Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Letters from the Front - Nathan Hayward

Friday, April 25, 1862

In a letter to his father Doctor Nathan Hayward recounts the wounding of Captain William Bartlett and the tough decision he made in amputating his leg. He noted that Captain Bartlett was sent to Ship Point by wagon and that a detail from the Twentieth accompanied Bartlett as litter bearers in case riding became difficult. He reported that Bartlett made the journey to Ship Point in fine shape and that he boarded a steamboat for a hospital in Washington, D.C. He remarked wryly that, despite the sad loss of Captain Bartlett, the casualties were relatively few and that the sharpshooters of the Twentieth did more damage than the Confederate sharpshooters.1

References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 375-76, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

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