PRAYER IN BATTLE.. 329 drew tears copiously from near one hundred of us. It occurred in the large ward which occupies the entire body of the church on Cherry street. The deceased was an Illinoisan, and had been wounded in one of the recent skirmishes." I noticed in the Western department that the chaplains were much more faithful to their trust, and attentive to the sick and wounded, than the chaplains in the Army of the Potomac-taking them as a class. One man in speaking of his chaplain, said: "He is one of the best men in the world; he has a temperance meeting once a week, a prayer meeting twice a week, and other meetings as he is able to hold them; and then he labors personally among the men. He also comforts the sick and dying. I saw him with one of our comrades before he died, watching and praying with him; and when he died, he closed his eyes and prepared him for the grave with his own hands." Another said: "Over at Frederickstown, as our lines were beginning to give way, and many thought the day was lost, our chaplain stepped right out from the ranks, between us and the enemy's lines, knelt down upon the ground, and lifted up his voice in most earnest prayer to God for divine help in that hour of need. I never felt so in all my life as I did at that moment. An inspiration, as from God, seemed to seize us all; we rallied, charged, drove the enemy before us, and 330 CARRYING THE WOUNDED. gained the important victory at Frederickstown, which perhaps has saved to us the State of Mississippi." And yet another soldier gave testimony like the following, with regard to a chaplain who had followed his regiment through every battle in which it had participated. Said he: "He was with us day after day, and as soon as a man fell wounded, he would take him up in his arms and carry him out where the surgeon could take care of him; and the last day I saw him, his clothes, from head to foot, were literally dripping with the blood of dead and wounded men that he had carried from the battle-field." This noble chaplain reminds me of a brave soldier in the Army of the Potomac, who was in the hottest of the battle at Antietam, where the bullets were sweeping like death-hail through the ranks. The line wavered; there were strong symptoms of falling back on the part of his regiment. This man rushed toward the color-bearer, who stood hesitating, seized the standard and advanced with firm and rapid step several paces in front of the foremost man; then thrusting down the flag-staff into the ground he looked up at the banner, then at the wavering line, and said"There, boys, come up to that!" CHAPTER XXVI. A UNIONIST FROM THE REBEL ARMY-HIS TESTIMONY-SOUTH ERN HOSPITALS-PATRIOTISM-FEMALE RECRUITING-CRINOLINE "SWEET LITTLE MAN"-CONFEDERATE SYSTEM-NORTH AND SOUTH CONTRASTED-REBEL IMPRESSMENT-BROTHERS' CRUELTY-DYING FOR THE UNION-FATE OF A TENNESSEE PATRIOT-ON THE MISSISSIPPI-INVISIBLE ATTRACTION-AN BILEE. AT T one of the hospitals near Vicksburg I met a man who had served a year in the Confederate army, having been conscripted by the rebels, and remained that length of time before he found an opportunity to escape. He was an educated, and highly intelligent young man, and it was deeply interesting to listen to his account of the Southern side of this rebellion. He told me that the Southern people, and especially the ladies, were much more patriotic than the people of the North. After a battle, the citizens, both men and women, come with one accord to assist in taking care of the wounded; bringing with them, gratuitously, every article of comfort and convenience that their means will admit, and their patriotism suggest. Farmers come to the hospitals with loads of pro visions, and the women come with fruits, wines, jellies, etc., and cheerfully submit to the hardships and fatigue of hospital labor without the slightest remuneration. Said he: "The women down South are the best recruiting officers-for they absolutely refuse to tolerate, or admit to their society, any young man who refuses to enlist; and very often send their lovers, who have not enlisted, skirts and crinoline, with a note attached, suggesting the appropriateness of such a costume unless they donned the Confederate uniform at once." I have often thought of this trait of the Southern ladies' character, and contrasted it with the flattering receptions so lavishly bestowed upon our able-bodied “home guards," by the New-England fair ones who profess to love the old flag and despise its enemies. And I have wondered if an extensive donation of "crinoline" would not be more effectual in filling up our ranks, than graceful bows and bewitching smiles. And I would mildly suggest that each package of crinoline be accompanied by the following appropriate lines: Now, while our soldiers are fighting our battles, All the brave boys under canvas are sleeping, All of them pressing to march with the van, Far from their homes where their sweethearts are weeping; You, with the terrible warlike mustaches, CONFEDERATE SYSTEM. You with the waist made for sword-belts and sashes, We send you the buttonless garments of woman! All the fair maidens about him shall cluster, Give him for escort a file of young misses, 333 And now, while I am contrasting the conduct of the North and South, I may as well give another testimony in favor of the confederate system. surgeon. The following testimony comes from one who has served in the rebel army in the capacity of He says: "The confederate military authorities have complete control of the press, so that nothing is ever allowed to appear in print which can in any way give information to the North or prove a clue to Southern movements. In this it appears to me that they have an unspeakable advantage over the North, with its numberless papers and hundreds of correspondents in the loyal army. With what the correspondents tell and surmise, and what the Confederates find out through spies and informers of various kinds, they are able to see through many of the plans of the Union forces before they are put into execution. * |