The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-07-14

Brandy Station, Va, the regiment start
ed for the battles of the Wilderness, and
it was in the first days fighting that Mr..
Chase ended his active days of soldering,
on May >. In his company of 6:S. men on
the firing line that day 33 were killed or
wounded and Mr.. Chase received three
WOUNDS The first was slight wound IN
the neck and the the second was caused
by spent bullet that left a wound three
inches long along his leg, the bullet re
naming in his clothing.
A few minutes later mimic ball struck
him in the middle of the left thigh, caus-
ing a compound fracture of the thigh
bone Sergt Fred A. Fish promptly
placed a tournquet around the leg and
prevented the wounded man from bleed
ing to death in the next few minutes.
The tide of battle swayed at that time
and the Confederate troops advanced over
that portion of the ground on which he
Law wounded, but were soon driven back
again by the Federals.
He remained there on the ground until
after dark. when FIVE of his companions
carried him back to the Plank road,
where he WAS placed in an ambulance and
removed to a field hospital, which he
reached at daybreak That forenoon he
was placed on an operating table and as
lie awaited the arrival of the surgeons
he saw passing the tent a wagon loaded
with arms and legs that had been ampu-
tated: He pleaded to have the leg left on
and the surgeon replied Young man,
| Will not take d hair more than | am
obliged to" and administered chloroform
and cut out the ball. The shattered bone
was set and a rough piece of board placed
on his leg for splInt, and he was laid
| on the ground under a tent That night
ba +ula hD tt-aS
| obliged to lie IN the broiling sun The
only attention ne received that day was
when soldier handed him a cantecn OF
| watef
| 1t was just before dark that day that
| he was placed III an ambulance and start
| ed on his long journey back to Fredericks-
! burg. This was on the evening of the 18th
| and it was not until t O'Clock in the af
| ternoon of the 9th that the ambulance
| train reached fredericksburg. For nearly
! two days and nights he had been driven
over rough roads. across fields and through
| bitches and the loads of the ambulanccs
We're constantly lightened as the wounded
who had died on the journey were taken
out
On the morning of the 10th a surgeon
with two assistants entered the room in
| which Mr.. Chase. with other wounded
| was lying. to dress the wounds. MIR
| Chase says the worst treatment he evel
| received was accorded him by this mar
who was called a surgeon. The splints
| were removed from the shattered leg al,
the wound which had not been gNed ~
tention since the morning after MI. CAaS,
| was wounded. was dressed and the splnt
by order of the surgeon. were throw.
away Mr.. Chase was then Fitted on tt
| a blanket and deposited on the floor. Il,
! begged for the spints, but the sulgaD1
laughed and left The bones, of course
had been displaced 10y the treatment Re
ccived Late in the afternoon d nur-
brought III the spints and some brick
and they did what they could TO max
the leg less painful.
That night Mr. Chase believes he wa
nearer to death than ever before o
| since The next evening Dr. William !
Saving Of the I'd Vermont entered tn
room and listened to the story of tin
wounded soldier and reset the leg and adj
mlnistered a quoting powder.
On the 18th it was announced that fly
of the wounded in the room, all of whor
had shattered thighs, were to underg
ar,putations. This, however, was nc
done. On the 18th the wounded leg wa
oiactd in box packed with oakum. tn
most comforting treatment it had recei,
|
the 18th Mr. Chase exchanged shirt h
had worn since leaving camp for fires
white one The flies and other vermi
drove the sufferers with open wounc
frantic and many died from the infection
being too weak to free themselves of til
pests.
On the. Goth a citizen physician W.
assigned to the room in. which NJ
; Chase was confined. Mr. Chase says {
this period
) There were FIVE of us in that room, a
' with fractured thighs, each with I'll
? bones. tapping, and by actual measuremer
4 my leg was four inches short, We wei
made to understand that it was necessar
S to pull the legs back into proper plac
+ was the youngest and all were willir
:. to give the boy the first chance. w;
lying on my bunk just under an ope