All those who have labored in the work of mercy have been repaid a thousandfold in words of thankfulness and appreciation from fevered lips, and the praise of Christian men and women throughout the country. In answer to the petitions of anxious wives, mothers and fathers, and the tender prayers of prattling infants, God put strength in the arms of the noble women who wore the badge of the Red Cross, and made them heroic in an hour of great trial.
SPANISH GUERILLAS.
A MOUNTED ADVANCE, RECONNOITRING.
It has been testified by the gallant survivors of Santiago, and other sanguinary engagements, that the chief terror was carried to the hearts of our gallant men through the awful silence of the enemy’s bullets, and the mystery which enshrouded their position because of the use of smokeless powder, leaving no mark for retaliation. Here in Chickamauga, men fell from the ranks day after day, who seemed to have been singled out as the most robust and hardy of all, and were carried helpless to the regimental, division, corps, and general hospitals, stricken by an unseen foe. The danger lurked in the air that all breathed, and the apparently pure, limpid water, God’s greatest gift to man, became his deadliest enemy.
When the plague descended on the camp, and a full realization of present and impending horrors was forced upon all intelligent minds, frantic efforts were made to stay the progress of the destroyer, but the seeds had been sown, and the epidemic was fated to run its course. It seemed incongruous that such a spot should be so afflicted; in all the wide continent there is no fairer place. The valley stretching between Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge is one of the most beautiful of all the fertile valleys of the world; sunshine and shade here mingle to satisfy every sense. Our boys entered the park joyfully, and all who should have known of the requirements of a camp, pronounced it an ideal spot. There was no adequate preparation for the unexpected, which some say “always happens.” The action of the Red Cross redeemed the situation. Stephen E. Barton, chairman of the Executive Committee, promptly authorized measures to alleviate suffering, to quote the language of the authorization, “without stint.” Elias Charles Smith, the field agent of the Red Cross, acting at once on the orders of his superior, proceeded to find ways, the means being furnished. Milk and ice were the chief requisites. All the farming country surrounding the camp was called upon to supply the milk, some of it coming from as far as Biltmore, N.C., from the celebrated dairy of a millionaire.
The ice came from Chattanooga, and both ice and milk were supplied without delay, with no red tape, no halting, “without stint,” to the sick. Requisitions for carloads of delicacies were sent by telegraph, and when the needs were urgent the goods came, not by freight but by express. Soups, wines, fruit, and in fact every conceivable article that could contribute to the comfort and recovery of the sick was sent for, dispatched, received and distributed. There were no “middle men” to question or quibble about the advisability of things being done, no halting and haggling about how things should be done. The field agent of the Red Cross ascertained the urgent necessities of the sick, through the best official sources, and—presto!—the necessities were on the ground and in use.