Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 16.djvu/420

 414 Southern Historical Society Papers.

until night spread her welcome mantle over the earth, the sharp- shooting was incessant, the constant rattle of small arms and the spiteful hissing of bullets never ceased, and was only drowned by the irregular but daily bombardment from heavier metal. No place along the line could be considered safe; the most sheltered were pene- trated by glancing bullets, and many severe wounds were received in this way. The trenches themselves were filthy, and, though policing was rigidly enforced, it was impossible to keep down the constant accumulation. Vermin abounded, and diseases of various kinds showed themselves. The digestive organs became impaired by the rations issued and the manner in which they were prepared. Diar- rhoea and dysentery were universal ; the legs and feet of the men swelled until they could not wear their shoes, and the filth of their persons from the scarcity of water was almost unbearable. But all of this they endured, and, although in a few instances desertions oc- curred, and even self-mutilation was resorted to, to escape the horrid nightmare that brooded upon spirits not highly enough tempered to endure it, the great majority of men stood all their sufferings with unflinching constancy, and never yielded till disease drove them to the field infirmary." * * *

Such was the life of the soldier in the trenches ; and the following verses, appearing anonymously in a Petersburg paper during the siege, depict what was its frequent ending. The verses may lack smoothness, but those who were there will recognize the realism of the picture :

" Dirty and haggard,

Almost a blackguard,

They bore him away

From the terrible fray ;

From the clash and the rattle,

In the front rank of battle, Almost dead, shot through the head, They reached his gory ambulance bed.

" The ambulance jolts,

But the driver bolts,

And away he flies,

Drowning the cries

Of the poor private,

Glad to arrive at

The hospital door, where to be sure The surgeon, he thinks, can effect a quick cure.

"So wan and pale, With plaintive wail, All alone he dies ;