Wednesday came, the day I was to report before the Board; I was not
feeling as well as I had a day or so previous. I went to Bell, our
ambulance driver, saying Joe, I have to meet the Board today at Dalton,
you will have to carry me there. He answered he could not do it as he
had orders from Capt. Howell to have the ambulance ready for him, as he
wanted to make a social call, so I said no more. Dr. Beauchamp who saw
me walking about in camp, came to me saying, I thought you were going to
Dalton today. I said I would go but Mr. Bell said the Capt. engaged the
ambulance to go on a social call; I thought that vehicle belonged to
your department and is intended for the sick only. So it is, says the
Doctor, and I am going to see about it. I said, Doctor, I do not feel
well enough to walk three miles and back today. In a few minutes Joe
Bell drove up with the ambulance, saying, Ike, get ready, I will drive
you to town. So I went before the field Board of Surgeons and
Physicians. Dr. Beauchamp had sent in his report of me, and I was
pronounced unfit for active duty and discharged from service on account
of ill health. This action took me from under the jurisdiction of Capt.
Howell, greatly to my relief. I thanked the Board, saying, Gentlemen, I
enlisted for the war, and at times I am able to do some duty. There are
other duties besides standing guard, camping out and shooting. I am
willing to do anything I am able to do. About that time Major Martin
came in, undoubtedly sent there by Capt. Howell. After speaking to the
Doctors he turned to me, we shook hands and he said, Well Hermann, take
good care of yourself, I hope you will recover and get entirely well;
you have been badly treated, I am sorry to say. Good bye. We again shook
hands, he mounted his horse and departed at a gallop. The Board gave me
an order to report to Gen. E. K. Smith, who was then in Atlanta, doing
post duty. He asked me how long I had been on the sick list, and I
replied about three months. He said, Can you do any office work; I
answered I did not know to what kind of work he would assign me to. He
said, Can you write? I told him yes; so he put me to copying some
documents, which I did to his satisfaction. The desk at which he put me
to work was breast high and I had to stand up. The following day I was
suffering so I could not do anything, and I had no more medicine. The
next day I felt worse. Dr. G. G. Crawford called in the office; he was
in charge of the fair ground hospital. General Smith said, Doctor, what
is the matter with this man; since yesterday, he seems to be suffering
very much. Dr. Crawford spoke to me and asked what my complaint was. I
told him I was suffering in my chest, and I was trying to write at that
desk and grew worse. He said, You are a Frenchman! I said Yes. He said
he could tell it from my brogue. And he then talked French to me and
told me he studied medicine in Paris, and having lived there myself our
conversation grew interesting to both of us. So he turned to General
Smith and said General, I think I can help him considerably, even if I
can't cure him. So General said, "Hermann, you go with Dr. Crawford, he
will take charge of you." And we left together for the fair ground
hospital, a temporary institution, built of wood, roughly put up,
consisting of several wards, whitewashed in and out. I found Dr.
Crawford to be a perfect gentleman and very interesting and we got along
like brothers; he was very kind to me. Under his treatment I recuperated
wonderfully and in a couple of weeks I thought I was entirely cured. I
made myself as useful as possible, still continuing my course of
medicine. Dr. Crawford appointed me to the same position I held under
Dr. Green at the Floyd hospital at Macon, and he was well pleased with
my work, as well as the inmates of the hospital.