USA > Texas > The Confederate capital and Hood's Texas brigade > Part 10
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The wounded were taken to Richmond to the hospitals on Hitters, in ambulances, while the dead were buried on the battle- field, no more to be identified till the grand trumpet shall sound. awakening all to the final judgment Far away the widow, the orphan, the mother, would mourn in Texas homes for this day's work. The army bivouacked around the camp fres fuistei with victory, and slept sweetly, to awaken upon another day's carnage.
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
CHAPTER XI.
Geographical Position of Armies near Richmon1-Disadvantages of the Confederates-Battle of Savage Station-Pursuit . f McClellan - Battle of Malvern Hill-McClellan Driven under Cover of His Gun-boats -- Failure of His Campaign at the North and in Europe -- Important Results of "Seven Days Fights"-Dreadful Scenes in City Hospitals-Meager Re- sources for Accommodating the Thousands of W.anied andi suffering -- Women would have been Unworthy Their Name Sad Ther Failed in Such an Extremity-Burial of the Dead-Care for the Texans-Hospital Established at Richmond- Chaplains' Efforts in Behalf of Wounded-Dr. Lun:day -- Sister Juliana -- Personal Experience in If. spital.
In explanation of the position of the two armies lying near Richmond, and to give the reader some idea of the exact situa- tion, we present the clearest account ever seen: "Let the reader spread his fingers so that their tips will form, as near as possible, the arc of a circle. Imagine Richmond as situated on his wrist: the outer edge of the thumb as the Central railroad: the inner edge, as the Mechanicsville turnpike; the first finger, as the Nine Mile or New Bridge road; the second, as the Williamsburg turnpike, running nearly parallel with the York River railroad: the third, as the Charles City turnpike. which runs to the south . ward of White Oak Swamp, and the fourth, as the Darby Town road."
As is thus manifest, General MeClellan occupied this semi- circular line from the vicinity of Ashland to the James river, a distance of about twenty miles, while the Confederates were in- side the semi circle.
By the turn of the tide of battle at Gaines' Farm, Cenera! MeClellan had been compelled to surrender bis northern strong. holds, and give up possession of the Fredricksburg and Central railroads. He was then cut off from his principal avenues of supply, and soon it became known that he was retreating towards the James river.
Following up the retreat, our men found that the deserted e ::- trenchments of the Federals were very forakiable indeed. that they had left large quantities of "fixed ammunition" behini, and had burned their commissary stores. The swamps and un- broken forests were of great advantage to the enemy.
General Magruder said in his official rer -. it, that the Confed. erate position was one of great peril, the bridges being burned. and had Mcclellan massed his forces in column and advancei
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against any point of our line of battle, as at Austerlitz, the occu- pation of our works about Richmond, and consequently our city would have been his reward. The Federals had an army of one hundred thousand, while the Confederates, from all accounts, were about one-half that number.
The Federals say, on the other hand, that if our troops had occupied the road leading to Turkey Island bridge, their only means of escape would have been blocked, and the entire army would have been compelled to surrender, or starve in twenty- four hours.
On Sunday, occurred the fight at Savage Station. On Mon- day, the pursuit was resumed, and our troops advanced upon the enemy at the locality known as Frazier's Farm, on the New- market road. The Federals here made a desperate resistance.
Our officers commenced the advance at daylight. All day the men fought, as regiment after regiment was thrown against our advancing column. Night came on, with the battle still raging hot aud thick. "Suddenly, as if it had burst from heaven, a sheet of fire enveloped our advance." It was now half past nine o'clock, and re-enforcements were thrown in. The heaviest columns were now flung against our troops, who, seeing the sit- uation, retired. The Federals thought the day was won.
General A. P. Hill now took a stand with his men, jaded and weary with six hours hard fighting, and replied to the enemy's charge with shouts and yells. It was half past ten at night, and the Federals stopped their advance. This day's work con- cluded with the achievement of the field under the most trying circumstances, which the enemy with overwhelming numbers had not been successful in reclaiming. This was one of the most remarkable, long contested and gallant fights that had yet occurred along our line, but the loss was simply appalling.
On Tuesday, the Federals continued their flight towards their gun-boats in the James river. They were now in communication with their supplies. There, at what is known as Malvern Hill, they occupied the crest of the hill, fortified and prepared to re- ceive an attack, commanding an undulating hill which fell to our right into a plain or meadow. Here their batteries of artil- lery were massed, strongly supported by infantry, and every- thing in readiness for another terrible day's work.
General Magruder was ordered to begin the attack. "The plan was to huil about fifteen thousand men against these bat- teries and this infantry, to follow up any success they might ob- tain; and if unable to drive the enemy from his strong position to continue the fight in front, by pouring in fresh troops, and in case they were repulsed, to hold strongly the line of battle where we stood."
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About five o'clock the order was given to charge and drive the men from their position. Gallantly the troops sprang to the en- counter, rushing into the field at a full run. The enemy's breast- works now sent forth a murderous storm of grape and canister. Officers and men went down by hundreds, but still the line dashed on, until two-thirds of the distance across the field was accomplished. There the carnage was dreadful, the line way- ered, and fell back to the woods.
Twice was the effort again made, but each time with the same result. An eye witness says: "The hill was bathed in flames. Towards sunset the earth quivered with the terrific concussions of artillery, and huge explosive shells raced athwart the horizon exploding into deadly iron hail. The forms of men, the gleam of muskets on the plains where soldiers were disengaged; the artistic order of battle; the wild career of wilder horsemen plunging to and fro across the field, formed a scene of exciting grandeur. In the forest, where eye did not penetrate, there was nothing but the exhilarating and exhausting spasm of battle."
The conflict slackened as night came on. The Confederates had not carried the fortifications, but they occupied the field and posted their pickets within one hundred yards of the enemy's guns. It was a stubborn resistance on the part of the Confeder- ates, and while not a brilliant victory like Gaines' Farm, vet it gave the Federals no advantage, and was the last of the "Seven days fights."
Malvern Hill is considered by soldiers and historians to have been the most sanguinary of that series of bloody engagements. The official estimate places the loss of the Confederates at three thousand, while the Federals place theirs at fifteen thousand. There is no doubt that the Confederate loss was greater than re- ported. Think of that galling fire-those advancing columns mowed down as grass before the farmer's scythe, struggling of hurled back, others taking their places over the dead. wounded and dying, and still the conflict raging for hours, held at bay by persistent and firm bravery.
I have seen the strongest men shudder while they talked of Malvern Hill, and watched manly lips quiver when they recalled the names of those who fell there-where the living swept over the dead.
When we contemplate the magnitude and importance of the seven days' fights, the encircling of the Confederate capital by a foe whose resources of men and means was limitless. the brave general, whose strategic skill had never been questioned, against whom our forces were pitted, we are struck with the wonderful victory achieved.
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The enemy was entrenched. General Lee fought and advanced upon his works in an open field fight. His matchless daring and confidence in his men was perfect; none faltered during that terrible siege, none were faithless to the great charge in their keeping; the salvation of the capital city was their watchword, and for this they freely marched, fought, bled and died.
The fields were red with the blood of the slain, the air filled with the agonizing cries of the dying, the woods were crowded with the wounded, and where the fury of those fierce battles raged-death held high carnival.
The Federal army was not annihilated, but was driven to the cover of their gun-boats The siege of Richmond was raised, a large army driven from their fortifications, and put to flight.
"We bad enjoyed the eclat of an almost daily succession of victories, gathered an immense spoil of stores and provisions, kept them from capturing the great prize of the 'Confederate capital,' which was now lost to them, and secure in the possession of a victorious army."
The Federal government forgot to boast of the speedy termi- nation of the war. European powers saw the Southern Confed- eracy was not crushed; Southern soldiers were exhilarated by victory, although so dearly bought, while the Southern people became more fixed in the belief of the justice of their cause.
Thus ended in the field this remarkable series of victories, which even the achievements of Napoleon himself do not surpass in their results, nor does ancient or modern history record the courage of braver, more determined soldiery, or officers inspired with more heroic valor.
While all this was going on without the city, while the carni- val of death reigned supreme upon the battle-fields, yet more horrible scenes were being enacted within its limits, where the shattered, bruised, bleeding remnants of humanity were brought in to be cared for while a spark of life remained.
The mind instinctively starts back affrighted from remem- brances such as these, and were this not a portion of the history of the time, would be too painful to recall.
The reader must try to imagine the seven days' carnage, where foemen of common blood, equal in powers of endurance, equal in courage and equal in their faith in the cause they espoused-met in deadly combat.
Recall the prolonged struggle, the dearly-bought advantage, Gaines' Farm, the only decisive victory; the retiring of McClel- lan's hosts, only to gain strength for a new field of operations; the vast number of wounded as prisoners in the hands of the Confederates, and the flight from the city of the cowardly, the silly, the vain, whose only thought was to get their worthless
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carcasses out of the storm -- then grasp the situation presented on all sides.
Misery, suffering and distress was all that met the eve. Men were brought in, so torn by shot and shell as to be hardly recog- nizable. Then reflect upon the meagre resources for caring for all these, and it will be readily seen that superhuman efforts had to be exerted, to do and dare all the sympathizing could render to give care and comfort to the sufferers.
Seabrooks' ware-houses, which had served as a tobacco ex- change, a huge building occupying a block of ground, in the lower part of the city, was converted into a receiving depot for the wounded.
The ambulances ran continually to this place, depositing the frightful wrecks of men so lately full of patriotism, and glowing with pride, now helpless, thirsty, tired, battered with the con- flict, bearing in their bodies the bullets which had stricken them down, all awaiting their turn for treatment by the surgeons, busy day and night with their ghastly work.
From Seabrooks, they were assigned places in the various other hospitals, until the basement of every church, every to- bacco factory, every empty building, and even every box car along the railroad tracks, was full of wounded men. The private parlors were thrown open and the wounded taken in and nursed.
Perhaps in the history of modern warfare there is no page in the record of any city so dark and bloody, no place where people had occasion for exercising the grand principles of a com- mon brotherhood, and bestowing self-sacrificing benevolence- than here.
Looking back upon it all, and remembering the horrid details of the time; remembering the praise also that has made the ladies of Richmond famous throughout the South, and the high encomiums which officers, both civil and military, passed upon their devotion; calmly and dispassionately, I say it reverently, they would have been unworthy the name of women, had they not come to the front and done what they could to soften the anguish written upon every brow.
Deep down in every human breast is a divine spark of sym- pathy for suffering, causing men to turn aside from their daily avocations and bestow a kind word, and manitest pity for their fellow-creatures, when the hand of affliction rests upon them. Is it then to be wondered that woman, whose province it is to soothe the weary, strengthen the feeble, sit beside the bed of the stricken, that now she should step forward and bestow attentions no man could render? I am always glad to believe our Southern sol- diers appreciated every little attention; but as one who was there, saw it all, and knew the circumstances, I feel that those women
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only did their duty, and they would have been untrue to them- selves, had they done less.
"Tech me to feel another's woe, To hide the fault I see, That mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me."
Every lady who waited on the soldiers in the hospitals, made a daily habit of taking a basket of delicacies for her own special patients. This was provided at home, generally prepared by her own hands. Virginia house-keepers considered cooking oue of the greatest accomplishments, and no matter how intelligent and refined she might be, her education was not complete unless she understood the concocting of various dishes for the table, especially the desserts of which the gentlemen were so fond of partaking. Girls were, therefore, always ready to lend their as- sistance in pantry and kitchen, and if any member of the family was sick, they would have considered themselves derelict in duty if the patient was served with what was prepared in the general bill of fare, by the servants.
Now, this knowledge became useful to the men who were only favored with bowls of broth, boiled potatoes, baker's bread, and baked or boiled meats. Their sick fancies made a meal almost revolting, and placed the dose along with the medicine they sometimes had to swallow.
Provisions were, even now, growing scarce, but when women have milk, eggs, chickens, vegetables and fruits at hand, their ready wit will suggest many tempting variations. Then, having this served on dainty bits of family china, old pieces of silver, covered with snowy napkins, was an inviting contrast to the plain ware of the hospital. Frown down appearances as we may, yet when a patient feels there is an effort made to do the very best, it invariably meets with appreciation. Fixing up these baskets became the pleasure of the nurses, and made the soldiers' hearts glad as they counted the moments until their mid-day meal was brought by the faithful.
Days lengthened into weeks, still the work went on patiently and persistently. All day long the horror of war hung over the people, -sad processions of dear ones brought home only to linger and die, filed into the cemeteries, while the sickening sight of wagons piled high with coffins, from the hospitals, rat- tling along the stony streets, and no mourners to follow, threw a gloom over all beholders.
Burying the dead became a serious business, as it took the corps of grave diggers all the time to give them decent inter- ment, bodies often remaining in the cemeteries for hours, and
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
sometimes a day or two, before it was possible to put them away from human eyes.
Parties from other States began to arrive very soon, to identify the bodies of their friends, killed in battle. Recognition was, sometimes, impossible, and often an aged father started back home with his burden really ignorant whether it was the remains of his son or some other of the same command. The dead on the battle-fields were hastily buried. Large, four-horse plows ran huge trenches or furrows, and in these the soldiers were placed. sometimes wrapped in their blankets, oftener without winding- sheet of any kind, covered up, unknown, and left to moulder into original dust. Brothers saw brothers stricken down, fathers their sons; but with the storm of battle surging around no time was taken to remove them to a place of safety, their identity was lost-their last resting place forever unrevealed.
The wounded of the Texas brigade were taken to the hos- pitals, they having been actively engaged in every battle after Gaines' Farm, and their officers and friends found it difficult to visit them and bestow the little attention they could render. The brigade was on picket duty for awhile after hostilities ceased. and finally were again ordered on the march, and pitched their tents on the same ground they had occupied, from whence they had moved on the morning of May 31st to march to the battle of Seven Pines. "Thus they completed a tour of five hundred miles, passing through several bloody engagements, and at the end of forty days were at the same place they started." Here they rested, and their chaplain and officers went to the city to look after their stricken comrades.
Finding it impossible to give any concerted care to their wounded, scattered, as they were, three or four miles apart, it was decided to procure a building; and with the help of ladies, and some assistance from the government, forty-six beds were soon ready for occupancy. Rev. N. A. Davis, chaplain of the 4th Regiment, was placed in charge, and a Texas hospital be- came an institution of the city of Richmond. Mrs. President Davis, Mrs. Webb, and other friends of the Texans. rendered efficient help in this hour of dire necessity. The Young Men's Christian Association took an interest in the enterprise, provid- ing clothing, food, and other necessary articles.
Here the men saw comrades and nurses from their own State. and were better satisfied, while Mr. Davis attended to thei- spiritual, as well temporal wants. This God-fearing man did a grand work here, when, it will be remembered, he took many of the men from empty box-cars, and gave them comfortable qua :- ters. During all this year this hospital was in operation, an : afterward the surgeon in charge was Dr. Lundav. a Texas phy-
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sician, but I an not informed whether he occupied that position at this particular time.
Dr. Lunday was an intellectual, talented man, tall, slender, polished in manner, pleasing in address, and a fine conversation- alist. He filled bis position with dignity, and won the respect and admiration of the men by his unvarying politeness, and deference to their wishes as far as consistent with their situation as invalids and convalescents. The members of the brigade will ever cherish his memory with kindest feelings of regret. He re- turned to Houston, Texas, after the war, practiced his profes- sion successfully, and died there several years ago. His remains lie buried in beautiful Glenwood Cemetery. A plain stone marks his place of rest, but no word to tell future generations of bis work in behalf of Hood's Texas Brigade amongst the sick and wounded, at Richmond, Virginia, during this never to be for- gotten time in the nation's history.
Some of the Texans were nursed at St. Frances de Sales. a hospital presided over by the Sisters of Mercy, under the charge of "Sister Juliana," a noble, intellectual woman of great energy and administrative ability. Texans learned to love her then for her patience, fortitude, and sensible oversight of her charges. They obeyed her implicitly, and trusted her as one who was in- deed an untiring nurse, a friend to the friendless, a succor for the shattered wrecks who came to her in an hour of sore distress, and were comforted by the serene manner, the holy calm, the di- vine purpose that marked all her actions. To-day, although years have passed, they love to recall her kindness and beautiful consistency. Her memory is like that of some dainty perfume, lingering above the dross of the world, sweetening all the dusty years, and preserving their faith in the possible sublimity of a womanly character far removed from earthly taint, -a type of the Christ-child's life she tried to imitate by each daily discharge of duty to those to whom she was called to minister. We rever- ently bow our heads in such a presence, -- "of such is the king- dom of Heaven." * * * -X -X. X
Hospital number i was, as I said a few chapters back, used during the first year as a Federal hospital. Just before the bat- tles around Richmond, the authorities decided to turn it over to the Confederates, placing as surgeon-in-chief Dr. Charles Bell Gibson, for years President of Medical College, Richmond, a iran whose fame as a surgeon had gone abroad over the land: whose perception was keen, whose study was thorough. whose hand was cool and unerring as he performed for suffering ha- manity the most intricate operations which any man had ever undertaken.
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He was surgeon and consulting physician, as he did little private practice, his skill being in constant demand, and his time wholly absorbed in his profession. His manner was fol- ished and courteous, but with a certain dignity which held strangers in awe of bis wonderful ability, and kept away undue interference with his preconceived ideas. What be said and did was as unyielding as the laws of the Medes and Persians.
Because of this peculiarity, the ladies did not venture within the sacred precincts of his special domain until a notice appeared in one of the daily papers, inviting and urging them to come to his assistance, as the building was full of patients and the few Sisters of Charity badly overworked.
As more convenient to my home, I decided to transfer my slender services to Dr. Gibson's hospital, and obey the call he had made for help. It was the day after the battle of Gaines' Farm. In company with two ladies, we made our way to the building, and at the office, just within the hall, inquired for Dr. Gibson. We were directed to a suite of rooms opening upon a gallery. Never will I forget how he looked as he came in an- swer to my summons.
He was a remarkably handsome man of about fifty years, tall, and well proportioned-a giant physically and intellectually. His fine uniform of Confederate gray was dusty, his linen soiled. his hands stained with the use of the knife, and all over his clothing great splashes of the life-blood of the wounded men.
"God bless you, ladies. I know you have come to assist with these poor men. Don't come near me; I am in the midst of a painful operation, and hastened to say you must excuse my ap- pearance, for I have been working hard night and day, going from one cot to another. Ward No. 2 is destitute of nurses. You will please take your places there. You will find sponges and tin basins; fill the latter with water from the pipes in each room. and go from one to another and cool those wounds." With a bow, a grave, satisfied smile, he left us and went back to his dreary work.
I had spent a month in the first hospital mentioned, but the patients were mostly sick with typhoid fever, and we only had a few wounded men. This was different, None but the wounded were treated here.
We entered the first of the suite of rooms called Ward No. 2, and such a sight as met our eyes. There were three rooms open- ing one into the other by folding doors; each room about forty by twenty feet. Long lines of cots filled the rooms, with spice for a person to walk between them. Upon them were the suffer- ing soldiers, writhing in pain, tormented with thirst, their wounds burning with irritation, and swarms of flies giving them no
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rest, while the delirious ravings of some, mingled with the groans of others, sent a chill and horror to my soul, which has never been forgotten.
Two male nurses and a Sister of Charity were attending to the last moments of one who was dying, while two other ladies quietly flitted amongst the rest, doing what they could to miti- gate the woe written upon every manly face.
Never before had I seen so much suffering all congregated to- gether, and it was no wonder my heart failed when I saw the field I was expected to occupy, but nerving myself, I determined at whatever hazard personally, I would do all I could to relieve this intolerable misery.
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