Every train brought in squads of just such poor fellows as I have tried to describe.  How well I remember them toiling painfully from the depot to report at the surgeon’s office, then, after being relieved of their accoutrements, tottering with trembling limbs to the beds from which, perhaps, they would never more arise.  This hospital-post, as nearly as I remember, comprised only two hospitals, the Bragg and the Buckner.  Of the Bragg, Dr. S.M.  Bemiss was surgeon in charge; assistant surgeons, Gore, of Kentucky; Hewes, of Louisville, Kentucky; Welford, of Virginia; Redwood, of Mobile, Alabama, and some others whose names I cannot now recall.  Dr. W.T.  McAllister was surgeon in charge of the Buckner.  Of the assistant surgeons I can only remember Dr. W.S.  Lee, then of Florida, now a successful practitioner and an honored citizen of Dallas, Texas; Dr. R.D.  Jackson, of Selma, Alabama, who since the war has lived a well-beloved physician and druggist in Summerfield, Alabama; Dr. Reese, also of Alabama, and Dr. Yates, of Texas, now dead.  For a few months Dr. Francis Thornton, of Kentucky, was surgeon of the post.  He was a fiery, impetuous, manly man, a rigid disciplinarian, but always compelled to fight against the dictates of his large, warm heart when duty compelled him to execute severe justice.

Mrs. Thornton was one of the most lovable women I ever knew; impulsive and earnest in her friendship, of a sunny, cheerful temperament seldom clouded.  Her pride in her husband and her happiness in being with him was pleasant to see.  While she remained in Ringgold we were warm friends.  To her thoughtful kindness I owed many an indulgence in dainties not supplied by the Confederate Government.  My room was in the same house where the surgeons and their wives were boarding.  Often returning late from the hospital, weary and dispirited, her sweet voice would “halt” me at the foot of the stairs, a kindly arm impelling me to her cheerful room, where a cup of tea and a nice little supper was in readiness, made far more enjoyable by her loving service and pleasant talk so full of cheer.  The other ladies were just as kind-hearted, but none had the sweet, winning grace that characterized Mrs. Thornton, except, perhaps, Mrs. Lee, wife of the surgeon above mentioned.  She was also one of the dearest and kindest of friends.  My enthusiasm in regard to Mrs. Lee was almost like that of a lover.  She was a beautiful woman, tall, majestic, graceful, towards the world at large dignified and, perhaps, a little reticent; to those whom she honored with her love or friendship, irresistibly fascinating.  Her eyes were—­not magnificent, but just “the sweetest ever seen,” and combined with a perfect mouth to make her smile a caress.  In addition, rare intelligence and fine conversational powers rendered her a delightful companion.  Dr. Lee was by birth a South Carolinian, a polished gentleman, and, though in general self-contained and of quiet manners, proved