The battlefield itself was a disaster. The original fields of wheat, barley, oats, corn, and grass became crater-marked muddy expanses with blood-filled ditches. Wounded soldiers groaned as they waited in pouring rain and blistering sun to be rescued.
The hospitals were no better than the battlefield, except that some of the men got some medical care, some coffee, and a cracker or two. Otherwise, their hospital beds were the muddy hillsides, with no tents, blankets, fires, or water. Many of the men waited days for any care, and those with severe head injuries were often set aside to die as the surgeons could do nothing for them.
Graves were hurriedly dug to deal with the decomposing bodies. Given that thousands were killed, there was little time to bury them properly. Instead, 50 to 100 bodies were lined up in rows, the Confederates in one row, and the Union soldiers in another. They were then buried in trenches three feet deep and seven feet wide. Unfortunately, these trenches were often dug up by farmers hurriedly plowing new crops or by hogs and other animals rooting around for food. It would be a long time before the bodies were either removed for proper burial elsewhere, or a national cemetery could be established. Gettysburg would never be the same, and neither would its inhabitants.
