my
nerves by saying kindly, "don't
fire so fast. This fight will last
ali day. Don't hurry. Cover
your man before you pull your
trigger. Take it easy, my boys,
take it easy, and Your cartridges
will last the longer.
During the day | had learned
to look up to this excellent sol
dier. and lean on him. Toward
evening we were being slowly
driven back to the Brock road
10y Longstreet's men, we made a
stand. [ was behind a tree fir
ing. with my rife barrel resting
ON the stub of a limb. Will was
standing by my side but in the
open. He, with a groan, doubled
up, and dropped on the ground
at my feet. He looked up at me.
His face was pale. He gasped
for breath few times, and then
aid, iaiu,ll, raat euas ne.
an SAoJ through the bowels |
said, crawl to the rear. We are
not far from the intrenchments
along the Brock road saw
4, nn1 ~.