Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/301

 300 Southern Historical Society Papers.

came into Corinth driving everything before them across the high bridge over the Memphis and Charleston railroad and beyond Gen- eral Folk's old headquarters, which was outside the town. The artillery of the enemy went out as far as General Price's old head- quarters. 4th. Our troops penetrated to the Corinth House and the Tishomingo Hotel, and to the square in front of General Bragg's old headquarters, and into the yard of General Rosecrantz's head- quarters.

" Question by defendant, State, if you know, any fact tending to show that the enemy anticipated a defeat on the morning of the 4th.

" Answer. I judge that they expected a defeat from their having sent all of their wagons to the rear, some of which did not get back until Wednesday. They had no ordnance whatever except what they had in the limbers and caissons of their pieces, so I was told; and I was ordered to report at the Tennessee river. I was taken prisoner on Saturday, October 4th, about 4 A. M., on the road that leads between Forts Williams and Robinet. I was ordered by General Stanley to report at some landing on the Tennessee river I think it was Hemiling Landing to General Rosecrantz at sun- set that evening."

Colonel William E. Barry, Thirty-fifth Mississippi regiment, of Columbus, was detailed by me to report to General Van Dorn as commander of the burial party which was detailed and left by Gen- eral Van Dorn to discharge this solemn duty. General Rosecrantz declined to receive Colonel Barry's command within his lines, but with a rare courtesy explained to General Van Dorn that he was forced to do this by considerations of a proper character, and assured General Van Dorn that " every becoming respect should be shown his dead and wounded." It is due to General Rosecrantz to say that he made good his promise as to the dead and the wounded, of whom we left many hundreds on the field.

Colonel Barry remained near Chewella, and had an opportunity of counting the force with which Rosecrantz pursued us, and he re- ported it to me at 22,000 men, from which I concluded the force in Corinth must have been about 30,000 men when we attacked the place on the 4th of October. The combined effective forces of Van Dorn and Price, including all arms, numbered on the morning of the 2d October, about 18,600 men, Jackson's cavalry was detached towards Bolivar; it numbered about 1,000 effectives. Whitfield's (Texas) Legion was left to guard Davis's bridge, and numbered