Year: 1863

low great battle, any adequate idea Of
which cannot possibly convey to you
Here were Is Union and Is rebel wounded
in charge Of Surgeon Smith of the = Illi-
nois. Making cur errand known and sit
uation, DR.. Smith kindly offered us all the
hospitality he had to bestow, : E. place
to partially dry ourselves by the fire, q
blanket and position of the floor under
the somewhat leaky roof to lie upon, SOL
dier' s-supper and breakfast, and shed for
our bedraggled quadruped. After par
tally drying our clothes, which had been
completely drenched, we betook ourselves
to our aforesaid sleeping quarters in the
loft Of q log clubhouse, the main building
being entirely given up to the wounded,
and tried to sleep, but were so cold as to
put slumber and rest pretty much oat Of
the question. The rain continued with
great violence all night, and it was also
growing percepibly colder. In the morn
ting we concluded to go on to large brick
house about mile further on toward Mur-
| freesbOro', where we understood there were
several hundred wounded, and after taking
8 list of them, to return and take ourhorse
and buggy for Murfreesboro, thereby Civ
ing him (the horse) all the rest possible
It was now growing rapidly colder, snow,
sleet and rain falling together Forward
we went toaOGrd the brick hospital, but not
to it, for on reaching Overall Greek we
found the bridge entirely carried away by
| the food caused by the immense amount Of
water which had fallen during the past
"a hours, and the swollen current too deep
and swift to admit of fording Here was
a quandsry. Remembering, however,
that the railroad passed somewhere below,
and that although net now in use on ac-
count Of damage done it by the "rebs,"
still the bridge across this creek might be
up, we plodded on through ploWed fields,
rain, sleet, mud and water until some half
or three-fOurths Of mile below we found
the railroad bridge still standing To get
across it. however, was no Joke, as there
was no planking-nothing but the ties
and the rails over the tressel-work, and
these already crusted with ice and sleet,
and very slippery. The creek, now swol-
len TO river over q hundred feet broad,
surged and plunged against the abutments,
rushing over the rocks with force which
made the slip Of foot above almost GER
tain destruction, added to which the whole
structure trembled with the furious onset
of the waters in 8 manner which strongly
suggested the possibility that it might at
any moment be swept away with all that
might be upon it. Across we did get safe
ly, nevertheless, and another three-fourths
of a mile tramp through the fields brought
Us to the brick hospital. Here we found
some 400 wounded and sick soldiers under
charge Of DR.. Wood.


Finding that we had no chance Of get
ting our horse and buggy across Oreyal
Greek, we concluded TO 20 On to Murfrees-
boro' and after accomplishing our object
there take the lists of these hospitals on
our return. DR.. Woods kindly profered
Us the use Of an ambulance for the pur-
pose, but just as we were about starting, a
rumor came that we could not get across
the Stone River. The Pike Bridge across
this stream was burned by the rebels some
time since, but it has been crossed BY q
ford which is practicable at any usual
stage Of water. Our men had been at
work, however, planking and repairing
the railroad bridge short distance above
the ford and had just completed it so that
teams had crossed upon il the night be-
fore. The rumor was that the railroad
bridge had been carried away by the food
during the night, but we resolved to 20
and see. In doing so we passed directly
over the battle ground for three miles
When our right wing was driven back on
Wednesday, they were pressed back till
the line ran along on this road, and it was
here that they rallied and in turn checked
and turned the enemy. Allslone the road.
and over the fields as far as the eye could
reach, the ground was strewn with the bod
les Of dead horses, now beginning to decay,
and every now and then the burial places
Of the dead could be seen, marked by
rough boards, stuck up in the now soft and
muddy soil. The trees and bushes along
the road were completely shattered and
marked in every direction with shot, shell
and bullets. One tree near the road had
received one hundred and seventy shot
and yet was not larger than a mans body;
and little sasssfrss not more than II inch
es through had been struck by twelve mus
ket balls, so terrible Was the storm of
deadly missiles.


About a mile from the place whence we
started we crossed the Federal entrench-
ments, cutting the road at an acute angle,
and perhaps half or three-quarters of a
mile were the rebel entrenchments on the
north side of the river. On reaching the
river we found, much to our chsgrin and
perplexity, that the report about the bridge
was true. The torrent had carried away
one hundred feet entirely and so swift
and deep was the current that no thought
of fording could be entertained for sever
al days, even if the storm discontinued,
and it kept raining all the time. There
was nothing for it but to go back to the
Hospital, complete our mission there and
await the progress Of events.


We accordingly went to work, it being
by this time afternoon, and by twelve
o'clock at night we had taken the name,
rank, company and regimento Of every sick
or wounded soldier, and the nature of the
wounds. The great majority Of them we're
\ IN tents, many of them 4yinfs en- stra4v On
the ground. It had now grow very cold,
| and snow was falling fast. As there had
been no register made Of the patients, we
/ were obliged to go to every man and get
from him the particulars aforementioned,
and for one who cannot see suffering
without suffering himself it was, I as
sure you, mournful task. In
those tents were men torn and mangled by
shot and shell and mimic balls in every i'm
| aginable manner, and the worst of it was
that many Of them were suffering from the
want Of comforts which had not yet reached
them, owing to the great labor there was
to do in every direction, and the immense
demand for hospital supplies Many of
them were cold for the want Of sufficient
bed clothing, there being no stoves in the
tents, and the only method of warming
them was by building fire on the
ground at the entrance, which
filled the tent with smoke and did
but little, as you may imagine, toward
making the place warm or comfortable
As 1 went around from tent to tent and
witnessed the suferings Of these brave
| man the smoke oT aonafbin0 fr117;v,, a.