Mecklenburg were killed and wounded. A rare
sight I witnessed. Some man, I never knew who he was, was riding back and
forth in front of our firing line, talking to the men, telling them to aim
low, don't shoot too high; he was bareheaded, wounded in the neck; no coat
on, and was riding a gray horse; the blood had run down from his neck to
his gray horse; he appeared cool and determined. A large and spotted hound
appeared at the same time, running and barking as heavy limbs were cut off
by shells, licking the blood from the dead and wounded. I don't know what
became of the dog or the man on horseback.

"When the battle was over, I was appointed to the medical department and
assigned to the Thirty-seventh Regiment. We went next to the bloody field
of Frazier's farm. Here our Colonel, Charles C. Lee, was killed; he was as
gallant an officer as ever trod the battle-fields of Virginia; he was as
brave as a lion and gentle as a lamb, and thought it not inconsistent with
his profession as a soldier, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Captain of
his salvation.

"The next move was to overtake McClelland's army, which was halted at
Malvern Hill. Here General McGruder was in front, and his orders were to
feel what position the enemy occupied. It was said at the time that
McGruder was so pleased with the position of his artillery that he at once
'let slip the dogs of war.' This proved the bloodiest battle of the war
for the time it lasted. From personal observation I can testify that there
was no break in the roar of musketry for five hours. The gunboats on the
James River threw large shells at random, most of which burst over their
own troops. The battle closed at 10 o'clock at night. Immediately the
Yankee army sought the shelter of their gunboats. It took us two days to
get the wounded all off to Richmond. One peculiar case of gun-shot wound I
will mention. A soldier by the name of Rankin, Company H, Thirty-seventh
Regiment, shot in the base of the skull of the medulla oblongatta, did not
prevent him from walking about; was examined by a dozen surgeons, but were
unable to trace or locate the bullet, when Dr. Campbell, of the Seventh
Regiment, called me as the youngest surgeon to try my hand. In a jest I
placed my hand on his forehead and told him to open his mouth; at once I
saw a swelling in the roof of his mouth; it was hard and smooth. I made a
slit with a scalpel, and showed a minnie ball to the astonished surgeons.
How the