“All the houses within three miles of the field were taken for hospitals.”
by David Price Leave a Comment
Soldiers Life
That happy hour to me is sweet
When thus I slept alone
And with that angel hope to meet
The dead who are unknown.
During the Civil War soldiers and civilians alike turned to music not just as a distraction, but also for comforting reassurance.
Private William McCarter’s treatment after the battle of Fredericksburg is an excellent case study of Civil War medical care.
The battle was over, the dead lay in heaps,
Pat Murphy lay bleeding and gory,
A hole through his head, from rifleman’s shot,
Had finished his passion for glory.
“Ladies! If you’ve got here you’ll get anywhere.”
The following accounts are a tiny sampling of the battlefield experiences of the wounded on three hellish July days: the Battle of Gettysburg.
“If I know I can be of service in tending the wounded…I’m bound to be on hand.”
While removing a rock from his shoe on the picket line outside Petersburg, Virginia, a Confederate bullet tore through Private Peleg Bradford’s knee.
