A Painful Accident by Annie Wittenmyer
After Shiloh, Governor Harvey of Wisconsin visits the battlefield, hospitals, and wounded men, then falls from a plank between shore and boat and drowns. His wife waits in agony for his body, but turns her grief into service through the Sanitary Commission and hospital work. She comforts wounded soldiers and, after the war, helps establish a Wisconsin home for soldiers' orphaned children.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Civil War History, Historical Nonfiction, Biography · 535 words
First lines
The smoke of the battle-field at Shiloh had cleared away; the dead had been buried; the wounded gathered up, and their ghastly wounds dressed -- so that the people who came crowding to the battle-field saw little of the horror of war.
Among the multitudes who came down with supplies and words of sympathy and encouragement was Governor Harvey of Wisconsin, a grand, loyal man. He walked over the battle-field, the scene of the recent terrible conflict, and through the hospitals improvised for the accommodation of the thousands who had been wounded, and over the score and more of steamboats where many of the wounded were quartered.
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Genres
- Civil War History — The account centers on the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh, Governor Louis P. Harvey's death, military hospitals, and wartime relief efforts during the American Civil War.
- Historical Nonfiction — It presents a factual retrospective narrative about identifiable historical people, events, institutions, and the social consequences of war.
- Biography — The work recounts Governor Harvey's final actions and death while also portraying Mrs. Harvey's grief, character, and subsequent public service.
- Memoir — The narrator writes as an eyewitness, referring to her own presence on a sanitary boat and her encounters with Mrs. Harvey in wartime hospitals.
Tags
American Civil War · Battle of Shiloh · 1862 · Tennessee River · Wisconsin · Governor Louis P. Harvey · Governor Harvey's drowning · Civil War battlefields · military hospitals · wounded soldiers · Sanitary Commission · women's wartime service
What this Textopian page supports
A Painful Accident is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Annie Wittenmyer
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Civil War History, Historical Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, War Literature
- Length: 535 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Painful Accident by Annie Wittenmyer
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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More by Annie Wittenmyer
- A Boy Sent by Express, C. o. D (1895)
- A but'Ful Guv'Ment Mule (1895)
- A Fighting Editor (1895)
- A Perilous Ride (1895)
- A Rich Reward for Services (1895)
- A Terrible Storm at Chattanooga (1895)
- A Visit from General Grant and General Mcpherson (1895)
- A Visit to Captain Walke's Gunboat (1895)
- All works by Annie Wittenmyer