The Junior Classics, Volume 8: Animal and Nature Stories
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 8: Animal and Nature Stories
Children's literature
During the first year of his service in the field, Carlo was very
fortunate. He had shared in all the transportations by water, in
all the marchings, skirmishes, and battles, without receiving a
scratch or having a day's illness. But his good fortune was soon to
end, for it was ordained that, like other brave defenders, he was
to suffer in the great cause for which all were risking their
lives.
The morning of April 18, 1862, my brigade, then stationed at
Roanoke Island, embarked upon the steamer _Ocean Wave_ for an
expedition up the Elizabeth River, the object of which was to
destroy the locks of the Dismal Swamp canal in order to prevent
several imaginary iron-clads from getting into Albemarle Sound.
Among the first to embark was the ever ready and faithful Carlo,
and the next morning, when his companions disembarked near
Elizabeth City, he was one of the first to land, and, during the
whole of the long and dreary march of thirty miles to Camden Court
House, lasting from three o'clock in the morning until one in the
afternoon, he was ever on the alert, but keeping close to his
regiment. The field of battle was reached; the engagement, in which
his command met with a great loss, commenced and ended, and, when
the particulars of the disaster were inventoried, it was
ascertained that a Confederate bullet had taken the rudimentary
claw from Carlo's left fore-leg. This was his first wound, and he
bore it like a hero without a whine or even a limp. A private of
Co. G, who first noticed the wound, exclaimed: "Ah, Carlo, what a
pity you are not an officer! If you were, the loss of that claw
would give you sixty days' leave and a brigadier general's
commission at the end of it." That was about the time that
generals' commissions had become very plentiful in the Department
of North Carolina.
The command re-embarked, and reached Roanoke Island the morning
after the engagement, in time for the regulation "Hospital or Sick
Call," which that day brought together an unusual number of
patients, and among them Carlo, who was asked to join the waiting
line by one of the wounded men. When his turn came to be inspected
by the attending surgeon, he was told to hold up the wounded leg,
which he readily did, and then followed the washing, the
application of simple cerate, and the bandaging, with a
considerable show of interest and probable satisfaction.
Thereafter, there was no occasion to ask him to attend the
surgeon's inspection. Each morning, as soon as the bugle call was
sounded, he would take his place in line with the other patients,
advance in his turn, and receive the usual treatment. This habit
continued until the wound was healed.
Always, after this, to every friendly greeting, he would respond by
holding up the wounded leg for inspection, and he acted as though
he thought that everybody was interested in the honorable scar that
told the story of patriotic duty faithfully performed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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