Field Hospital

Field Hospital. . , On August 10, 1864, Colonel Alonzo Alden, who commanded the 169th N.Y. Infantry, brought his regiment here and took command of all the troops working at "Dutch Gap Canal." Those troops were his regiment, the 16th NY Heavy Artillery, several companies of United States Colored Troops, and a detachment of the 1st NY Engineers. Once they started digging the canal on August 13, the Confederate Army and CS Navy heavily shelled the location and soon casualties mounted. In response to the fire, Alden wrote:, "I determined to have the pioneer corps excavate a cavern in the side hill, near the margin of the river, about forty rods down the river from my headquarters, and thereby provide a safe resort for the wounded and a place in which the surgeon could operate.", Alden detached Lt. William Swartout to command the construction:, "The captain had just reached the pioneer corps and was communicating my orders to them, when a huge shell from the Howlett Battery [later Battery Dantzler] struck in their midst and exploded, killing and wounding eleven men, including... Swartout, whose left arm was severed from the body at the shoulder. Surgeon Mandeville was also slightly wounded, but not so badly...", As reported in the Troy, NY newspaper, The Troy Daily Times, the Confederate artillery fire inflicted 21 casualties on Alden's upstate New Yorkers on August 13, 1863:, Lt. Norman J. Crippen, Killed , William Shinners, Killed , Joseph Corps, Killed , Martin Kavern, Killed , Asst. Surgeon Austin Mandeville, arm and face, seriously , Lt. William Swartout, arm amputated , Hospital Steward Bernard Blair, head, severely , Corporal Chase L. Knox, face, slightly , Jeremiah McMahon, severely , John Hughes, head, severely , Corporal Minturn Knowlton, thigh, severely , Michael Riley, side, severely , Ferdinand Stritzman, slightly , Ludwig Stritzman, head, slightly , Thomas O'Brian, arm, slightly , Sergeant James H. Straight, arm, slightly , Sergeant Josiah Spaulding, leg and shoulder, severely , John Riley, side, severely , George C. Spicer, side and head, severely , Corporal John McLaughlin, back, slightly , John King, thigh, severely, Source: History of the 169th Regiment, N.Y.V. (1879)