Support Services - Litter Bearers

By Tom Elmore, Apr 2, 2015.

Litter (or stretcher) bearers were part of the Ambulance "Corps," and were detailed to this duty from their respective regiments. They performed the critical duty of carrying badly wounded men from the front lines to a rendezvous point in the rear where the ambulance wagons could safely assemble, or else to a field hospital that was established close to the front. Two litter bearers carried one wounded man at a time on a canvas-covered stretcher - two stretchers were typically attached to the side of each ambulance wagon. (The wounded soldier's weapon and ammunition cartridge box were left behind for ordnance personnel to collect later.)

Since litter bearers might have to carry a wounded man several hundred yards or more over rough terrain in the midst of a battle, they had to be physically strong and courageous. It was exhausting work, and often dangerous. Litter bearer J. T. Haynes of the 1st Texas was headed to the front when an enemy artillery shell buried itself deep beneath him and exploded with a loud crash. His comrades thought him killed, but he quickly jumped to his feet and began shouting defiantly at the foe.

Many, if not most, litter bearers were equally brave and faithful, and were admired by their fellow soldiers on the firing line, even if they did not fully comprehend the value of timely care for the seriously wounded. On one occasion, when a litter bearer was himself wounded, he was criticized by the surgeon for being too reckless. During the retreat from Gettysburg, a frightened ambulance driver unharnessed his mules and abandoned a load of wounded Georgians on the far side of the Potomac; noticing this, a group of litter bearers hauled the wagon by hand across the river to safety. Let us not forget the litter bearer, unheralded and largely forgotten, even by his contemporaries, who routinely braved danger as a non-combatant in an effort to preserve the lives of his fellow men.

From: civilwartalk.com

Posted in: Stretchers