In Camp And Field

Copyrig'Md, 1887, by The A. N. KMogg Kewtpaper Company. (Stctiun IX-Conttoitted.) "Just líkeyou," he began; "always losing something. Your carelessness wiü be the ruin of you yet. I'm thinkin' you'U lose your head one of these days. " As the firing from the battle then in progress a few miles away could already be bcard, the last and greatest accident ■was not at all an impossibility. However, as the command was in the heart of the enemy's country and was jast on the point of cutting loose from its baee of suppües, the writer feit as though he could not give up his lost money without making an effort to flnd it. Learning that a few moments would elapse before the command would start, he ran back to the boat, made his way to the bales of cotton, and turning them about, had stooped over and was looking around carefully, thinking may be the pocket-book had slipped from his pocket, when a voice just behind was heard calling him by name and asking: "Have you found your book? 1 declare mine's gone, too." Looking up, who did the writer see but Wigton, his comrade of the r.ight previous, who only a moment before was chiding him for his ill-fortune and negligence. It was clear now that some one had stolen both pocket-books while their owners slept. The joke on Wigton, however, was too good too keep, and it was many a day before his companions let him hear the last of it. Foor Wigton, his beard was quite gray and for one in active service was quite oíd, but he was a brave, true soldier, and when last seen was very lame and hobbling about on crutcnes with a prospect of remaining go from a wound received in the Red river espediUon in the spring of 1864. Just before starting on the maren, each man received in his canteen a little whisky. The regiment had never been in battle, and whether this was given to supply them with extra courage or whether it was thought the enforced maren about to be entered upon requirsd the use of stimulants, is not known. But wluitover tho intention may have been, no good carne from the whisky, and before night several in the regiment were foolishly drunk. When all was ready tha regiment started off at a brisk spaca towards the rising sun, just visible through the trja-tops. For two miles th'J road ran through the river bottom, then up a long hill of red clay. next by quiet farm houses and cultivated fields, through pretty wooded groves and up quiet lanes, all bearing the marks of peaej, and resting in supposed security Xrom the inroads of invading armies. The boom of cannon could be heard, and af ter awhile the rattle of rausketry ; this excited the men, and they marched tb.3 faster. As the morning advanced it became very warm and many threw away knapsacks, overcoats and any thing and cvery thing that impeded progress towards the sounds of battle in front. By and by towards noon a field hospital at the road-side was reached, and here a stalwart soldier with his arm in a sling, and the bright blood oozing through the bandages over a wound on his breast otherwise bare, came and stood by the roadside and watched the reinforcements go forward. His was the flrst blood the writer saw fiow from a Confedérate bullet. Other field hospitals were s oon passed, and aíter a little fences thrown down, corn fields tracked over, and every thing disarranged and tramped upon, told that large bodies of men had been deployed and advacced over that ground earlier in the day. A little ahead broken wheels and dismo jnted cannon, and now and then a dead soldier, with here and there a disemboweled horse, showed the advance of the Federáis had met with resistance. Next the road ran down a hill and into the timber; here the command halted for a few momento, and the writer stepped aside to see some Federal surgeons dressing the woundi of a young Confedérate soldier. H e was a stoutbuilt young fellow, but was pale and seemed exhausted f rom loss of blood. He was suffering trom a large flesh wound in the calf of the leg. The regiment was ordered to make som ooflee and have dinner and then move to the íront. This done, the knapsacks wera piled up and left in care of a guard, and then the command turned to the left of the main road, passed forward through cornfields, and at last halted a little way from th top of, and partly down a bilí, ia a field of growing corn. At this time the firing on this part of the field was desultory, bullets were whistling past all the while, but no volleys wera fired. Two hundred yards in front of th regiment was a branch and beyond was % cane-brake and thick tiraber. The regiment was resting quietly facing the canebrake, when all at once without warnlng, a volley of bullets struck the ground all about thcm, but strange to say only ona man was wounded, and he in the hand but aUghtly. AJthough the volley did so little execution the men were much excited and wantod to fire in return, but this was f orbidden by the officers. At this juncture some one from the top of the hill cried out: "Shell the Woods." and in lcss time than it takes to teil it the brigade battery was brought to the top of the hill and was soon throwing grape and oannistcr over the heads of the regiment into the dense timber beyond. As soon as the battery ceased firing the wounded man was turned over to the writer ivho was conducting him to a place of saíety where he could be cared for and made comfortablo. Proceeding upoa this errand the top of the hiü was reached when the general offleers were seen riding by. One of these was General Grant, another was General McClernand in command of the Thirteenth Corps, the third was at the time lower in command but was an officer of distinction and has since been a very prominent public man. As soon as these officers reached the rear oí the battery, General raised up in nis stirrups and in a very loud voice asked : "Who in ordered that battsry to ürei Mv división is rieht over there in that berP' All Ais was said excitedly, but no one gare answer. Grant meanwhile said nothing and pretty soon all rode on. Whether the battery practica did any execution to friend or foe, no one ever knew. The wounded man was conductcd to tho rear and properly cared for when the writer again went iorward to his regiment In passing over a hill the dead body of an artilleryman was seen who had just been killed by a musket ball on tho very spot upon which the writer stood a moment before. Passing forward it was found the regiment had advanced. The flring from the Confederates had now dwindled down to an occasional cannon shot and' a few whistling bullets. One of the latter carne inclos proximity of the writer as he passed over another hill, it stnick a little sycamore bush just to his right At the foot of the hill lay a regiment of infantry and just behind it feil several cannon balls, these the writer saw coming through the air in his front and knocking off limbs of trees as they descended. The sun was so low, and before reaching the regiment four men were met, just from it, bearing upon a stretcher one of the officers who had reccived an ngly wound in the hip from a grape shot. The party were conducted to a farm house, where the wounded man was properly cared for. The country all about Grand Gulf, Miss., is hilly and broken up into ravines and hollows. A little west of Port Gibson the road to the river divides and two roadways, for a number of miles, f ollow along two Unes of ridges. Upon either of these roads General Bowen, in command of the Confedérate f orces, took position flve miles from Port Gibson the night of April 30, 1863. Here he encountered the Federáis May 1, was driven back with considerable loss, and just before night made a stand with a small part of his force two miles from Port Gibson while his main army retreated. During the night of May 1, the last Confedérate withdrew beyond Bayou Pierre, and the bridge behind was burned. The same night the Federáis slept on their arms, with orders to renew the conflict early in the morning. When morning came, however, it was found there was no enemy near. The night of May 1, 1863, is as indelibly impressed on the writer's momory as the previous day's battle. Through the day the excitement, the novelty of being for the flrst time under fire, the many strange and interesting things incident to battle, made the whole experience rather pleasurable than otherwise. But night brought any thing but pleasurable experiences. As before statcd, the knapsacks, blankets and all of the kind had been lef t behind. And as the nights in the South, even in the warmest weather, are cool, much discomfort was experienced for want of some thing in the way of covering. A rubber blanket was shared with acompanion, but this seemed to catch all the dew and moisture there was in the atmosphere, and from its surface was absorbed by one's clothing. Uuder the cireumstances sleep was broken, and in wakeful hours the mind naturally dwelt upon the horrible in the previous day's history. Thoughts something as follows had free course through the writer's brain: "Well the regiment for six months has been wanting to be in a battle, and now it's been in one and not a hard one either, but there is probably not a man but next time wlll cheerfuly take some other f ello ws word for it and sty out himself if he can do so honorably. Then those dead fellows lvinsr beside the road just like they were slaughtered hogs or sheep. And besides how pitiously the wounded moaned and how horribly their poor maimed limbs and gaping wounds looked. There may be lots of glory in war but it isn't so radiant nor very apparent at about one o'clock the next morning after a battle." However the morning's sun of May 2 came up warm, bright and beautiful; some strong coffee was taken, when word came in that the Confederates were badly defeated the day before and had all jeturned from our front, and that we were to fellow immediately. At this time a young confedérate soldier turned up, but from just where no one knew. One oí the surgeons however tapped him on the shoulder saying: "You are my prisoner." He like Barkis was willing and was at once turned over to the proper authorities. All feil in line and were soon on the road to Port Gibson. A little way along the route, the place where the Confederates made their last stand was scen; this was at the top of a hill, and by the roadside near a pile of rails, lay a dead Confedérate. He seemed to have been a tall, lank fellow, a typical specimen, and though the weather was as warm as June in the North, there was yet on his head a heavy fur cap. A little farther on under a mulberry tree lay the body of a jfood looking young Confedérate. He was rotund in figure and had on what seemed to be a new suit of gray jeans. Already the blue-üies were hovering about the dead body, but his late enemies, thus soon becoming familiar with violent forma of death, complacently ered mulberries írom the trees above him. Host of the Confedérate dcad were said to have been collected before the retreat and buried in a rarine. Those seen, were what íell probably, írom the few left behind to cover the retreat. Thus, a few scattering dead Federal soldiers by the roadside were seen when coming upon the battle-field eighteen hours before, and now nine Confederatt dead, fallen by the wayside were come upon when leaving the field of strife - a few íaliing raln-drops precede a thunder shower and some scattering rain-drops again betoken its close, About nine o'clock Port Gibson was reached and found to be a pretty little town. Over two or three houses red flags were flying, thus indicating that the buildings were occupied as hospitals. At the door of one of these an attaché was met who seemed friendly and talkative. Being an enlisted Confedérate soldier he was an enthnsiastic Southerner, and said : '-No, you never will take Vicksburg in the world. It will turn out just like your On to Jlichmond. The South will gain her independence and Southern Illinois and Southern Indiana will yet become a part of the Confederacy." His notions about Indiana and Illinois were evidently obtained at a very carlv period in the war and badly nceded readustment. When asked if he thought failurc to subdue the South would be for want of valor in the Federal soldiers, he ns wcred : "Mot In you men, you are from the West, and Wmtarn soldiers will fight, but Eastem soldiers woa't." Here was another notion obtained carly in the war (concerning Eastern soldiers) that sorcly nneded revisión. ïhis man was dressed in jeans of the presoribed gray hue, he talked quite inteliigently and did not have tho Southern accent, but among othcr things, hooted derisivcly at Lincoln's emancipation proclamation as uttcrly futile, so far as any effect U would have in freeing the slave. The federáis at once set about extemporizing a bridge across the bayou; this was completed so that maiiy crossed tliat night and the writer's regiment carly next morning, when the line of march was taken up in a general northern course Irom Port Gibson. This, the ;kl of May, was a beautiful Sabbath day, and many pleasant home-like places were passcd. Gran t's gaining the battlc of Fort Gibson and afterward promply pushing his columns into the interior, turnad the Confedérate works at Grand Gull aiui caused their evacuation. These were promptly taken possession of and made the base upon the Mississippi side of the river instead of Bruinsburg. Two or three davs after leaving Port Gibson rations gave out and the army was directed to live off of tb. country. The región was well stocked with corn, bacon, sheep, chickens, turkeys, honey, etc. The corn was in cribs, from which it was taken, shelled and carried to the horse milis, one of which was on nearly every plantation, where it was ground into meal. Every Southerner regards his home incomplete without a large and wcll-filled smoJa-house. Thi is a rough out-building, consisting usually of one room and generalij' without a fioor. As soon as cold weather comes it brings to the Southerner hog-killing time, when from ten to thirty hogs are butchered, the number depending on the size oí the family and thrift of its head. The pork is first "saltcd down" in brine and after soaking for a time, hung up to drip in the smoke-house. After a little whlle it is thoroughly smoked bj having under it for days a smothered fire made of hickory. After going through thi process the meat becomes bacon, and in the preparation oL the latter the Southerner has no equal. Ham taken írom his smoke-house is matchless in taste and quality. Many smoke-houses were found filled with bacon ; others werc discovered that bore marks of a hasty removal of contents to some less conspicuous place for safe keeping. Of ten the meat was buried or put in some retired spot in the woods, but through a darky or some such means, its hiding place was in r.e&rly all instances sought out by the persistent Northerners. Home-made bacon was a favorito meat with the soldiere and for a time thcy enjoyed with it eorn-bread made from the freshly ground corn-meal of the country. Lamb, turkey, chicken and honey for a season made the bilí of fare seem perfect. But the greatest trouble oí subsisüng an army off a country in this way is the great improvidence of the soldiers. There is more wasted than eaten. However for more than two weeks in May, 1863, Grant's army ol from thirty to forty thousand men lived bountifully off the región east and southeast of Vicksburg. Many pleasant camping places were found. One in particular comes upin memory which, if the writer's recollection serves him well, was near Willow Springs. The hospital department encamped in the shade of some bushy-like trees in the very shallow and dry bed of a wide stream that was covered smoothly over with the whitest and flnest sand. It was level and clean as a thrifty housewife's kitchen floor. Here the corn-meal was made into toothsome bread and eaten with fresh young lamb, while luscious honey was in plenty for dessert. The writer about this time, remembers longing specially for fresh milk, and resolved at the very tlrst opportunity to get some. One day when on the march a farmhouse was passed, and upon the opposite side of the road were a lot of cows fastned Tip in the "coppen," as the Southerners say. The writer was not long in getting over the fence, nor long in selecting a cow with a fine udder, from which he soon filled his canteen. The fence was again hurriedly clambered over and the regiment overtaken. By and by, when a drink oí nice, fresh milk could no longer be postponed, the canteen was turned up, when, horrors ! what a bitter taste I Quinine could have been no worse. It was learned soon after from a native that in April the cows feed upon young cane-shoots, and these give the bitter taste to ihe milk. SECTION X ATTACK ON VICKSBGKQ F KOM TUK EAST AND SOUTH. It had been Grant's intentlon, upon seeuring a foot-hold below Vicksburg, to detach part of nis command and send it to General Back at Port Hudson, which place the last mentioned olBcer was about to besiege. But learning that ten days would elapse before Banks would be ready to commence active operations in the vicinity oí Port Hudson, and meeting with such gratitying success at the battle oí Port Gibson, with the consequent evacnation of Grand Gulf, Grant resolved to push for the interior and threaten Vicksburg from theeast and southcast About the mtddle of May 1863) General Jo9eph E. Johnston carne to Jackson, Mississippi, the State capital, estiiblished his headquarters there and assumed general command in the deparuncnt. Johnston had under his immediate command ten or flfteen thousand troops. To prevent the junetion of these with the force Pemberton at Vicksburg, became an immediate object with Grant Tho SevenVeentb. Corps under General J. B. McPherson and Fifteenth under General W. T. Sherman, had followed the Thirteenth Corps from Miüikens Bend before the lOth oí May, and were with Grant southeast of Vicksburg. The second week in May the battle oí Raymond was fought, twenty miles west of Jackson, bctween troops of the Seventeenth Corps, mainly Logan's división and somc of General Johnston's command; the lattcr weredefeated and returned to Jackson. This place was soon after attacked by Sherman, and the troops defending it under General Johnston beaten and driven north. All this time the Thirteenth Corps were hugging the eastern bank of the Big Black river. McClernand with. the teenth Corps was 'hus on the left, McPherson in the center and Shermau on the right, all f acing the north. From the 3d of May, when the writer's regiment left Port Gibson, till about the 13th of that month, the part of the army he was with, General A. J. Smith's división of the Thirteenth corps, moved in a general northerly course. Willow Springs, Roeky Springs, Cayuga and Mount Auburn were severally occupied, and among other strcams crossed were Big Sandy, Five-mile crcek and Fourteen-mile crcek. At Cayuga the command (the división) halted for a day or two. It was now dry anddusty, the immediate vicinity was devoid of streams, and the only water available was dipped from stasnant ponds, after the green scum eovering them had been pushed aside. While here, towards the middle of a hot sultry day, a división marched by on the dusty road, near which Smith's división was encamped. Among the moving troops ,was a Wisconsin regiment which had a pet eagle. A perch was made for him upon thin board out in the form of a shield, to this he was chained and all was borne upon the Bhoulder of a soldier, As before said the day was hot, the roads were dusty and the eaele with drooping feathers and a general crestfallen appearance looked any thing but the "Proud Bird" he is supposed tobe. Wonderful stories concerning thé eagle were, ho we ver, in circulation. Among other things it was said thut in time of battle when he was always loosened, he would soar above the regiment, flap his wings, hover about and scream with delight The Wisconsin regiment that had this "emblem of its country" became noted as the "KagU regiment. At Auburn General Frank P. Blair's división joined Smith's. Frank P. Blair, before the war, was a prominent and vigorous opponent of slavcry, and lived at St. Louis, Ho. In the hotly-contested slavery discussions that preceded the war, many free-soil speeches were made by him, and f uil reports of these frcquently appeared in the Miwouri Drmocrat, the only paper of any prominente published in St. Louis that apposed slavery. Blairentered the army and proved a most efficiënt offlcer. While at Auburn, word was received of Hooker's defeat- the Army of the Potomac - at Chancellorville, the 3d and 3d oï May. The command - Smith's división - moved northward, and about the 13th or 14th of May crossed Fourtcen-Mile creek and encamped over night some miles north of this stream. It was at the tim,e understood that the enemy was not far off - in fact they were in force but live miles away, at Edward's Station, on the Vicks burg and Jackson railroad. ; All this time the line of march had led in a northerly direction, but early the next morning after encamping north of Fourteen-Mile creek, the división faced about, recrossed that stream and finally took a road eastward for Raymond. This place was reached late in the evening and the regiment went into camp some little distance east of the town. Early next morning the regiment again passed through the town and took a road leading in a northwesterly direction; very soon the enemy's pickets were encountcred and the whole división, about nine o'clock, deployed and advanced in line of battle. The country on both sides the road was either cultivated fields or for the most part open timber, so that the ad vanee was unobstructed by thick timber or ravines. The enemy did not seem to be in strong force in front, and the advance was most beautiful and orderly. Every regiment had its flag unfurled and banner flying, and all moved forward with stately traad. The writer looked on with admiration, for here was the " pomp and circumstance of war " without its horrors. But heavy uring off to the right told that others were not coming off so easily. This was the battle of Champion' s Hill or Baker's Creek, and was fought May 16, 1863. The Confederates, with a force numbering twenty-fivc thousand, had takeñ a strong position at Champion' s Hill, an elevation that commanded the whole región. The road upon which were Smith and Blair's divisions ran 1,0 the south of the elevation, henee but slight resistance was found in their front. But on the other roads to the north, upon which Carr's, Osterhaus' and Hovey's divisions carne into action, the enemy was met in force. Hovey's División belonged to the Thirteenth corps, but for the time was with McPherson upon the northern or main Vicksburg and Jackson road. Hovey fought terribly and suffered severely; a large share of the whole loss was sustained by his división, which that day lost one-third of its number. The Confederates sustained overwhelming defeat, losing in killed, wounded and missing upwards of six thousand, and towards and after night retreated precipitately. The Thirteenth Corps pursued them early on the morning of the 17th of May, and before noon came upon their fortiflcations on the Big Black river, where the railway bridge crosses that stream. The writer with the hospital department was behind with the trains. These moved very deliberately. Early in the morning a house was passed that had been shot through and through with rannon-balis. Before noon Edwards station was reached and at the Confedérate hospital the writer's attenüon was called to a young Confedérate who had his heart on the m-ong tide. There was probably some enlargement that nade the beat appear to the right of the chest. At noon-tiroe rest and dinner were taken under some trees in a pasture and while here a Confedérate paper was seen which told what terrible losses the invaders had sustained and how they were soon to be hurled back ahd sent flying to their homes. Aíter a time the road was again taken and pretty soon a cot was passed at the side of the road upon which was a dying offlcer. Before Black river bridge was reached the advance had skirmished with the enemy and in this affair the offlcer, who was the tolonel of tho 23i Iowa- ïf the writer's memory serves him well - received a mortal Wound. He was lying on his back unconcious and deadly pale, and upon his brow was the clammy sweat of death. Towards night a stop was made, and the writer with his cmrades slept near the íront gate oí a farm house ; near by lajr the dead body of a Confedérate soldier who feil in skirmish earlier in the day. His body lajr there all night. Next mormng the march was gin resumed. The whole line of the route, pariConlinucd m Ithpwje', (C'mtimied from eth page.) ticularly that of the day previous, was covered at the road-side by the guns, knapsacks, canteen9, broken wagons and extra garments of the Confederates. These were especially numerous between the Champion's Hill battle ground and Edward's Station. Pretty early on the morning of May 18 the bluffs of Black ri ver were reached and the remains of the burned railroad bridge came in sight. A little later the writer's regiment was found inside of the Confedérate works of the day previous. The writer soon had from his comrades, who had been partici pants in the battle of Black River Bridge, a full aoccount of the whole affair. It was almost a bloodless victory. A bayou circles around to the east from Black river at the railroad briïlge, forming a sort of horseshoe, one-half to threequarters of amile in extent ; just within this the Confederates, with cotton bales from the neighboring plantation, had extemporized breastworks. These were wellmanned, and at conv,enient intervals cannon were planted. Upon the hills just west of the river the Confederates were in force. Lawler, with his brigade, charged the left flank of the rebel line, when the whole of the enemy either surrendered or sought safety in flight. Seventeen hundred prisoners were taken, many of whom, when the oharge was flrst made, became panic-stricken, tore out little bunches of cotton from the bales in the breastworks and hoisted these upon the pointe oí their bayoneta in token of surrender. The writer spent som e time in visiting the works lately occupied by the Confederates; they seemed strong, and the whole position was very similar to that occupied by the Federáis eighteen months later at Franklin, Tenn., where the furious charges of Hood's f orces were made unsuccessfully and with such terrible loss, upon Bchofield, the Union Commander. Having lost, since the flrst day of Hay, 1863, the battles of Port öibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion's Hill and Black River Bridge, all in the vicinity of Vicksburg, the Confederates on the 17th of the same raonth retired within the works of that stronghold. As soon as the position at Black river was lost, the bridge at that point was burned. The pioneer corps, however, feil to work most energetically, and by ten o'clock of May X8, the bridge was ready for use. Eighteen guns were captured at Black river. Many of these were handsome and finished in a most beautiful manner. Several had painted upon them in gilt letters, names of popular Confedérate offlcers, but qualifled with the word lady. Thusthere was the "Lady Davis," "Lady Prioe," "Lady Beauregard," etc. Bef ore noon nearly the whole command was across the Big Black and headed for Vicksburg, ten or twelve miles distant. The way was for the most part lined with farm house. The Thirteenth Corps bore to the left and at nightfall was within about ten miles of the works that encircled Vicksburg. Orders were given to make flres only in the ravines with which the región was well supplied. Early next morning the whole command advanced. As the Confederates had so f ar been defeated and had in the last engagement yielded what seemed a strong position with so little resistance, the opinión carne to prevail throughout the Federal army that Vicksburg would yield without further resistance. Filled with this ide the Union forces confldently approached the outworks of Vicksburg on the morning of May 19, but found the Confederates without these in line of battle. They soon retired, however, and mean time the Fed - erais, by this time convinced that the foe in front intended to fight, approached cautiously but detcrminately. The división established its hospital about four miles from the Confedérate works at the house of a man named Swett. The house was built mainly of logs in the center of a largo yard that slopod down in nearly every direction. Every thing was jot in readiness at the hospital to reeeive the wounded. The surgconshad their instruinents all ready for use; long, bright, razor-edged knives for cutting tarough fleshy part ia amputations and sharp-toothed, shining saws for sawingbono. Thon there werestrong fórceps for extracting bullets, bone pliers for snipping off jagged ends of bone and tourniquetsfor arresting hemorrhage. Spongcs for washing wounds and lint and bandages ior dressing them wore ïu plentiful sapply. Among the more prominent drugs were morphine, for alleviating pain, chloroform and ether for producing anestheniti (insensibility to suffering), brandy, wine, whisky and quinine forexhaustion, and perchloride 'of iron, a powerful st3'ptic, to stop bleeding. To be used in the way of nourishment there were beof essenses, condensad milk, stroug coffee, beef soup, broths, cracker, etc, etc. The yard at Swett's was fillcJ with ?hado trees, and undcr these it was proposed to put the wounded. Ambulance3 were sent to the front and eyery thing was in readiness at the hospital to make as comfortablo as possible the injured. Towards noon the writer went forward a couple of miles; since eight o'clock thore had been firing, and this grew heavier and neavier as the day advanced. As yet, howevor, there w;:b but little in the'immediate front, but nearly all was to the right. Sherman with the Fifteenth Corps was on the extrem right, MePherson (Seventeenth Corps) was in the center and McClernand (Thirteenth Corps) was on the left. At noon the firing to the right became very heavy, the musketry was incessant and this was very frequently punctuated with the boom of cannon. Graduallythe incessant report of musketry and frequent boom of cannon crept round to the left, and ia the afternoon the whole line was engaged. Toward evening the ambulances commenced -coming in loaded with the wounded. These poor fellows had to be lif ted carefuüy from the ambulances and laid around upon the ground till the surgeons could examine and care for their injuries. Two or three operating tables had been extemporized with boards; at each of these surgeons were soon busily at work amputating legs and arms, probing wounds and otherwise operating upon the injured. The great majority of injuries carne from musket balls, a few carne írom pieces of shell, and occasionally one from a grapa shot Nearly all were perforating wounds, though occasionally only s bruise was found ad this usually carne from a pioce of shell. Whero bone of extremities were riously injared ucpuUUom were uerly I wy ( retortod to. In tbe cM of the arm, however, especially between the shoulder and elbow, if the joints were not nvolved, the wound was enlarged and the ragged ends of bones pared off smoothly, the arm put in a splint and if the case re- sulted fortunately, a sort of gristle flrst and later a bony structure took the place' oí the original hard bone. Ths operation was called a ruection. AU sorts of wounds were received. One poor fellow was shot in the faca in such a way that the whole lower jaw was taken off, the wound however was not necessarily fatal. A bullet passed through a man's skull and into the brain cavity; for days he lived, walked about and waited largely upon himself. He seemed dazed however froin the first, and after awhile becamo stupid, helpless and died. Some that wera brought in were so severely injured that there was no hope oí doing any thing for their recovery ; suca cases if there seemed to be much suffering were made as comfortable as possible and laid upon the ground and the attention of the surgeons given to those whose injuries were likely to receive benefit. One poor íellow was shot somewhere in the base of the brain and when taken out of the ambulance one side of his face was in convulsión. His case was deemed hopeless, and he was placed upon the ground. All night and till noon next day the convulsions continued; one eye was in constant motion and the inuscles of the same side of the face jerked and twitehed in horrible contortions. But at last death carne to his relief. All were kept busy till awayin the night caring for the wounded. Blankets were spread upon the ground under the trees, and upon these, side by side, the injured ones were laid. Towards morning others of the wounded were brought in that could not be reached till nightfall protected the rescuing parties f rom the bullets of the enemy. The next day, May 20, was occupied in perfecting the care of the injured. Hany operaticns were of too delicate a character to be performed after night; these were made the morning following. Sometimes in the army, however, very delicate operations were f rom necessity performed after night In the medical supplies were little wax candles that gave a pretty light, f ree from smoke and without much dripping, as from tallow candles. When working after night a number of these were lighted and held for the convenience of the operator. The night after the battle of Champion's Hill the writer renlembers coming upon some surgeons who were amputating at the shoulde?-joint the arm of a poor fellow who had been wounded near the shoulder. Just as he carne up the surgeons were turning the bone out of its socket and adjusting the flaps. This ojeration in the army was considered a very critical one and was not of ten performed, when other means would avail. At the front the Unes were advanced as near as possible to the enemy's vvorks, and at night the spade was used freely, thus making rifle-pits to secure protection from the enemy's bullets. The casualties were coraparatively few the 30th and 21st of May, yet throughout both these days wounded men were from time to time brought in from the front. Meantime preparations for the care of the wounded were made on a much more extended scale. When the trees in the yard failed to give shelter from sunshine by day and dew at night, limbs heavily laden with leaves, cut from the timber near by were laid upon poles that rested upon others set in the ground. While engaged in this work a cannon ball carne whizzing through the air and buried itself in the ground in the center of the yard. One of the men, curious to see what character of missie it was, got a shovel and excavated the ball. It proved to be a conical sieel ball about two and one-half inches through and seven or eight inches long. Meanwhila fuü rationa were now received for all, from a base pf supplies established on tho Yazoo river, upon Sherman's right; from this point a wagon road in the rear of the army was made, and over this were conveyed supplies of all kinds to th ti-oops. For a day or two after the investment Warrenton, about ix miles below Vicksburg, had been used as a base. But the new base upon the Yazoo save direct communication vvith tlie great Kortli and its liniitless supply. SECTION XI.- ASSAULT AND STEGE OP THE CONFEDÉRATE STKONGHOLD. At two p. m. , May 19, an assault was made on the Confedérate works at Vicksburg; This assault was unsuccessful so far as captui'ing the stronghold was concerned, but resulted in giving the Federáis an advanced position, wiüch positiou was made secure by tho use o the spade the succeeding night. Believing that the Cnfcderates would not hold out against another determined assault, a second one was ordered at ten a. m., May 23. This was opened by a terrino cannonade from all the Federal batteries; following this was an incessant rattle of musketry. It was known at the hospital this charge was to be made, and the constant boom of cannon and continual roll of musketry firing after ten in the forenoon, all knew would soon bring in a frightf ui harvest of mangled and wounded. The slain would, of course, for the time at least, be left on the field. About two p. m., through the trees was seen a long train of ambulances approaching, all heavily loaded with mangled humanity. Upon reaching the hospital grounds, two or three ambulances were backed up at once, and the wounded üfted or assisted out. One of the first that tha writer assisted in taking from the ambulance was a tall, slender man, who had recetved a terrible wound in the top of bis head, a minnie ball had, so to ipeak, plowed its wy through the (kuil, making a ragged, gaping wound, ezposing the brain for three or tour inches. He lived but a moment after remoral rooi UiO ai&bula&oe ' The Captain of the company in which the WTiter enlisted was in anotner ambulance, mortally wounded, with a bullet in his brain. He lived a day or two in an unconscions stupor- a cómateme state as the doctors say. But the majority of the wounded were boys, young, brave, daring fellows, too often rash, and meeting deatb, or next to it, oftentimes from needless exposure. One nice young fellow of eighteen the writer can never forget He had been wounded in the bowels, and was sitting at the root of a larga tree, resting his head against its trunk. His name was Banks, and knowing the writer well, he recognized him, and calling him ty name, said : "Ah, I'm badly wounded." Already hig lip were ashy palé, a clammy sweat was upon his face, and from the wound in his abdomen a long knuckle of intestino was protruding. A few hours more, and young Banks was resting in the sleep of death. Ho danger from enemy's bullets now; the poorsenseless clay a linie time before the dwelling-place of joyous young life, nothing could harm more. By the quiet fonn sat the father, sad and heart-broken, himself a soldier, but the balance of his term of service woultl now seem lonely and tedious. Arms and legs of many in the ambulances were haDging useless and lying powerless by the sides of their owners, and soon the several tables wero kept busy, removing mangled and uselesg limba. As on all such occasion when there was a great many wounded on hand at one time, but little was done for the mortally injured, save to lay them in a comparatively comfortable position; those ha ving mangled limba and broken bones were first attended, while those with unextensive, simple flesh wounds, were passed by Uil more serious cases were attended to. Juiigment, however, in this direction was not always unorring. The writer remembers one man with what seeined a slight wound of the foot He was rather persistent in having iinmodiate attentiou, ut the number of dangling limbs and gaping wounds calling for immediate care seemed to justify the surgeon in putting him off for a time. His wound did not do well, and later he was sent to a general hospital in Mempbis, when gangrene attacked the f oot and death was the result. AU the afternoon and till late at night on May 23 did the surgeons work with the wounded; amputating limbs, removiug balls, cleaning and washing wonnds, ridding them of broken pieces of bone, bandaging them up and putting in the best shape, possible. A few were bruised from stroke of spent balls or piece of shell and recovered in a few days. Long Unes of wounded now occupied the shaded places in the yard, and to attend to the wants of these kept all busy. Carbolic acid and other disinfectants were at that time not in use and all wounds were at first treated with simple water dressiogs. Old mualiu cloth or lint was saturated with cold water and applied to all fresh wounds. As soou as these begau to matter, simple cerate, a mild soothing ointment consisting of two parts of fresh lard and one of white wax, was applied. In most bullet wounds, tha ball in entering the body carried before it little pieces of the clothing, leather of the kelt or cartridge box, tin of the canteens or any such substance first struck by tha missile. In nearly all intances these foreign substances wera discharged in tha form of little dark oolorod bits of debris. Every day the wounds were washed and freshly dressed. But as the weather was warm many wounds became infested with maggots. This looked horrible but was not specially detrlmental. Two or three days' extra work was mado by the large number of wounded resulting ïrom the assault of May 23. Aften this then was a constant accession of woundad man at the hospital, but only a few at a tima. One man receiveJ 'a wound from some sort of a larga missile that made an extensive opening at the place of entrance, tho fleshy part of the thigh, in which it buried itself deeply and could not be reached. In a day or two tha limb all about ths wound beg:m to a3suma a greenish-yellow hue and later tha man died. Cutting mió tila wound after death, revealed tha prosence of a copper-tap, more than an inch acros3, from a shell. About a week after the sei;e bogan a young ni?.n from an Ohio regiment died from a wound re3iilting from his own iinprudenca. The flrst day of the investment, while hií regiment was drawn up in line three or four miles from tha enemy's works, taere boing some delay in the advance, thi young man got some loose powder, ran it along in a little trail, covered this with dust and tried to fire it As it did not ignite he was stooping over with his face closo to the ground when the charge took fire. His faca was badly burned, and later was attacked wita erysipelas, from which death rer,ultod. This seemed an inglorious way of yioldingup one's life when the opportuniiies for dying for one's country wore so plentiiul. As soon a3 communication bythoYazoo was oponed up with the North, supplies in great abundance came in for the sick. In the way of estables were delicacies o yarious kinds, fruits, müd, home-madu wines, etc. Clothing for the sick and wounded was furnished in full quantities. This, for the most part, consisted of cotton garments for underwear - shirts, nightshirts, drawers, gowns, etc. Most all of bleached niuslin. Cotton goods were at tho time expensive in ths market, from the fact that the ply of the raw material by the South was stopped for the period during which the war oratinued. Nearly all these things were donated by individual and oommunities. Very many oL the garment bad the name oí the donor Umped upoo theim with stencil plate. Quita a uumberoí the arücUs seen by tUn writer had the buco, now iorgettea, ut a lady with post -office address at Janesvüle, Wis. The assault of May 22 convinced all offlcers and men, that Vicksburg was much more seourely intrenched than hac been supposed, and that the only way to capture it would be by siege. Accordingly all made up their minds to await the result patiently, but of the fina fall of the stronghold no one entertained a doubt. Indeed, of ultímate triumph every man seemed f rom the start to have ful coEfidract. Vlo he CorUinuul.)