force and attacking our Army at two different points was
fatal to his success, as General Curtis had the inside line and could move
from one part of his command to another within an hour, while for Van Dorn
to move from one portion of his Army to the other would have taken at
least half a day, and therefore he was whipped in detail. If he had thrown
his whole force upon Curtis's right flank at the point where McCullough
fought and was overwhelmed by Davis's Division, there would have been
great danger of our Army being defeated, or at least forced to the rear.

There was no strategy nor tactics in this battle; it was simply men
standing up and giving and taking, and the one that stood the longest won
the battle. The only strategy or tactics was the movement of Van Dorn
attacking on the right flank and in the rear, and these moves were fatal
to his success. Curtis's Army fought each man for himself. Every commander
fought his own part of the battle to the best of his ability, and I think
the feeling of all was that unless they won they would have to go to
Richmond, as the enemy was in the rear, which fact made us desperate in
meeting and defeating the continued attacks of the enemy. I sent for
reinforcements once when the enemy was clear around my right flank and in
my rear, and they sent me a part of the Eighth Indiana, two companies of
the Third Illinois Cavalry, and a section of a battery. The battery fought
ten minutes under a heavy fire. The four companies of the Eighth Indiana
lined up alongside the Fourth Iowa, and stayed there fighting bravely
until the end. The Third Illinois held my right flank. The officer who
brought this force to me was Lieutenant Shields, of my own Regiment, who
was acting as aid on Colonel Carr's staff. As he rode up to me to report
the Eighth Indiana he halted alongside of me, and at the same instant both
of our horses fell dead without a struggle--something very unusual. I was
quick, and jumped clear of my horse, but Shields's horse fell upon him. I
walked away, not thinking of Shields; but he called back to me and said,
"Colonel, you are not going to leave me this way are you?" and I returned
and helped him from under his horse. An examination of the two horses made
the next day, showed that they must have been killed by the same bullet,
which passed through their necks at the same place, killing them
instantly.

A log house was used by us early in the morning as a temporary hospital.