A Story of the Red Cross; Glimpses of Field WorkBarton, Clara
History
A Story of the Red Cross; Glimpses of Field Work
Barton, Clara
American National Red Cross
Our surgeons and assistants went on shore, where Dr. Le Garde and Dr.
Lesser secured a small house, and in a few hours this had undergone the
same transformation and by the same hands as the Cuban hospital. The Red
Cross flag was hoisted, Dr. Lesser placed in charge, and scores of our
soldiers who had been lying on the filthy floors of an adjacent
building, with no food but army rations, were carried over, placed in
clean cots, and given proper food. From that on, no distinction was
made, the Red Cross flag floating over both the American and Cuban
hospitals.
A few feet away, all the available army tents were put up as additional
accommodation for the "wounded in the engagement about to take place."
It did take place the following day, and, as will be well remembered, in
those two days, Friday and Saturday, the first and second of July, the
tents were more than filled with wounded in the battle of San Juan Hill.
Three of the five Sisters went into the operating tent, and with the
surgeons worked for thirty hours with only a few moments' rest now and
then for a cup of coffee and a cracker or piece of bread. We heard
nothing more about a woman nurse being out of place in a soldiers'
hospital.
On Saturday evening, the second day of the San Juan battle, a slip of
paper with these penciled words was brought to the door of the hospital:
"Send food, medicines, anything. Seize wagons from the front for
transportation.
"SHAFTER."
The call for help was at once sent over to the State of Texas, and we
worked all night getting out supplies and sending them ashore with a
force of Cubans, only too glad to work for food.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account