The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1903-03-05
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.
The Veterans of the Rebellion Tell Of
WhistlinE Bullets, Bright Bayonets,
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles,
Camp Fire. Festive Bugs, ETC., Etc.

"uIStIuS builctss bright 6oyOneto
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles
Camp Fire. Festive Bugs, Etc, Etc.
did you ever have the JEmpinf
toothache in the foot of you?" asked
Pat Flanagan Of the Major. 'It wa.
like this" said Pat. Il carried, Al
Stone River. the cleanest and bright
est rife in the company. And all the
boys knew 1t. When the rebs shot that
rife out Of my hands couldn't bulge
bn account Of being stunned and boil
Ing over mad. Right at my side wa.
Mike Higgins, with as dirty a rifle as
ever a good soldier carried, and he
was firing as fast as he could load
and pull the trigger, and he was yell
Ing ct me why in the devil didn't ]
shoot, when 1 decided to slap lin
once for luck. Just then somethin.
slapped me on the side of my right
foot, and slapped both feet from un.
der ME. Mike lifted me up and said
whatever it was that slapped me never
touched me. Then he shouldered me
Of toward the rear.
1T was a case of must, Mike said
{ had to use my legs or be captured
At first my feet were like wooden
blocks, but the further 1 walked the
better they felt, and finding a bright,
clean rifle on the field 1 became in
terested in the shooting and forgot all
about .slapping Mike or being slapped
by something that Mike said never
touched me. That night found two
bullet holes in my hat, three In my
overcoat, two flesh wounds on one leg
and three scratches on the other. and
[ never thought Of my foot. My right
boot was full Of blood. but Mike said
1t came from a wound just above my
knee and 1 let it go at that.
But that blood came from my foot
and from that day to this I have had
the jumping toothache in that foot,
whenever storm is brewing. Rheu-
matism? No, sir, 1 can stand in the
water or in the snow all day and have
40 pain. But three or four hours be-
fore heavy rain or snow storm is
iue, there is jumping. humping
loothachey pain in that foot and no
questions asked. That continues until
The rain or snow comes, and then the
foot Is as easy and comfortable rs any
loot in this world. Mike told me la
ter that the thing that struck me SEEM
ed to fly up from the ground, but the
air was so full Of flying things that he
thought l was lucky to escape with a
oruise. when a dozen of the boys were
shot through and through. This was
The view 1 took of the matter then,
md l never counted my lame foot as
l wounded foot, and yet it gives me
more trouble than all my other wounds
put together"
ut was often the case" said the Ma
ior, that the wound which seemed
.rifiing at the time proved more Sc
;ious than the wound that received the
attention Of surgeons. In one battle
was shot through my sword arm,
md about the same time was struck
IN the shoulder by a falling branch
If tree. The wound in the arm
healed rapidly. but the shoulder is
anne to this day. A man in our COM
,any had two fingers shot off and re-
.eives a pension, but in q mountain
light at a later date he sprained his
lnkle. The wounded hand gives him
10 pain or trouble, whereas the ankle
hat was only sprained, and which
eceived little attention at the time, has
,een for forty years seat of discom-
ort and pain.
"At the last reunion of our company
man shot through the body at Shi-
oh was one Of the most active Of all
hose present. A man who escaped all
he flying bullets at Fort Donelson
nd caught cold the second night was
me Of the most feeble. One of the
'oys who had n toe shot off at Cotton
Hill was the best dancer, and the
'est marcher Of the old days was as
til as spawned horse. A man who
Iad been thrown twenty feet in the
ir by a mine explosion was as lively
s a cricket, and the fellow burned,
trough putting his lighted pipe in his
ocket to escape the notice Of the Of
Ger Of the guard, was cripple. Our
'Olonel, wounded three times in us
many different battles, was there in
nOre robust health than he ever had In
he army, carrying his 65 years as
asily as lie carried his % on the
march to the sea, while our Captain,
7ho had been struck by a spent Lall
q front of Atlanta, counted himself
n invalid.
THAT reminds me-" said the Ser
cant, 'of my own experience with a
pent ball. We were going up Look
ut Mountain from the west. Things
yere moving our way with a whirl,
nd 1 never felt better in my life; a
lusket ball struck me in the abdo-
len, and 1 never felt worse. / stag
cred, dropped, and the boys, not ex-
Getting any one to be shot at that
me, ran OH with the rejoicing line
up the mountain. 1 was n
and miserable man, the
ain Of the wound driving me nearly
lid. 1 yelled for help and put my
and inside my blouse to discover
hat sort Of hole had been bored
ito me. I found no wound, but my
ervous fingers clutched a musket ball
ing inside the blouse.
Il knew what that meant. l knew |
lat l had been struck by spent ball,
nd when our surgeon came up and
ave directions to have me carried |
ack I said nothing. 1 simply looked |
) miserable as 1 felt. Before l had
cen taken up, however, the General |
our brigade rode slowly |
, where the doctor sat on his horse.
he General, slouched forward in the
lddle. was supported by a staff Of |
Ger, and he looked as miserable as l /
lit. 1t was explained that the Cen
.al had been severely wounded. He
as assisted Off his horse and vas
= A..rv D.