Daily Observations from The Civil War

Sunday, May 24.—Charles Maguire died to-day of typhoid fever; he was a member of the Eighteenth Alabama Regiment . His wife lives in Sinclair County, Alabama.

A few days ago James Barstow, one of my patients, died. He had been here for some time. He was from Yorkshire, England. He was very sad when he spoke of his home, and was grieved to think he could not let his people know where he was. He was much relieved when I informed him I knew of a way of sending letters through the blockade, and would write to his friends. The morning after this conversation, being very busy, I did not visit the wards, when, to my surprise, one of the nurses came and told me he was dead. I had no chance of asking him what part of Yorkshire he was from, so I wrote to Lieutenant Robinson, Company E, Seventh Arkansas Regiment, of which Mr. B. had been a member, to see if he could give me any information concerning his people, and also about a cousin who had come to this country with him, and had died in the service. Lieutenant R. could give me little or no satisfaction on the subject, but referred me to Mr. Tunstall, in Jackson Fort, Arkansas. He spoke very highly of Mr. B., and said he had been a good and brave soldier. The latter left over one hundred dollars, which he gave to Mr. Andrews, his nurse, who had been very kind to him. I have taken part of it, and had a nice head-board put to his grave, the best I could get in this place. On it was inscribed: “To the memory of James Barstow, Seventh Arkansas Regiment. Born in Yorkshire, England; died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, May 19, 1863, of typhoid fever, aged twenty-two years. He sacrificed his life for his adopted country, and fell a martyr for liberty.

‘Here leave the sleeper with his God to rest.’”

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May 22.—All kinds of bad news is floating about; viz: Jackson, Mississippi, burnt to the ground; Vicksburg fallen, etc. The fall of Vicksburg has cast a gloom over all, but it is not the Confederacy, and the enemy will have to do some hard fighting before they take that. Many are calling General Pemberton, who was in command, a traitor.

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