Aftermath of Battle

Aftermath of Battle. . The official casualty count for the Battle of Raymond totaled 1,266. The Federals reported 66 killed, 339 wounded, and 37 missing in action, while the Confederates reported 73 killed, 251 wounded, and 190 missing. While casualty reporting has always been questionable, certainly a minimum of 590 wounded remained in and around Raymond as the armies moved on. The occupants of Raymond in 1863 were primarily women, children, and elderly men, as most of the able-bodied men were serving in the Confederate army. Thus, the townspeople were deeply shocked when the wounded and dying soldiers either walked into Raymond from the battlefield or arrived in wagons. Still, they quickly overcame the horrendous sight of the bleeding and mangled soldiers and took action. Most of the buildings in town became makeshift hospitals, and the wounded of both sides were nursed for days, weeks, and even months. A soldier of the 41st Tennessee wrote: "On our retreat through Raymond we saw ladies with quilts and bandages for the wounded, who were being cared for by their tender hands. They would not leave the streets, even after the enemy's shells were flying and crashing through houses." Years later, Letitia Dabney, who was eleven years old in 1863, recalled: "My sisters were all there behind the lines, receiving the wounded and helping care for them. Raymond was now in Federal lines. The big Courthouse was turned into a Confederate hospital and all the churches were filled with wounded Union soldiers. Antiseptic surgery had not been dreamed of and flies abounded, nay, literally swarmed! And they died, how those men died, pitiful boys of sixteen or seventeen.", [Caption] Letitia Dabney Miller, Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Song, Chula Vista, CA