The boys in white : $b The experience of a hospital agent in and around WashingtonWheelock, Julia S. (Julia Susan)
History
The boys in white : $b The experience of a hospital agent in and around Washington
Wheelock, Julia S. (Julia Susan)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hospitals
The 11th, it was rumored that the place was soon to be evacuated, and
the next morning an order to that effect was received; accordingly our
goods were packed, and Sunday afternoon were put into a barge ready to
be sent to the new “base.” The wounded were being removed as fast as
transportation could be procured, though at this time there were nearly
two thousand not yet sent off; besides, the afternoon of the same day,
Dr. Smith, of the Twenty-seventh Michigan volunteers, came in with
sixty more, forty of whom were Michigan men, and, therefore, especially
entitled to our supplies. The doctor immediately appealed to us for
aid; but, our goods having all been removed, he applied to the Sanitary
Commission.
It having been suggested that a part of the Michigan delegation should
remain with a portion of our supplies, until all the hospitals were
broken up, Mrs. Johnson and myself volunteered to stay; but it being
neither convenient nor thought best to have any of our stores brought
back, we applied to the Christian Commission, and obtained permission
to draw on them; but our stores and cooking-utensils being gone, we
could accomplish but little, and, by the request of one of the Sanitary
agents, went and assisted in their low diet kitchen. Mrs. J. finally
concluded to go with the rest of our agents, who left Monday evening,
the 13th inst., and the next day, at 5 P. M., I went on board the
steamer “New Jersey,” and was soon sailing down the Pamunkey on our
way to City Point, leaving, forever it may be, “White House,” with not
only its hundreds and thousands of its newly-made graves, but also the
many grass-covered mounds of McClellan’s braves.
“Bend in love, O azure sky!
Shine, O stars! at evening time.
Watch where heroes calmly lie,
In their faith and hope sublime.”
The ground occupied by our hospitals at this place consists of a large
estate containing five thousand acres, formerly owned by the widow
Custus, afterwards the wife of George Washington. The mansion, I am
sorry to say, was burned during the war, and, at the time I was there,
nothing remained to mark the spot where it stood except the tall
chimneys. A few days after arriving at this our field of labor, Mrs.
Plumb, one of our agents, returned to Washington with a brother, whom
she found severely wounded. We regretted to lose her services, for we
had no more efficient worker than Mrs. P. Though meeting her there for
the first time, I soon learned to highly esteem and love her, as every
one must who knows her, for she is a noble Christian woman, just such
an one as was needed in the army. Another excellent lady who came to
assist us in our work was Mrs. Gridley, from Hillsdale, in whom we
found an earnest and efficient laborer--a lady in every sense of the
word. Her two sons were serving their country--one in the army, the
other in the navy.
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