But the convoy wandered aimlessly around the Virginia countryside, as permission allowing safe access to the battlefield was repeatedly denied by Confederate authorities. Fearful that the ambulances, with their supplies, would be captured, King ordered the carriages to return to Washington.1.
Those first assigned to remove the wounded were regimental musicians or soldiers who were not good fighters. These soldiers were placed on ambulance duty and served as medical assistants. During 1861, these men helped themselves to medicinal liquor or ignored the wounded to stay out of the line of fire. Surgeons treated only the soldiers who belonged to their regiment but the number of casualties became overwhelming.
In the Battle of Fair Oaks, it was estimated that more than ten thousand men were lying dead or wounded upon a battlefield scarcely one square mile. Many had been mutilated by the trampling of countercharging soldiers. Often, injured soldiers were propped against fences or tree stumps to prevent them from drowning in the swampy muck. Their groans attracted search parties, who took them back to Savage Station on stretchers, horse, and the occasional ambulance.
Since ambulances were then just regular wagons used for medical purposes, wounded men and medical supplies were frequently not properly transported, because the wagons were busy moving other supplies or were being use personally by the transportation officers. But when the ambulances became available, the ride was so bad and unbearable that, soldiers referred to the wagon as the "Avalanche" because of its jarring ride, and often refused the ride and walked to the nearest hospital or back to camp. Some begged to be left behind because of the discomfort. The civilians hired to drive the ambulances and operate them were unreliable. Litter bearers – frequently regimental band members, as well as men detailed from the regiments, received little or no training in care for the wounded.