Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

VISIT TO A WOUNDED OFFICER. 189
and attended by some scattering shots from a few startled
soldiers of the guard, yet so great was the fatigue, and so
deathlike the slumbers of some of my acquaintances, that they
remained until the next morning in happy ignorance of the' stampede," when they were deeply mortified at not being at
their posts. Returning to our quarters, we found the brave
old surgeon of our regiment standing before his wounded colonel's tent, armed with a lance and pistols. Having, at the
first sounds of alarm, hurriedly mustered the hospital attendants, servants, and other non-combatants, and placed in their
hands such weapons as were within reach, he had determined
to guard his patients to the death, and phlebotomize in a
manner unknown to the faculty generally.
About midnight, a soldier wearing the uniform of the
regular infantry, came to inform me that a wounded officer
lying in the vicinity had expressed a wish to see me. I
immediately desired him to lead the way, which he did, bearing a lighted candle in the socket of a bayonet, over which
he held his cap to shield it fiom the rain. A short walk
brought us to a small tent, which we entered. In the middle
of it, and with only a single blanket between him and the
damp turf, lay one, whom, as the light of the soldier's candle
fell upon his face, I recognized as Lieutenant —, of the
1st Infantry. I had become acquainted with him a month
previous at Camargo, under circumstances that contrasted
strongly with this second most painful interview. But an
active military life is made up of scenes as strange and
varied, as ever bard or novelist created! Though pale from
the loss of blood, Lieutenant --— s features were so calm