USA > Illinois > History of the Fiftieth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the war for the union > Part 36
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After this terrible battle of Shiloh, in which we lost many of our best men, we re-organized the hospital forces, re- taining such as experience had taught would be useful, with the expectation of making it permanent during the war. It was the determination then to take care of all our sick in the field hospitals, except those of a chronic character. The hospital corps was Surgeon, H. W. Kendall; Assistant Surgeon, G. H. Bane; Hospital Steward, Geo. Morris; Wardmaster, C. C. Sprague; Hospital Nurses, Geo. C. Bartells, of Co. C; Jasper E. Cheney, of Co. A; A. Wright and Thos. H. Leslie, of Co. G. Cooks, Geo. Lester. of Co. C and A. J. Davis. Ambulance dri- vers, W. W. Pond. Co. D and Lee Gerhart, Co. C.
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Chaplain Mathew M. Bigger, who was always willing to render any kind of service to the sick, was always busy com- forting them and writing letters to their friends. This hospital organization was maintained through the war, not one of the corps was ever returned to his company for disobedience of orders. A more efficient, industrious body of men never enlis- ind in any service. The field hospital of the Fiftieth regiment became the family home of the soldiers; after a soldier was ad- mitted he felt entirely at home; if he was homesick before this all left him after he entered the hospital. Each member of the force felt it his particular duty to make each patient happy and comfortable; it made no differance what the rank of the officer or soldier, when he entered the hospital he dropped all his anxiety and worry, and seemed to be entirely resigned and satisfied. So perfect, apparently, was their confidence in the medical officers and nurses that such a thing as refusing a doso of medicine was unknown, but some of the soldiers .objected to being washed. Our nurses carried out the orders of the Sur- goons with martial precision and exactness, and so great were the sanitary regulations of the United States medical depart- ment that it was a rare thing to have a death in the hospital from ordinary disease. In 1863 the first attempts at antisep- tie treatment of all wounds began in our establishment. After this we knew no more of offensive and supurating wounds; be- foro this we had wounds infected with the larva of a multitude of different kinds of flies which swarmed in southern climates. I have known these to infest wounds five hours after they were made. Wo did not have carbolic and phenic acid and the other antiseptic preparations of the present day, but used calomel and a weak solution of bichlorate of mercury, or petroleum and turpentine. Thoroughly washed saw-dust and wheat bran, and even corn meal saturated with a solution of these drugs and dried in the oven, were used to prevent the access of flies to the wounds. In this hospital we had but one death from gangrene and but one from tetanus. We had many amputations of limbs, but never re-amputations.
Many of our soldiers who had bullets in their bodies
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have them there yet. It was our belief and experience that searching for bullets was more injurious than the bullets, so a !! of them were undisturbed unless easily located. Gun shot fractures were treated with great success considering the fact that all the surroundings were unfavorable. What influene the mind has over the bones I do not know, but we found that anxiety prevented the union of fractured bones. Now. thirty- three years after these events I meet many soldiers who tell mi of the kindness and consideration shown them by the officer- and nurses of our hospital department. Kindness under diti- culties lasts forever.
After waiting here several weeks we got orders to move on Corinth, Miss., the regiment advanced two or three miles then halted and threw up earth works. How many such lines of works we made I do not remember, but it seemed that we were all summer moving twenty miles. There must have been five or six lines of these earth works from ten to seventeen miile- long, and behind them hundreds upon hundreds of wells dug to obtain water, which must have been traps to capture the south !- ern people and their cattle ever since. During this advance of twenty miles the daily skirmishing on the picket line gave the Surgeons a great variety of gun shot wounds to keep them in practice.
By this time the organization of the hospital force had been so improved that upon going into action or advancing our lines, it was the duty of the musicians to report to the Surgeon where they were organized into an ambulance corps and. with a white band fastened to the loft arm, followed with the ambu- lances in rear of the lines ready to bear the wounded off the field, thus preventing the loss of an able bodied soldier to per- form this duty; the dead were not moved until later.
When we reached Corinth we constructed permanent hospitals in houses and well protected tents, thinking we were to stay here a long time ; in forty-eight hours, however, we had marching orders and traveled south to Boonville, and a week later back to Corinth again. Here we had a long stay, with much sickness and many deaths, until fall, when we were a !-
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tacked by Price and Van Dorn, in the battle of Corinth, Oct. Brd and 4th, one of the severest battles of the war, considering the number engaged. The second day of this battle, when the rebels had carried all our outer works except Forts Robinett and Williams, and came pouring into town, the Federal com- mander, General Rosecrans, with his staff, came by the Fiftieth illinois hospital and ordered the baggage burned, saying that we were defeated and that he was going to the Tennessee river. The surgeon decided that he would ride down into town and see how things looked before burning the stores; when he arri- ved there the enemy was being driven out of town and our forces were following them up with very destructive firing. That night all out hospitals were crowded, but orders came to make room for the rebel wounded. Theso we found to be hun- gry and their wounds had been neglected for two days. The confederate Surgeons who came over to us by permission were the strangest, drollest and most singular set of physicians we had ever beheld, and from the language they used we concluded that rebel Surgeons did not have to pass an examination before appointment.
On the first day of this battle General Oglesby was shot through the left lung, the bullet lodging in his spinal column, where it is to this day. At the time he fell it did not seem possible he could live an hour, and all through that night he had convulsive tremors through his body and difficulty of breathing, approaching very near to death; two or three Sur- goons were ordered to remain with him all night; his severe wounds, although causing fatal symptoms, did not result in death, as he is still alive, thirty-two years afterwards. For many days President Lincoln required us to telegraph Oglesby's condition to him night and morn.
General Hackleman, who was at Oglesby's side received a bullet through his right shoulder and fell dead from his horse, no vital part being touched by the ball. The wounded through this battle were cared for, and such as could be moved were carried north.
Some time after this the Surgeon of the Fiftieth Illinois
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offered his resignation, with the best possible reason for its ac- ceptance, but the paper came back indorsed by General Grant, "Surgeon Kendall's services are too valuable to this army to be dispensed with, if he will apply in person at these headquarters he can have a limited leave of absence." When I applied at headquarters the General said, "Surgeon we cannot give leaves of absence now ; we do not know what moment we may move; have you lost any hospital stores or instruments since you were in the service?" I told him I had. He said "very well, give Surgeon Kendall an order to go and search for lost hospital stores." Then he told me privately not to stay any longer than I wanted to, but if I came to Quincy I must keep in reach of the telegraph. .
By November 22nd, 1862, 1st Assistant Surgeon Bane had resigned to accept promotion, and 1st Lieutenant Albert G. Pickett of company E, having been commissioned as 2nd Assis- tant Surgeon, was left in charge.
On returning from this trip the train was thrown from the track near Fayette, Tenn., by guerillas loosening the rails and the whole outfit captured by sixteen guerillas. The Sur- geon and his orderly, Wm. Pond of Co. D, with others, were marched off in double quick time by the guerillas, and traveled 32 miles without rest, the guerillas being mounted and the prisoners on foot. For four days we had scarcely anything to vat. When these guerillas got to a safe place beyond pursuit of . the Federal Cavalry the prisoners were separated, the line ofli- cers, privates and citizens were released on parole and allowed to shift for themselves. After the other soldiers were gone Captain Porter, in command of the guerillas, ordered the Sur- geon to take a seat on a log and gave him twenty minutes to say his prayers, saying that he disliked this, but was forced to in retaliation, as my command had either shot or hung so many of his seouts without trial. The Surgeon replied that no civil- ized troops ever captured medical officers, and that he might as well shoot a Chaplain. This captain had been a Baptist preacher before the war, and not a bad man, for a guerilla, and as he was open to reason and a good listener, the Surgeon grew
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"loquent enough to change his purpose, for instead of shooting him he took him to his father-in-law's house and gave him a good bed to sleep in, in the negro quarters.
Before bed time he invited him up stairs to examine his wife who was very sick. His wife's father, who was a physician, asked the Surgeon to prescribe for the sick woman. The next day the Captain returned the Surgeon to the Federal lines. The Surgeon returned to his command without money and without clothes, except what the rebels chose to give him, but on arriv- ing at Corinth the line and staff officers of the Fiftieth presen- ted him with a handsome uniform suit. After being in camp for a day or two the Surgeon was summoned before a court martial to be tried for absence without leave. On arriving at the court the Judge Advocate asked the Surgeon for his stato- ment ; he presented the order of General Grant; the Judge Ad- vocate said "I guess this court martial is dissolved, we will not go back of General Grant's order. Surgeon if you had left a copy of your orders with your division commander we would have been spared this unpleasant meeting."
On our return march from Tuscumbia it rained in tor- rents part of two days and nights and when we arrived in camp we had been soaked through and chilled to the bones. After this, in the summer of 1868, almost the entire command was sick for a month with chronic diarrhea, and those able to go were sent to general hospitals north.
Soon now the troops began to arrive at Corinth from all along the Mississippi river, to re-enforce Rosecrans army at Chattanooga; getting ready for the great battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. After the arrival of these troops we had a great small pox scare at Corinth, but with the exception of the Major at Pittsburg Landing, we had no cases of small pox in our regiment.
Our next move was to Lynnville, Middle Tennessee. Here we had a most remarkable case : in a quarrel between two pri- vates of company K, Michael Hughes had his head split open with a spade from the crown to the right eye, by Andrew J !. Odell, a portion of the brain was sliced off, half an inch thick,
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the whole depth of the right hemisphere, this lodged in the wound and soiled by the clay or dirt from the spade, made a horrible sight. It was removed and the wound cleaned as neat- ly as possible and then the head bound with a leather bandage The man recovered without an unpleasant symptom of any kind. His captain said if any difference Mike was smarter than before the accident ; so he must have had a surplus of "gray matter."
At this hospital at Lynnville, we had another remarkable surgical case, a man by the name of Woodward, of the 2nd Ohio independent battery, then attached to our division, was sent to our hospital, apparently suffering from colic, his intestines be- ing swollen and vomiting continued for two days, when a tu- mor appeared in the right side of his abdomen, which indicated entire obstruction of the bowels. His symptoms were so grave that we decided to explore this tumor by incision. When the cavity was opened the end of the large intestine was found to be gangrenous ; when the pouch was opened we found something that resembled sponge, but on careful inspection it was found to be thirteen pieces of dried apple. "Another evidence that thirteen is an unlucky number." The soldier had evidently ob- tained these from the hospital stores and swallowed them with- out chewing and they had become packed and swollen enough to obstruct the bowels. This soldier, Woodward, recovered per- fectly, although we removed the dead portion of the intestines, showing that he must have had a surplus of bowels and also that all the obstructions of this part of the body is not neces- .sarily appendicitis so commonly talked of now.
Another remarkable case at this hospital was H. W. Humphrey of company D, who had an eruption, and all the general symptoms of small pox, he was hurried off to the post house at Pulaski, but his case proved to be one of measles. Being in the pest house, however, he had to stay there, and as soon as the measles were over he had small pox. After the war was over he thought of suing the Surgeons for their mistake in diagnosis. The statute of limitation, however. interfered with this action as military officers in the time of war are not res-
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ponsible to the civil courts for actions performed in line of duty.
The army rations at this time consisted of bread, hard- tack mostly, bacon or beef, beans, coffee and salt and occasion- ally what the soldiers called desecrated (desiccated) vegetables.
At Lynnville Surgeon Kendall left the Fiftieth regiment under orders from General G. M. Dodge to proceed to Pulaski, Tenn .. and report to General Thos. A. Sweeney and assume the duties of Surgeon in Chief of the second division of the 16th army corps. From this time on through all the great battles in Georgia. he was entirely separated from the regiment, but with the division until at Resacca, when he was left behind to attend the wounded, and from there was ordered to the front with General Dodge and with him the Chaplain and hospital force.
While at the foot of Kennesaw mountain, after the charge of the 4th division of the 16th corps, which was almost annihi- lated, the Surgeon work was interminable, and from pure ex- haustion and unrest he had an attack of typhoid fever, which confined him to bed for several weeks. During this sickness he started to Quincy, on leave of absence, by hospital train ; when a few miles north of Resacca, Georgia, heavy firing was heard and smoke seen a short distance in front. The Surgeon being ranking officer on the train, although delirious with fever, ordered the conductor to run the train back to Resacca; this act of the delirious officer saved the train from falling into the hands of the confederate cavalry, the advance section of our train being captured, was unloaded and burned on the track. The sick and wounded were dumped into the woods without care or attendants, their officers and nurses were marched off as prisoners. A few hours after this the road was cleared and the next day forty trains passed over it.
Near the track was the quarters of Surgeon G. H. Bane, formerly Assistant Surgeon of the Fiftieth, who kindly and tenderly took him and his nurse in and gave them every atten- tion and care possible. A few days later this regiment was or- dered to Tunnel Hill and the Surgeon and attendant accompa-
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nied them, intending to continue the journey north. But ou account of the severe pain from rheumatism of the spine, front which he was suffering, he was unable to proceed further. Through the kind attention and care given him by Dr. Bane he speedily recovered and the term of his leave of absence having expired, he returned to Rome, arriving there on the 20th of June, assisted in the duties there until in September, when he returned to Illinois, and was mustered out October 26th. 1864. impaired in health, and confined to bed for five months, and never returned again to duty except as Medical Examiner of drafted men in Quincy, where he was engaged when the news came that the war was over. The next day after the dreadful news that Lincoln was assassinated had been received almost every house in Quincy was draped in mourning. Indeed it would not have been safe for any citizen to have shown that he was not sorry. The feelings of the people were such that they would have felt it their duty to annihilate any one who said a word against Lincoln at that time.
Surgeon A. G. Pickett entered the service on the 24th day of August, 1861, as 1st Lieutenant of company E, and was commissioned as 2nd Assistant Surgeon December 18th, 1862 : was with the regiment continuously, serving with fidelity and skill. Brave as the bravest, he did not hesitate to go where duty called, and many of the boys will recall with pleasure his careful and watchful attention while upon the battle field. and the regret manifested when it was learned that. on account of the wound received at Allatoona, he would have to bid us good by.
The premonitions of death, and the fulfillment of these premonitions, and also other peculiar forms of death and acci- dent attending, are. with the Fiftieth, as with other troops. Among them we will record a few now in mind :
While in St. Joseph, Mo., Private Luke Thomas of com- pany E, was killed by falling from a two story window.
At Clarksville, Tenn., Private John Manifold of company D, a good soldier, who had been unwell since Donelson, reported to the Surgeon to be excused from duty. Col. Bang being pres-
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ASS'T SURGEON ALBERT G. PICKETT.
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ent he was joked some for being homesick, and sad and discon- solate retired to his bunk. The next morning, March 20th, '62, failing to report at roll-call was found dead. He undoubtedly was homesick and being weakened from the exposure, died from the effect; quite a number of the Fiftieth were so affected and died. It was generally understood that, for this trouble, if the patient could be got angry he would recover from its effect. A remedy of this kind was effectually applied by Lieutenant Ha- selwood of company D, to one of that company at Shiloh.
Premonitions of death were frequent. Shiloh was noted for quite a number of such circumstances, notably among them was that of Sergeant Major Hughes. It has already been noted in this volume the wishes expressed by some of the enemies of the Union at his old home in Adams county, but it is not gen- erally known even among the members of the Fiftieth that he had received a premonition of death that day. The fact being that Adam Hughes being a graduate in medicine, and the Sur- geon, well acquainted with his professional abilities, had, on the morning of the 6th of April, had him detailed to assist in the medical department, but as we marched to the field he came to the Surgeon and said : "I have a presentiment that I will be killed to-day, and I think it looks cowardly to be detailed after the battle has begun, as I enlisted as a soldier I had rather be killed in line than any where else." After we were in line of battle awaiting orders we saw a line of infantry approaching us, but as it was foggy and smoky, and they had blue over-coats on we could not make them out. Hughes volunteered and by consent of Col. Bane, went forward to reconnoiter, and was shot down as soon as he got in range of them.
Jacob Fisher of company A, was another singular case. As he was ordered forward to the skirmish line, he remarked, "Come on, boys, its just as easy to be killed here as there." He was wounded in the side and succeeded in getting to the rear, where his body was found by some of his comrades the next day, reclining against a tree. This soldier's death is recorded in the Adjutant General's Report of Illinois, as having occured at St. Louis, Mo., May 27th, 1862, of wounds.
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James Richardson of company A. while the regiment was forming, handed his effects, watch, pocket book and other arti- cles, to Charley Purcell, who was unwell and not able to go with the regiment, with the request, "that he send them to his wife, as he was going to be killed that day." When he made the remark it was received by his comrade with a laugh, which was instantly silenced by Richardson saying, "Charley, this is nothing to laugh at." He took the articles; Richardson was killed at the first fire on the skirmish line, while Purcell was sent north a few days later and died in the hospital at St. Louis May 31st, 1862.
Francis A. Donahoe of company A, not severely wounded, was taken to the hospital at Savannah, and there lockjaw set in, after three days of intense suffering passed away April 30th, 1862, George Bartells attending him in his fatal illness. Quite a number of northern ladies were in attendance at the hospital here, among them Mrs. Governor John Wood, of Quincy. The following touching tribute to this soldier is in the Quincy Whig and Republican of May 7th, 1862, sent by a kind attendant :
"A funeral service was a new event at Savannah. Some of the convalescents and others followed to the grave, where was found ten sickly looking men digging graves. I remained about two hours at the grave, assisted in digging and filling it, and in preparing a headboard with name, company and regi- ment, and circumstance of his death; all the grave diggers joined in the service. Giving them a dollar I asked them to take good care of that grave of a Mendon boy whose mother was so far away, and to water a few roots of evergreen, which a kind Union lady of the place had gave me to set out, with the hope of soon covering the mound."
Reuben Grigsby of company D, also well known at Pay- son, was a happy fellow, always full of fun. Part of the time that morning he was silent and looked depressed. The Sur- geon said to him as they marched along, "What's the matter. Rube, are you scared?" "No," he said, "but I feel that I will be killed to-day." To Isaac Ogle he said, "this is my last day on earth," and to Lieut. Haselwood he directed a few remarks
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to the friends at home, one of which was, "TELL THEM OLD RUBE DIED FIGHTING FOR HIS COUNTRY."
Alexander Waller of the same company was sick with yellow jaundice and at the hospital when the long roll sounded, hurrying back to the regiment in time to march away; he and Grigsby died together, one with twelve the other with eight holes in him; death was instantaneous in both cases. When Grigsby was buried on Tuesday evening, his body rigid, part of a cartridge between his teeth and his eyes still wearing a look of determination that can never be forgotten. By their side Ml W. Larimore and Robert Colwell, with five wounds each, the wounds similar in nature and location. They lay on the ground until Tuesday and died some days later. As the enemy passed over the wounded soldiers, they, with the dead about them, were robbed of their valuables and some of their shoes. As Colwell was being carried north on the steamer Black Hawk, about an hour after leaving Pittsburg he died, April 14th, 1862, with the request, "Tell my mother I died for my country."
Mathew J. Nelson of company D, at Shiloh, being sepa- rated from the regiment had failed to appear at night and was jokingly censured for cowardice. May 21st, '62, as he marched out on the picket line said to Lieut. Haselwood, "I'm gone up to-day ; send this picture to my girl and tell her I died game," shook hands and was gone to be seen no more.
W. D. Turner of company E, at Shiloh, relates :
"At the first sound of the guns something seemed to say to me, 'you are going to be shot to-day.' Unable to to shake off the feeling of dread as we hurried out to battle I made certain requests of my comrade, Albert Jordan. He asked me if I was going to be shot, I replied, yes; but could not tell whether I would be killed or not. He advised me not to go as I was ex- cused by the doctors. I went, and while in the act of shooting a color bearer in our front, a buckshot struck my cap passing through the visor and burying itself in my skull. *
The tragic death of Lewis Zolman of company G, as also the wounding of George W. Daines of company K, has already been related, and we will mention the case of a soldier in com- (20)
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