Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/138

 130 Southern _Hi*tor'ir<it ,s'o,-/V///

pletely enclosed, receiving the enemy's fire from three directions. The regiment still kept its ranks unbroken and held its position fac- ing the enemy, but the men were almost completely exhausted with a whole day of brave and steady fighting, and many of them had spent their whole stock of ammunition. It was therefore useless to think of prolonging a resistance which could only have wasted their lives to no purpose, and at about 5:45 P. M. I surrendered them and myself prisoners of war. ' '

In his report dated April 12, page 550, General James R. Chal- mers says:

"About a quarter of an hour after the surrender some of our troops, supposed to be of General Folk's division, made their ap- pearance on the opposite side of the surrendered camp, and were with great difficulty prevented from firing upon the prisoners. * * It was then about 4 o'clock in the evening, and after distributing ammunition we received orders from General Bragg to drive the enemy into the river. ' '

Major-General Leonidas Polk, in his report dated September, 1862, forwarded February 4, 1863, says, page 409:

"About 5 P. M. my line attacked the enemy's troops, the last that were left upon the field in an encampment on my right. The attack was made in front and flank. The resistance was sharp but short. The enemy perceiving he was flanked in a position completely turned, hoisted the white flag and surrendered. It proved to be the command of Generals Prentiss and Wm. H. L. Wallace."

It will be observed that General Chalmers' report, written five days after the battle, fixes the hour of Prentiss' surrender at about 4 o'clock; also that Colonel Quinn, who made his report immedi- ately after the battle (April 9), says that the movement to outflank his left was at 2 o'clock and that two regiments surrendered very soon afterwards, and he speaks of the dreadful carnage up to 4:30. Also that Colonel Geddes, of the 8th Iowa, says: Direct communi- cation with the river ceased at about 3 P. M., and we knew that Hurlbert and a part of Wallace's Division retreated to the river a short time before the surrender.

It will be also observed that it is reports made many months after th'e battle, which places the time of the surrender of Prentiss as late as 5 o'clock.

My recollection is that I was fully twenty or twenty-five minutes in taking charge of the prisoners and placing them under the guard