Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 16.djvu/304

 298 Southern Historical Society Papers.

were brought off in good order, formed in line of battle, and slept on the battlefield, where I remained with them."

General J. K. Jackson, of the same division (Withers' s), of Bragg's corps, reporting on the 26th of April, 1862, or twenty days after the battle, is equally specific upon all the points involved in this passage of his report:

" My brigade was ordered to change direction again, face toward Pittsburg, where the enemy appeared to have made his last stand, and to advance upon him, General Chalmers's brigade being again on my right. * Without ammunition and with only

their bayonets to rely on, steadily my men advanced under a heavy fire from light batteries, siege-pieces and gunboats. Passing through the ravine, they arrived near the crest of the opposite hill upon which the enemy's batteries were, but could not be urged further without support. Sheltering themselves against the precipitous side of the ravine, they remained under this fire for some time. Finding an advance without support impracticable, remaining there under fire useless, and believing any further forward movement should be made simultaneously along the whole line, I proceeded to obtain orders from General Withers, but before seeing him was ordered by a staff- officer to retire. This order was announced to me as coming from General Beauregard, and was promptly communicated to my com- mand. In the darkness of the night which had fallen upon us my regiments became separated from each other, etc. Thus closed Sun- day, April 6th, upon my brigade."

But, as may likewise be seen from General Jackson's report.it was already so late that in the darkness he lost his brigade, and, unable even to find it the next morning, was assigned " by some staff officer, not now recollected" (Colonel Jordan, as it happened), "to the command of other troops during the Monday's battle." (Rebellion Records, Volume X, Part I, page 555.)

Colonel Deas, commanding another brigade of the same division and corps (Bragg's), reporting as early as the 25th of April, 1862, through Withers, states of this stage of the battle :

" Here, in the hot pursuit, the Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth Ala- bama became separated from me in the woods, and before I had time to find them I received an order from General Withers to form on the extreme left, where I remained until night came on (with the Twenty- second Alabama and First Louisiana, two hundred and twenty-four men, with fifteen rounds of ammunition), and then attempted to get back to the camp I had left (Federal), but got to a different one. My