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Account of Surgeon John W. Lawing, Thomas' Legion, C. S. Army, on the
expedition from Bull's Gap to Watauga River, April 25-27, 1864.
Carter DEPOT, EAST TENNESSEE, April 28, 1864.EDITOR, WESTERN DEMOCRAT: I desire through your paper to give
a brief account of the engagement recently fought at this place. The enemy, about 2,000 strong, consisting of the Third Indiana,
the Tenth Michigan Mounted Infantry, and a battalion with two pieces of artillery under Brigadier-General [Mahlon Dickerson]
Manson, United States Army, attacked this place on Monday, April 25.The fight began at 2 o'clock p. m., and with only occasional
intervals continued until dark. The resisting force, which consisted of only a portion of Colonel [William Holland] Thomas'
Legion, North Carolina Troops, and without artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel James [Robert] Love [II] of North Carolina, met them heroically
and repulsed them in a crippled condition. Under cover of the night the enemy removed their wounded and dead and resumed the
firing early next morning, but after a short skirmish they retired. A few of our cavalry pursued and on their return reported
that the enemy had burned a small bridge, torn up a portion of the railroad track, and were still retreating, evidently not
intending to renew the attack. The loss of the enemy, as far as ascertained, was nineteen killed, twenty-seven wounded and
three captured. Among their killed was a major and a captain. Our loss was three captured, three very slightly wounded, and
one seriously wounded. During this engagement our men displayed a heroism worthy of veterans and of the noble cause in which
they are engaged. This victory, though comparatively small, is in keeping with the progress of events which makes our Confederate
cause ever plainer to our minds and dearer to our hearts.
John W. Lawing
Surgeon, Thomas' Legion. [Printed in the Charlotte, North Carolina Western
Democrat, May 10, 1864.]
Recommended
Reading: Civil War Medicine: Challenges
and Triumphs (Hardcover: 475 pages). Description: Nothing is left unstudied! Alfred Jay Bollet covers a
multitude of areas in the world of the medical care/treatment featuring early war ill-preparation, being overwhelmed, medical
science, surgery, amputations, wounds, hospitals, drugs, diseases, prison camps and notable individuals of the era. Every
chapter offers added insight via biographies on individuals that had influence on the subject discussed—thus adding
more intrigue to this book. This book is considered very comprehensive and fair to all parties involved…often bringing
to light the importance of doctors and nurses through out the entire war and its aftermath. Continued below...
Numerous sidebar
articles appear throughout the text to embellish points of interest and a nice appendix is provided, as well as countless
charts offering statistical data. Bollet's style is very reader friendly - you don't have to be that “med student”
to enjoy it!
Recommended
Reading: This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American
Civil War (Hardcover). Editorial
Review from Publishers Weekly: Battle is the dramatic centerpiece of Civil War history; this penetrating study looks instead
at the somber aftermath. Historian Faust (Mothers of Invention) notes that the Civil War introduced America to death on an unprecedented scale and of an unnatural kind—grisly,
random and often ending in an unmarked grave far from home. Continued below...
She surveys
the many ways the Civil War generation coped with the trauma: the concept of the Good Death—conscious, composed and
at peace with God; the rise of the embalming industry; the sad attempts of the bereaved to get confirmation of a soldier's
death, sometimes years after war's end; the swelling national movement to recover soldiers' remains and give them decent burials;
the intellectual quest to find meaning—or its absence—in the war's carnage. In the process, she contends, the
nation invented the modern culture of reverence for military death and used the fallen to elaborate its new concern for individual
rights. Faust exhumes a wealth of material—condolence letters, funeral sermons, ads for mourning dresses, poems and
stories from Civil War–era writers—to flesh out her lucid account. The result is an insightful, often moving portrait
of a people torn by grief. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Recommended
Reading: Gangrene and Glory: Medical
Care during the American Civil War (University of
Illinois Press). Description:
Gangrene and Glory covers practically every aspect of the 'medical related issues' in the Civil War
and it illuminates the key players in the development and advancement of medicine and medical treatment. Regarding the numerous
diseases and surgical procedures, Author Frank Freemon discusses what transpired both on and off the battlefield. The
Journal of the American Medical Association states: “In Freemon's vivid
account, one almost sees the pus, putrefaction, blood, and maggots and . . . the unbearable pain and suffering.” Interesting
historical accounts, statistical data, and pictures enhance this book. This research is not limited to the Civil War buff,
it is a must read for the individual interested in medicine, medical procedures and surgery, as well as some of the pioneers--the
surgeons that foreshadowed our modern medicine.
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