FROM THE BOOK: TEXAS BOYS IN GRAY, By E. Boswell
Making the decision to go to field hospital was not an easy one, but A.G. Anderson of Fairfield was willing to crawl there if necessary.:
As we charged very near the last breastworks there came an order to retreat in good order. I was shot down just in front of the breastworks. Soon I found myself trying to decide whether or not I had been killed. I saw that I was not dead, but bleeding freely, and that I must get to the field hospital. I crawled as fast as I could, but began to get blind from the blood loss. At the edge of some timber I found a pond of water and plunged into it. Soon I heard parties not far away and found it to be Gen. Smith, who had been wounded. He told his surgeons to put me on his horse and we soon came to a residence which was being used as a field hospital, and after the General had been attended to he told the surgeon to attend to Anderson. My arm was dressed and soon after all the wounded were sent to Jackson, MS, except those they thought would die, and I amongst others was left at Griffin, GA. A few days after my arrival, I found that my old friend, G. A. Rackstraw, had written his brother-in-law, Mr. Crowden to look after me, he and his beautiful daughter came and brought me soap and towels, a bowl and pitcher (things that I not seen for a long time) and many delicacies to eat.
Anderson recovered enough to ride a mule to Jackson, MS, but his wound was not healing and the doctors decided he was dying by degrees from the diseased bone: They removed the bone at the shoulder joint and cut the other (end?) off just above the elbow. I came out from under the chloroform before the operation was complete and saw them stitch up the wound from the shoulder blade to the elbow.