Blinded  "You P'int The Way"

Among the most debilitating of injuries on the battlefield was the loss of sight. Joe Parsons, a Union soldier from Maryland, was shot and lost both of his eyes during the September 1862 Battle of Sharpsburg. Parsons related the poignant story of his wounding to a newspaper correspondent while recovering in an Alexandria, VA, hospital.
 

"I was hit", he said, "and it knocked me down. I lay there all night, and the next day the fight was renewed. I could stand the pain, but the balls was flyin' all around, and I wanted to get away. I couldn't see nothin', though. So I waited and listened; and at last I heard a feller groanin' beyond me. 'Hello!' says I. 'Hello yourself', says he. 'Who be yer?' says I- 'a Rebel?' 'You're a Yankee', says he. 'So I am', says I; 'what's the matter with yer?' 'My leg's smashed', says he. 'Can't yer walk?' 'No.' 'Can yer see?' 'Yes'. 'Well', says I, 'you're a ____ Rebel, but will you do me a little favor?' 'I will', says he, 'ef I ken'. Then I says: 'Well, ole butternut, I can't see nothin'. My eyes is knocked out; but I ken walk. Come over yere. Let's git out o' this. You p'int the way, an' I'll tote yer off the field on my back.' 'Bully for you', says he. And so we managed to git together. We shook hands on it. I took a wink out o' his canteen, and he got onto my shoulders."

"I did the walkin' for both, an' he did the navigatin'. An' ef he didn't make me carry him straight into a Rebel colonel's tent, a mile away, I'm a liar! Hows'ever, the colonel came up an' says he, 'Whar d'yer come from? Who be yer?' I told him. He said I was done for, and couldn't do no more shoot'n; and he sent me over to our lines. So, after three days, I came down here with the wounded boys, where we're doin' pretty well, all things considered." "But you will never see the lights again, my poor fellow", I [the correspondedt] suggested, sympathetically, "That's so", he answered glibly, "but I can't help it, you notice. I did my dooty- got shot, pop in the eye- an' that's my misfort'n, noy my fault- as the old man sasid of his blind hoss."

Fascinating Fact:  "Poor Joe was in the front, at Antietam Creek", related the reporter, "and a Minie ball had passed directly through his eyes, across his face, destroying his sight forever."


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