I gave him the permission to get not only that,
but anything else that would tend to the comfort of his
patients. There did not come within my observation any instance
of harsh or unkind treatment of the enemy's wounded; nor did I
see any indication of a spirit to extend such treatment to them.
The stories which were afterward told before the Committee on
the Conduct of the War (appointed by the Federal Congress), in
regard to 'rebel atrocities,' were very grossly exaggerated, or
manufactured from the whole cloth....
"On the night following the battle, when I was looking for
Generals Beauregard and Johnston, in riding over and to the rear
of the battle-field, I discovered that the greater part of the
troops that had been engaged in the battle were in a great state
of confusion. I saw companies looking for their regiments, and
squads looking for their companies, and they were scattered as
far as I went toward Manassas. It was very apparent that no
considerable body of those troops that had been engaged on the
left could have been brought into a condition next day for an
advance toward Washington....
"The dispute as to who planned the battle, or commanded on the
field, General Johnston or General Beauregard, is a most
unprofitable one. The battle which General Beauregard planned
was never fought, because the enemy did not move as he expected
him to move.
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