Very near where I was lying was the so-called amputating table. It was constructed in this wise: Four sharpened posts, forked at one end, was driven in the ground with pieces laid across at each end upon these; laid lengthwise were small saplings, a sufficient number of them to make it the proper width, over these were thrown a blanket. This was what the surgeons operated on. Already, had they been at their bloody and ghastly work for one whole day and night, and beside this rudely arranged affair, lying in heaps, were arms, legs, fingers, and other members of the body, that presented a sickly looking sight and to one who was about to undergo the same, it had anything but an inspiring effect. The sight of the doctors, too, had a tendency to weaken one's nerves. There they stood with their coats off. Their shirt sleeves rolled up to their elbows, their shirt fronts bespattered with blood, with their sharp and glistening tools.
Pvt. Frank T. Ryan 1st Arkanasas Mounted Rifles (Dismounted)