Explore "Campaign of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery" by Ezra Knight Parker on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
At Campbell's Station Sergeant Gideon Spencer, of the fourth piece, had a close call. He was taking his piece from its position and passing along the Knoxville road. A high worm fence was standing by the side of the road and one of the slanting stakes in it hung out over the road so that the sergeant on horseback had to turn his head over to the right in order to avoid a collision. Just as he turned the head, a 20-pound shell came from the Washington artillery and cut off the stake, opposite the sergeant's head. In this case, dodging paid.
During the siege of Knoxville Private William Oakes was down in a ravine near the teams. A bullet fired from the rebel lines came over and passed through his head just above the tongue, carrying away two or three of his teeth. He was in a hospital a short distance away, and the next day after he was wounded I went to see him. I found him with his cheeks swollen to an enormous size. I shook his hand and expressed my regret at his misfortune, and hoped that he would soon be out of the hospital, etc. I did not think that he could articulate. I saw that he was about to speak, or to attempt it, and so I leaned over to catch his words. He managed to say in a distressed voice that he was unable to eat popcorn. I thought that he would get back to Rhode Island, and told him so.