University of Virginia Library

LETTER XXV.

Dear Mother,—I sent off a letter to you this week,
do you want another? I thought of writing last evening
when I came in from my rounds, but I was too
sleepy. I little thought, when I inspected my ward
at Fort S., how many I should have to look after. We
are still expecting patients from down the river. They
cannot come up quite as fast as we wish they could.
I only hope I shall have nurses enough when they come.
I have just been on my afternoon rounds. There are
some very sick men here. One man had a bad attack
of chills and fever. I ordered him a flannel shirt. He
did not want it next his skin, but I insisted, and he
was shirted. I could not have him sick. Then others
had to have on thin flannel shirts and bandages. The
last are necessary and very useful, in chronic troubles.
I went to the city on Monday, I think I told you. I
have been eating black raspberries lately; did you
ever see any? They are very good, though not so
delicate as the red. Some of these poor fellows are
very forlorn; homesick, and cannot get home.

Thursday. Did I ever tell you exactly how I make
my rounds? I start in the morning early, and see how
the breakfasts come up, and if they are properly cooked,
and sufficient in quantity. Those of the men who are
convalescents eat in the dining-room of the ward, then

the sicker ones are on what is called special diet, that
is, articles of food specified for each man, and adapted
to his particular case. The nurses have the charge of giving
it out. I see that they are doing it properly. Then
I eat my own breakfast, for which I am quite ready.
After breakfast, I put my room in order. I am obliged
to do all my own chamber-work; we all are. Then
out I go again. I for a particular inspection of patients,
—whether they are taken proper care of by the
nurses, need any nourishment they have not had, flannel
bandages, or chest-pieces, or shirts (as particular
cases of illness come on, they need a different style of
wrapping), look after my nurses, and see to a few
other little matters. Then other things are apt to
come up, if there is much to be attended to, keeping
me busy till dinner-time. After dinner, I generally
rest a little while; when the wards are filled up, I do
not suppose I shall be able to do so. Then out again
into the wards, looking after all sorts of things, suppers
included. Then my own supper, then out into the
wards again; a little later, looking after night nurses,
seeing that the sickest have their drink for the night,
enough pillows to rest their heads upon, and the wards
properly ventilated. When all is done, I feel like going
to bed. My bed is a straw one, and none of the softest,
but I am quite oblivious of the fact; I could sleep on
the soft side of a plank. I had some blackberries
brought me to-day for the sick. I never tasted any so
nice; this hot southern sun ripens them to perfection;
the sick were very glad of them. I have had more
money given me to purchase fruit for the sick. I wish
you good people at the East would send us some green
eye-shades: they are very much wanted. I made my
rounds last night after the lamps were down; I had
to see after sundry things,—ventilation, night drinks,
&c. You have no idea what curious places these
immense wards are at night; they look even larger
than in the day-time; they are more like something
you dream of than anything you would expect to meet.
As I go up and down among the rows of beds, looking after
the sick, I see so much patient suffering, pain quietly
borne, that a neighbor may not be disturbed, comforts
done without, lest the asking should disturb some one.
It is one of my duties to see that they have these
without the trouble of asking. I gave one of Mr. Silver's
tracts to a soldier who had lost his arm; I hope
he will like it. One of the surgeons went in a great
hurry to Memphis to take care of the wounded. As I
was helping him pack, I gave him a packet of the
tracts, and asked him to distribute them among the
soldiers. He said he would.

Saturday. The sick and wounded are at the city;
our ambulances have gone in to bring them out. I
must go over to the wards to see that all things are in
readiness for them.

I have been in the wards. It is now nearly half-past
five. The wards are ready. I have assigned the
nurses their quarters, seen about the moving of some
of the men, to the rolling of bandages (my roller comes
into use now), also sending fans I got from the Sanitary

Commission to the different wards, and so on,
with odds and ends. I have been on the move nearly all
day. I am very tired, for it is very hot. I came home
to take a foot-bath, and am going out again in a few
minutes.

This morning I was a little amused. I was just going
home to rest a little before dinner, when one of my
nurses came to me to say that one of the men in her
ward had a bad nose-bleed. They could not stop it:
what should be done? I went over, applied the proper
remedies, and stopped the bleeding. He had a black
silk string tied round his little finger to stop it! I
wonder what I shall hear of next.

Sunday afternoon. The sick have not come yet.
The boat they were on was passed in the night by the
"Minnehaha," who reported she would be in about ten
or twelve; so our ambulances went in, but have not yet
come out. It must be a terrible day for the sick. It
is very hot. We are ready for them—nurses at their
posts. Last night, as I had finished my rounds, there
came along a woman and her baby, after nine at night.
She had just arrived, and was in search of her husband,
who was among the lately-arrived sick. The
clerk looked over the register, and found out where he
was, sent her round, and he was woke by his wife and
child! This morning I found him with his baby in
his arms, trying to teach it to put its arms around his
neck, the mother looking on. It is very hot here, and
my room is very hot. The Doctor talks of moving me
over to the cottage where he lives. There is a large, cool

room there which he says belongs to me, in my character
of supervisor. I want a smaller room in the nurses
dining-house, as I think it more convenient. I tell
him it would be big enough, as neither I nor my dignity
are immense; he laughed, and held his own opinion.
Where he will put me I do not know. He seems
to intend taking good care of me. I do wish the sick
would come, it is so much easier to make them comfortable
when they come in the daytime than when
they come at night. They will be glad of a good,
clean bath-room, clean clothes, and beds. They are so
glad to escape the jar of the beds in the boat. The
engine shakes them very painfully.

They have been making a flag in another ward this
last week. It is a very handsome large one, has been
hung in the middle of the ward. It was first hung out
of the window, that the world outside might know that
they had such a thing. I found a man fairly sinking
under home-sickness. He said he did not want a discharge,
only a furlough that he might see his wife and
children. I represented his case to the Doctor. He
said if the man could get well enough to do some light
work out-doors, so that he could be sent into the invalid
brigade, he could have a furlough; so I went
round to the man, told him about it; he has been
mending ever since, and tells me he is now able to do
some light work. So I am to report him to the Doctor
accordingly.