t well could be of amputated cases. For the
most part the men bore their suffering without a groan. Among the number
was a young Confederate officer, that had lost an arm. He probably felt
that he was a good way from home, and he "took on," bemoaning his fate
as a cripple and a sufferer. He wore out the patience of every other man
in the tent. At last I yelled out to him to shut up, or I would get up
and kick him out doors. My bark was effective, we heard no more from
him. All of us were amputates, or seriously wounded. During the night a
doctor came, and gave every man a dose of morphine, which produced a
happy state of mind and body. As I was taken from the table one of my
doctors said, "Fuller, you may drink all of the whiskey you can get, and
want."

The day of the 4th we had a drenching rain. Some men out lying in low
places and who could not move were, it was said, drowned. On the whole,
I presume the rain was a benefit to the wounded.

It took a number of days for the large hospital tents to be put up. All
of the sound part of the army that could be spared followed up the
enemy. Of course, it took a large number of soldiers detailed for the
purpose, to partially care for the thousands of wounded from each army.
The surgeons were continuously engaged upon new cases that had received
no attention. Those of us that had been treated knew this, and we found
no fault at what otherwise would have been terrible neglect. I think it
was six days after my amputation before a doctor could be found to look
at my stump. The night before I had been made very nervous by crawley
feelings on that side of me, just where I could not tell. It is, I
think, the rule with amputations, that the patient cannot from the
feeling put his hand on the place of amputation. It takes a good while
for the nerves to realize where "the end" is. They were made to carry
the news to the brain from the extremities, and, until the new
arrangement has become somewhat acquainted with the change, these lines
of communication are doing duty for parts of the body not there. My bad
feelings were not at the end of the stump, but down in the foot and
ankle, where there were constant beats, and pulls and cramps. I think
this is the foundation for the many fairy stories to the effect that an
amputated leg or arm buried gave the owner of it great pain, as if
something pressed on it, or it was cramped in its box, and when it was
opened up there was found a stone be