"I must
have these to nail up over the outside door to show that this is a
hospital," and, without so much as saying by your leave, carried them
off. The effort was to secure as much protection as possible from the
fire of the enemy, and to do this the red flag of the hospital must be
displayed. It is against the rules of civilized warfare to fire upon a
hospital. The doctor said my red silk handkerchiefs were the first red
stuff of any kind he had been able to get hold of. Of course I was glad
to part with them for that purpose, though they were worth at that time
$2 each in gold. The wound in my head was fortunately a glancing blow
from a fragment of a shell. It tore the scalp from the bone about three
inches in length in the form of a V. It has never given me serious
trouble, more than to be a barometer of changing weather. The wound in
my leg nearly severed the big tendon. They both quickly healed, and I
was off duty with them but the one day I took to get back to camp.

After my wounds had been dressed I tried to sleep, being not only very
weak from loss of blood, but almost in a condition of nervous
exhaustion. I laid down on my bench, but shells were continually
crashing through the building, and sleep was impossible. I went out on
the street. It was crowded with wounded and straggling soldiers. The
stragglers were hunting for their regiments, the wounded for hospital
room. It seemed as if the army must have disintegrated. This was
practically true of the Second and Ninth Corps, which had made the
assault. Towards night General French rode down the street, accompanied
by his staff. Seeing me, he stopped his horse and exclaimed, "Adjutant,
where is my division? Tell me where my men are. My God, I am without a
command!" and the tears were flowing down his red, weather-beaten face.
He was beside himself over the awful losses of his division. Well he
might be, for a great number of them were lying on yonder field in front
of Marye's Heights, and the balance were scattered through the houses
and on the river-bank practically disorganized.

I was greatly alarmed for our safety that night. It seemed to me highly
probable that General Lee would come down upon us and capture all that
were in the city, as he could easily have done. Possibly he was
satisfied with the damage already inflicted, and did not care to assume
the care of our wounded, which that would have involved. I remained on
my bench in that hospital through