United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Anecdotes
It is easier to save a wounded friend or wounded comrade than a wounded
enemy. He who dares death to save one whom he is fighting against shows
courage of the highest type. Such a deed occurred during the battle of
Chancellorsville. Those four fatal May-days were filled as full of
brave deeds as any days of the Civil War. Though General Hooker, the
Union general, flinched and lost not only the battle, but forever his
name of Fighting Joe Hooker, his men gave up only when they were
outflanked and out-fought and unsupported.
Elisha B. Seaman was a private in one of the regiments which was
surprised and attacked by the twenty-six thousand infantry of Stonewall
Jackson, the best fighters in the Confederate Army. The Union men were
not suspecting any danger. Word had been sent a number of times both to
Hooker and to General Howard who commanded the eleventh corps under him
that Jackson was crossing through the woods to make a flank-attack.
Neither general would believe the message. Both were sure that Jackson
was in retreat. When the attack came the Union troops were attacked in
front and from the flank and rear at once. They held their ground for a
time, but they were new troops and even veterans could not have long
sustained such an assault. At first they attempted to make an orderly
retreat, but the Confederates pressed on them so close and fought so
fiercely that the retreat became a run and the corps of which Seaman's
regiment was a part was not rallied until they met reinforcements far
over in the wilderness and gradually came to a halt and threw up
defenses. There they were too strong to be driven back further by the
Confederates and managed to hold their ground although attacked again
and again. After the last attack the Confederate forces withdrew and
took up a strong position on the Union front, brought up artillery and
opened up a tremendous rifle-fire mingled with the cannonade from all
their available batteries, hoping to throw the Union forces into
disorder so that they would not stand another charge. During the
fiercest of the fire while every man was keeping close under cover,
Seaman's attention was caught by the sight of a Confederate officer who
lay writhing in terrible agony not a hundred yards outside of the Union
lines. He had been shot through the body in the last charge and had
been left on the field by the retreating Confederates. The pain was
unbearable. Seaman could see his face all distorted and although not a
sound came through the clenched teeth, the poor fellow could not
control the agonized twitching and jerking of his tortured muscles.
Seaman tried to turn his face away from the sight, but each time his
eyes came back to that brave man in torment out in front of him. At
last he could stand it no longer. He slipped back to the rear and got
hold of a surgeon.
"Doctor," he said, "there's a fellow out in front pretty badly wounded.
If I get him to you, do you think you can ease his pain?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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