The ambulances are now bringing in the enemy's wounded as
well as our own. It is the prompting of humanity. They seem truly grateful for
this magnanimity, as they call it; a sentiment hitherto unknown to them.
The battle was renewed to-day, but not seriously. The
failure of Gen. Huger to lead his division into action at the time appointed,
is alleged as the only reason why the left wing of the enemy was not completely
destroyed. But large masses of the enemy did cross the river, on bridges
constructed for the purpose, and they had 50,000 men engaged against a much
less number on our part; and their batteries played upon us from the north bank
of the Chickahominy. The flying foe kept under shelter of this fire — and these
guns could not be taken, as the pontoon bridge was defended by heavy artillery.
All day the wounded were borne past our boarding-house in
Third Street, to the general hospital; and hundreds, with shattered arms and
slight flesh wounds, came in on foot. I saw a boy, not more than fifteen years
old (from South Carolina), with his hand in a sling. He showed me his wound. A ball
had entered between the fingers of his left hand and lodged near the wrist,
where the flesh was much swollen, He said, smiling, “I’m going to the hospital
just to have the ball cut out, and will then return to the battle-field. I can
fight with my right hand.”
The detectives are jubilant to-day. They say one of their number,
–––, did heroic feats of arms on the field, killing a Yankee colonel, and a private
who came to the rescue. At all events, they brought in a colonel's sword,
pistols, and coat, as trophies. This story is to be in the papers to-morrow!
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 131-2
No comments:
Post a Comment