Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/298

 Campaign Against Grant in North Mississippi. 297

ing our right wing had made no decided advance or attack upon the enemy in its front, and when Rosencrantz found his centre broken by our charge, believing the demonstration of our right wing merely a "feint," he withdrew General Stanley with a heavy force from his left and threw him against us.

Disarrayed and torn as our lines were, with more than one-third of our men down, and with many of our best regimental officers killed and wounded, the troops were not ready to meet and repel the fresh troops that, now in fine array, came upon our right flank from the left of the enemy's works on College Hill and swept us out of the place. Our men fell back in disorder, but sullenly. I saw no man running, but all attempts to rally and reform them under the heavy fire of the enemy, now in possession again of their artillery, were vain. They marched on towards the timber in a walk, each man taking his own route and obstinately refusing to make any effort to renew the attack ; and it was only after we had fallen back beyond the range of the enemy's fire that any of our organizations were reformed.

When we returned from the town we found General Van Dora had ordered Villipigue's brigade from his right, south of the rail- road, to cover our retreat from the town, and it was drawn up in line nearly three thousand strong, facing the enemy and about one thousand yards from his works. These troops were in fine order ; they had done no fighting. We moved on towards Chewella again, reorganizing our forces as best we could while we marched along.

Our right wing had borne no great part in the fighting, and it was in good order and served now to present a good front towards the enemy. I do not think the enemy was in condition to pur- sue and attack us. He had suffered heavily, and had been greatly impressed by the assault of Price's corps ; and it was not until next day he moved in force to follow us. By sunset we were again bivouacked at Chewella, and busily occupied in reforming our or- ganizations.

The flower of our men and officers lay in the environs of Corinth, never more to rejoin their comrades. We had been bloodily re- pulsed; but Price's corps had made an honest fight and lost no honor in the battle. General Van Dorn seemed to feel he had deserved the victory. In a manly spirit he assumed all responsibility for his failure; like General Lee at Gettysburg, he reproached nobody. During the whole battle he was close to his troops about the centre