Transcript
Lindsey Graham (0:00)
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free. Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery app as a member of Noiser plus at noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@ebookist.com It's June 1, 1864, in Hanover County, Virginia. During the fourth year of the American Civil War. 19 year old Confederate Private Green W. Hodge creeps through the thick woods on the lookout for Union soldiers. As he glances left and right, a bullet ricochets off the tree next to him, splintering the wood. Hodge ducks down beside the nearest trunk and makes himself as small as possible, all too aware how close he just came to being hit. Yesterday, Union soldiers targeted a strategically important crossroads in Virginia known locally as Cold Harbor. Private Hodge's regiment was instructed to keep the attackers at bay until reinforcements arrived, but the vastly outnumbered Confederates were pushed back into the woods. There they began digging new defensive positions. And now, while his compatriots continue to fortify these defenses, Private Greene has been sent to patrol the woods. Judging by how close that gunshot was, the enemy isn't far away. Private Hodge checks his weapon and scans all around. He can't see the enemy, but 30ft away through the trees, he can just make out his fellow Confederates barricaded behind a hastily built wall of mud. After one last check around him, makes a run for it. But he isn't fast enough. Before he can reach the barricade, a bullet strikes his leg and sends him crashing to the ground. As Private Hodges writhes in agony, he hears footsteps approaching. It's a Union captain. And believing the enemy soldier has come to deal the final blow, Hodge braces himself. But the Union man doesn't shoot. Instead, he kneels down and ties a tourniquet around Hodge's leg to stop the bleeding. Then he scrapes up some dirt into a mound and gently rests Hodge's head on it. Finally, he holds a canteen of water to Hodge's lips and lets him drink. Without a word or even a nod, Hodge's savior disappears back into the woods. After Private Green W. Hodge crawls back to the safety of the Confederate lines, he'll recount in amazement the story of the Union captain who saved his life rather than kill him. But thousands of other soldiers on both sides will not be so lucky, and the Battle of Cold harbor will rage on for another 11 days before it finally comes to an end on June 12, 1864.
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