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Reminiscences of Dr. William Read, Arranged From Notes and Papers (Part VII) The good lady's remark was, "that he was a fine young man, and that she dare say that his mother was a religious woman, and that her son was well brought up." Dr. Read made him repeat the glass of wine, and saw him in good spirits. The good woman was struck with his change of manner. He was jocular, and said to Dr. Read, "You have a fine fellow in your service, Abraham Beauford." Dr. Read replied, "yes, I know him well, and we think him a fine fellow." "But," said he, "after the surprise at Waxsaws, he sent in a flag to enquire for and ransom a pair of mares, instead of enquiring after his wounded and prisoners." Here Dr. R. counteracted his opinion, and said, "that Beauford would not discredit the humanity of your army so far as to suppose the wounded would not be taken care of." He smiled and said, "there you pose me." Dr. Read then took leave of this gentleman, giving the old lady directions in case of pain or future spasms, and rode off. Not long after this hazardous transaction, for he rode through a hostile country, at least infested with hostile marauders, by some of which, a little while ago, some miles to the west of this region, he had been chased to within five miles of Charlotte, when he went out to remedy the wounds of Gen. Sumter. The fleetness of his horse, with the General's instructions, saved his life or freedom. At about this time he says he was called upon to exercise his zeal and activity in carrying dispatches to Gen. Greene; a rider came into Charlotte very sick, with despatches, on a tired horse. They were from Yorktown, Virginia, from Washington to Greene, and thought to relate the capture of Lord Cornwallis. Dr. Read was on marching orders. On Gen. Greene encamping about the high hills of Santee, he directed Dr. Read to follow him as speedily as he could with his department, and fix a flying hospital in the rear of his camp. Dr. Read volunteered to carry these dispatches. Transcending his orders as above, he left his department under the guidance of Dr. Elisha Gillet, and set out; he rode his own horse. There was not at this time a man or horse at the command of Gen. Polk; his son Charles had lately been furnished with every disposable man and horse to scour the country around, and to protect Charlotte against the Tories, who were in the field in force. Dr. Read rode eighty miles in ten hours, lay down at Camden four hours, and then proceeded on at the rate of nine miles an hour on the same horse to Gen. Greene, at Gabriel Guignard's house. A council was immediately held of his aides-de-camp, and of Major Edmund Hyrne, who was at head-quarters. It would appear extraordinary that Dr. Read would condescend to be an express rider, but it will be acknowledged that the occasion was extraordinary. He saw, with somewhat of a soldier's eye, that it was all important that Greene should know the fate of Cornwallis's army before the British army, under Lord Rawdon, should hear it. Greene immediately moved down and fought the battle of Eutaw, before he had time to retreat to Charlestown, where he gave our red coat enemy a severe dressing, with the loss, however, of many men and officers. Out of six Colonels who commanded regiments, all were killed or wounded, except Wade Hampton, and he made a good retreat and rally. John Eager Howard was shot down with a broken collar bone. Lieut. Dobson and Woolford were killed near him in the heat of the battle. Howard and Henderson were carried to the house of Thomas Jones. Dr. Read was sent to Col. Henderson especially, and he found him in a deplorable condition, with a shattered tebia. His pain was excruciating, and there was every indication about him of approaching tetanus, of which Dr. Read had seen too many cases, to be easy about this distinguished officer. He immediately undertook the ease, enquired what was his attitude, declared his attitude as to the position of his wounded leg to be most unfortunate. Two surgeons stood by; he changed the position, and in a moment made a dilatation through the obtuse bullet wounda thing all surgeons should do as soon as possible; this had been omitted more than two days. Dr. Read introduced his fingers, and extracted several pieces of bone, some of which lay transversely, of course irritating the wound every moment. The surgeons stood by, and one said to the other, "this is the effects of a fresh hand to the pump." Dr. Read observed that he could easily conceive their fatigue with the wounded to be very great. Col. Henderson expressed immediate ease. Dr. Read ordered bitter fomentations, administered laudanum, and left the Colonel to get the rest he had not enjoyed since he received the wound. A wounded officer spoke, and enquired "if Dr. Read would dress him?" He said "yes, certainly;" and on enquiry who he was, he told him he was Col. Howard, commanding a Maryland regiment. Dr. Read well knew his celebrity. He went up to him and said: "Yes, Colonel, I would assist Beelzebub in the character of a wounded man." In stooping over the Colonel to loosen his bandages, he gave him the information, as above, of Woolford and Dobson being killed near him. Dr. Read's observation was, that as they were doomed to die, he was glad that they died so gloriously. It must be told that those gentlemen had been injurious informers to their Colonel against Dr. Read, as principal in the hospital at Charlotte, of his hauteur, his partiality to the Southern soldier, and his lending a Maryland soldier to a French officer. The first charges were untrue; the story of lending a soldier as a waiter to a French officer, was as follows:Major Mt. Florence having recovered from severe illness, expressed a wish to ride into the country for a change of air, and to carry with him a convalescent, whom it might benefit. He selected a young recruit that had been wounded through the arm, and the wound not yet healed, he was unable to carry a musket. Dr. Read, concluding that the ride and a fortnight's time might heal the wound, granted the request. The consequence was as be expected, the officer and soldier marched in that time. Dr. Read was, therefore, justified, and would have been acquitted by his commanding officer. A court-martial was threatened, but never attempted. Some severe letters passed between Dr. Read and Col. Howard, on the occasion, from the testimony of those two officers. Many years after the war, Dr. Read received a civil message from Col. Howard saying, that they had quarrelled severely in the war, but that he was wrong, and Dr. Read right. Dr. Read was told that the surgeons he so decidedly censured as relating to Col. Howard's wounded 1eg, were offended, and by one of them, a professed combatant, he would be called out; but he heard no further indications of hostility. Read continued steadily to do his duty to the end of the war. (From Documentary History of the American Revolution, by Gibbes, Volume 2, pp. 248-293) Doc ID: Gibbes, v. 2, p. 248 Date: various |
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