he flesh. The
arm was black and very much swollen. My wounds were soon bandaged and I
was laid on the ground beside the railroad track to await transportation
to Fortress Monroe. From there I was sent to Long Island College Hospital
in Brooklyn, N. Y. When convalescent I was ordered to the Invalid Camp at
Alexandria, Va. I did not relish the idea of becoming a "condemned yankee"
as the members of Invalid Corps were then called. In going through
Washington we passed by the Armory Square Hospital, then in charge of Dr.
Bliss. I "fell out" and went into his office. Fortunately I found him at
his desk. When he looked at me he recognized me at once and said, "See
here, young man, this will never do. You will ruin my reputation. I
reported you mortally wounded at Fair Oaks and have had you dead and
buried in the Chickahominy swamp for six months." I said, "I will improve
your reputation by giving you an opportunity to resurrect me." I then told
him I did not want to be a "condemned yankee" and wanted him to find a way
to save me from going to the Invalid Camp. He immediately called the
hospital steward, ordered him to put me in bed and keep me there four
days, I protested, saying I was perfectly able to be about. The Doctor
said to me in an undertone, "You stay in bed four days; by that time I
will have an order assigning you to duty in my office."

I was given charge of making out the papers for the soldiers discharged
from the Hospital. I frequently urged the Doctor to order me to my
regiment, but he refused, saying I could never serve as an enlisted man
since receiving my wound. Being convinced there was no hope of ever being
permitted to join my regiment, I made out my own discharge paper and
placed it in a package I submitted to the Doctor for his signature. After
he had signed all of the papers, I took mine out of the package and showed
it to him. He endorsed it, "Able to serve as an officer, but not as an
enlisted man."

I will stop my story here, only adding that after returning home I
re-enlisted as a private in Company B. 21st Michigan Infantry, then with
the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga. I was commissioned as a Second
Lieutenant before I left the State to join that regiment. By chance, that
commission was dated on January 26, 1864, my twenty-second birthday.

Such memories as these are among the most precious products of my life.

The gains of life are various. Some objects we pursue disappear as we
gra