Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 27.djvu/224

 216 Southern Historical Society Papers.

not fire a gun on that morning. The fight lasted probably an hour, though, as Bob Stiles says, " No man knows in a fight whether he has been there five minutes or a whole day."

But as the Yankees began to give way and to rush down the sides of the ravine into the road and thence into the river, the fire of Hill's infantry became steadier and their aim truer, and how many were killed no one knows the ravine was narrow and full of men, every man for himself in a mad effort to cross the river before the rebels could overtake them. I remember seeing the river full of men, as I recall now, not firing a single gun, while our men lay on the top of the bluff and poured volley after volley into the enemy, every man who was shot going down to his death in the river either by the shot or by drowning. It was one of the horrible sights of war, but a neces- sary and effectual check to McClellan.

I have been unable to find in the short time I have spent in look- over the volumes of the " War of the Rebellion" how many men Hill had and how many Federal troops there were, my impression being, however, that we carried between 3,500 and 4,000 men. Five of our guns had been left on the bluff, and were found just as we left them. The one belonging to our battery was quickly taken charge of by our men, and the inarch to the rear again resumed.

This time General McClellan was convinced that it would be prudent for him to allow General Lee to choose his own place for meeting him, and we were not pushed nor followed, not even a gun was fired from the other side of the river as we withdrew.

This action of General Hill's proved to be one of the turning points in the campaign of '62. McClellan certainly had had an experience that made him cautious.

On the 22d of September, with nearly three times as many men as General Lee had, McClellan again reports from the north side of the Potomac that he " did not feel authorized to cross the river in pursuit of the retiring enemy," and in the same report (which is the only reference I have fouud as to the instance related above) says: "The enemy still continues to show their pickets along the river, and with a large force drove back the last reconnoissance that was attempted on the other side. " This hardly sustains the boastful claim of a victory at Sharpsburg.

A perusal of the "War of the Rebellion," to the men who par- ticipated in these scenes, is exceedingly interesting, and especially when a victorious army, after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, remains on its own side of the river for at least six weeks looking for