Evening star., 1936-09-22
Veteran of '1Blue," Left to Die
In Wilderness, to March at 90
ELnathan Meade Is Sole
Member of Company
Still Alive.

Shot through the head during the
desperate battle Of the Wilderness.
May S, 1864, and left unattended for
"a hours by surgeons who considered
his case hopeless and turned to those
whom they considered had a chance
TO survive, Elnathan Meade. 90-year-
old Grand Army veteran, has outlived
every man in his company and, so
far as he knows, every man in his
regiment. Although his wound pre-
vented him from marching in the
grand review here in 1865. he expects
to be in the final parade and review of
the Grand Army tomorrow.
Meade's case is regarded as one Of
the medical wonders of the Civil War
and he says hundreds Of physicians
have examined him and expressed
themselves as mystified at his re-
covery. Although the ball destroyed
his left eye instantly and weakened
the right eye so that he Ii unable to
recognize faces or to read, he Is active
mentally and physically.
Meade also was wounded twice at
Fredericksburg. on December Is,
1862, when Gen. Ambrose Burnside
hurled the Union army against the
sunken road at Maryes Height in q
direct frontal assault which Uttered
the frozen ground with thousands of
dead. He fought ct Antietam In 1862
and was in many minor engagements
in Northern Virginia.
Born in 1s4S.
Born November Z, 1845, at Gorham,
N. Y. Meade entered the Army at
the age of l6, in August, 1862. as .
private In Company c. 44th New York
Volunteers. Only a month later the
bloody battle of Antietam was fought.
Meade's regiment going into action
toward the close of the battle.
Two months later, after q flank at
tack by the left wing Of the Union
army had failed, the 44th crossed the
Rappahannock on pontoon bridges.
worked up through the streets Of
Fredericksburg and took over from 4
shattered New Jersey regiment.
Some Of the men were praying and
some were crying" Meade said. Our
officers didn't want to throw US
against that stone wall but they had
no choice. 1t was q slaughter"
Meade took heavy lead Mimic ball
through his shoulder and another
through his hip as the regiment ad-
vanced from the shelter of Fredericks-
burg's buildings. The regimental color
bearer had just fallen and Meade
had seized the colors when he. too,
fell.
He missed the opening Of the Spring
campaign of 1868, when Hooker led
the Army of the Potomac into the
Wilderness to Chancellorsville. He
was back. however. for the second
battle Of the wilderness, when Grant
began his series Of sledge -hammer
attacks on Lee, which continued until
the close of the war.
Struck by Lead Slug.
So thick was the Wilderness, Meade
recalls, that the men had to take
their hand axes and clear lanes
through which the artillery might
fire. 1t was there that q lead slug
weighing more than an ounce struck
him just back of the left eye and
went down diagonally through his
head. coming out under his right
ear, smashing cheek bone, both upper
jaws. nasal bones and the lower right
jaw and destroying the left eye.
when I recovered consciousness, !"
Meade said. my arms were over the
shoulders of two boys of the COM
pany and I was being dragged back
to a field hospital. A doctor cut out
the ball, which was just under the
skin of my right cheek, and they laid
me on bed of pine boughs to die"
For "a hours the 19-year-old boy
lay there without attention. Then a
Medical Corps man found him still
alive. and they washed him Of and
bandaged him. He was loaded into
baggage wagon and jolted over
rough, battle-torn roads to Fredericks-