Camp Near Williamsport, Md.,
June 5, 1862.
You see by my heading that we are still on the wrong side of
the river, but we shall be so for only a few days longer. I will mention some
of the narrow escapes that came under my notice. Bob Shaw was struck by a minie
ball, which passed through his coat and vest and dented into his watch, a very
valuable gold one, shattering the works all to pieces, doing him no damage with
the exception of a slight bruise; the watch saved his life; he has sent it
home. A private in our company was struck in the forehead by a ball which cut a
groove right across it, doing no harm and making an honorable scar. Another of
our men was struck down in the street at Winchester by one of Stuart's cavalry;
the sabre glanced on his cap and inflicted only a slight wound in his head; he
was passed over as dead by the cavalry; he then quietly got up and escaped
through a side street and across to Harper's Ferry. A corporal in my platoon,
Saturday night, was raising the rammer of his piece to “ram cartridge,” when a
ball came between the fingers holding the rammer cutting into each. You
remember Sergeant Lundy of whom I sent home a daguerreotype; well, he was cut
off from the regiment by some cavalry, but managed to hide from them and get on
to the Harper's Ferry road. Soon after, he caught sight of three of Ashby's men
sitting by the side of the road; he got close to them, then presented his piece
and told them they were his prisoners, and they were brought by Sergeant Lundy
to our camp, where they were delivered over to the Provost Marshal.
One of our privates named Fagan was shot through the arm,
and walked all the way to the Potomac that day; he is one of the best men in
our company, only about eighteen years old. Another, named Stevens, was struck
in the back by a piece of a shell, knocking him down, but only slightly wounding
him; he got up with a smile on his face and was making some joke about it when
another ball passed through First Sergeant Hatch's coat and into his hips,
wounding him severely; he fell and I thought at the time he was killed, but I
know now he is safe in the Winchester hospital. There were dozens more similar
cases, but I have told enough to show that bullets were pretty plenty that
Saturday and Sunday. The thing that strikes everybody most forcibly after a
battle is, how it can be possible for such a small proportion of the bullets to
produce any effect.
I suppose you have heard of Charley Horton's having his
horse shot under him. He was close by our company at the time, the horse, a
large gray one, was struck by two balls, one passing through his head, the
other through his body.
I am happy to say that Gordon is going to get a brigade at
last; he deserves it more than any Colonel I know of. This makes Captain
Savage, Major; George Bangs, Captain, and me, Senior Lieutenant; and probably
First Sergeant Powers, of Company H, Second Lieutenant. I hope that Gordon will
get this brigade and Green will be transferred.
SOURCE: Charles Fessenden Morse, Letters Written
During the Civil War, 1861-1865, p. 66-8
No comments:
Post a Comment