The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-02-15
SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF
 CONFEDERATE CAMP LIFE
BY W. R. H oueHToN.

bles were cleared of everything, and pitchers of coffee, tea. brandy and all the eatabes were distributed among those grim looking veterans. Twould make the fame of painter could he portray that scene as it Is imprinted on memory now but how few of these gallant spirits are left to recall the snow, the tears of the beautiful women, the anxious faces of the gray haired men, and the wild bursts of music from the most famous band of Hoods division as it echoed from the stately residences on the finest street of Richmond, dear Richmond on the James It was five miles further to camp. and not over one-third of my company got there that night When the excitement of the music gave way, one became weak, and many a time I had to rest before we got to the snowy gplain where we halted. We cleared away a space, throwing the snow on the windward side and unable from sheer fatigue to stretch tent, built a fire and again came rations of whisky and sugar for the whole company, which those present appropriated. and again the stew made us sleep like the righteous.
 On the way to Gettysburg we waded the cold and swollen Potomac at Will Transport It was breast deep and over half a mile wide, and the winding road on either side down the long hills, af- forded a view of near ten thousand men with their clothes hung on their guns breasting the swift current On the top of the hill in Maryland were barrels of whisky with the heads out, from which each man was expected to take gill, but those who had them filled their quart cups About one-third of our command including some officers, failed to get to camp on Pennsylvania soil that night and the red mud on their uniforms | n fad aIArr liquor. Nothing was done about this breach of discipline. and some of the brave fellows were left under the rock bound heights at Gettysburg.
 We read of the groans and cries of the wounded in battle, but In reality I heard little of the sort. Most of the dumb ani- mals when stricken Nour dog for in- stance) may cry out with pain, but if badly hurt they go off to some secluded place and are quiet. It Is so with man. Occasionally one heard a cry of pain, but usually these were reserved until fever and delirium set In at the hospital In the tumult of the charge one could hear but little except the roar of cannon, mus ketry, shouts and cheers. In breast works l have seen men shot down by sharpshooters and there was maybe a groan and a lifeless lump of clay instead | of a comrade full of life and vigor. have studied the faces of friends dead on the field a few minutes. or hours after they fell, and without exception they wore a peaceful smile or an expression of repose, from which so far as one can see, 1t must be better to leave the world sud denly than to finger long in agony until suffering imprints It's heavy lines on the features. But there was one sort of suf- fering that appalled, the stoutest At Spottsylvania a federal was shot through the stomach, and lay between the lines for two days, grooming and begging for water. His comrades kept up an incess- ant fire and did not allow us to aid him. At last, some of our men with extreme risk crawled out and brought him over our works. Modification had set in, and he was as dark as an African. He was | given drink of water and died in a | minute afterwards. This Is only one in- stance out of many that came under my observation, and knew men who carried ! in their pockets a lump of crude opium with the resolve that should like fate be theirs they would end life more pain 1 lessly,azsz
 The writer knows soldier whose leg near the ankle, was shattered by a bullet 1 at Gaines Mill. He lay three days where he fell. and got a piece of wood which | with his knife, he cut into splinters. and stuck them in the ground around his leg | as a setting. l have seen him since in | full run on deer hunt. Joe Bethune returning after his wound at Chicamau- ga. accidentally shot himself in the knee | joint with self-cocking pistol, then very uncommon. When I went to see him. the ! blood and oil from the joint were slowly oozing from the wound, and he was gath | ering handfuls of snow and applying 1t | to the hurt.
 Expressing my sorrow the big, brave fellow burst Into a boo-hoo of crying. ] and said between sobs: "I wouldn't 1 mind it, but the d-d playouts at home | will say l shot myself to keep out of the war" He used the same pistol to keep the surgeons from amputating his leg and now walks with an almost impercept- ible limp, judge of an U. s. court in Cal ifornia. The oldest lawyer in this city i lay on the ground with bullet in his | groin for days. and a comrade has cut 1 WARD" on the big boulder where he l got the wound at Gettysburg. the first monument to a Southerner on that field. He relates that whilst in the hospital near the town, good women ministering to all, expressed great surprise because they never heard a complaint or groan from his people, whilst their people were just the opposite It may be the Confed- crates did not expect much, or perhaps | | Indians. they were stoical
 ] On the other hand a man came to our regiment who said that he knew q wound would kill him. At second Manassas bull ! let took from one finger a piece about as large as a grain of corn, and the man died in few days. The pluck in man made the difference. when the wound was not necessarily fatal. Jim Johnson lay with biiet through his lungs at Peters, burg until the surgeons had finished with the other wounded, and then five of the wise gathered about him. and four of mem bet the other gallon of whiskey that he would die. Jim lived to heln drink the whiskey and is yet an excellent | citizen.
 Girard Cook of Lowndes, now over inc river, related that at Fredericksburg he lay with a bullet through his lungs on the frozen ground from sundown until midnight. The last searchers had aban- ooned their quest, but finally he saw tbe dim light of lantern which finally an preached. He could only utter faint groans, and after a time Clonel, after wards Governor, O'Neil came to him
 gave rom his canteen a stimulant. and remained till help to bear him off was procured No wonder that O'Neill could not be defeated before the people.
 Many sad scenes we saw, but the most pitiful of all were the boys. those of 1ourten and fifteen years as they lav dead on the field. We had carried their guns on the march, petted them in rough soidler fashion. and frightened the bur dens of the little heroes.
 It was pathetic, too. to hear in the