ef artery; a
second passed through the same arm, between the elbow and wrist, making
its exit through the palm of the hand; a third ball entered the palm of
his right hand, about the middle, and, passing through, broke two of the
bones.
"He fell from his horse, and was caught by Captain Wormly, to whom he
said, 'All my wounds are by my own men.'"
The loss of this heroic chieftain, this swift flanker and intrepid
leader, was undoubtedly the greatest yet felt by either army in the fall
of a single man. Some report that, on hearing of the sad fall of his
chief Captain, General Lee exclaimed, "I would rather have lost twenty
thousand men!"
Admitting that the Rebels gained in this battle a great victory, its
advantages were dearly purchased by the loss of Thomas Jonathan Jackson.
About midnight a fierce charge was made by General Sickles' forces,
which proved successful, enabling our boys to recover much of the ground
formerly occupied by the unfortunate Eleventh Corps, and they brought
back with them some abandoned guns and other valuable articles from the
_debris_, which the Rebels had not time or disposition to disturb.
General Hooker then ordered this exposed position to be abandoned, and
by daylight our lines were falling back in good order towards
Chancellorsville, but were closely pursued by the enemy, who filled the
woods. Several determined charges were made upon our retreating
columns, which, however, were repelled mostly by the fire of our
artillery, which mowed down hundreds as they rushed recklessly almost to
the cannon's mouth. But these batteries had been played and worked so
incessantly for the last twelve hours, that ammunition began to fail,
and General Sickles sent a message to Hooker that assistance must be
granted him, or he would be compelled to yield his ground. The officer
who brought the despatch, found General Hooker in a senseless state,
surrounded by his hopeless attendants, while general confusion had
possession of the headquarters. A few minutes previous to this a
cannon-ball had struck the wall of the mansion upon which the General
was incidentally leaning, the concussion felling him to the floor. For
some time he was supposed to be dead, but soon giving signs of returning
consciousness, General Couch, who was next in rank, refused to assume
command, and hence about one hour of precious time was lost. This was a
fatal hour. Had General Hooker been able to receive Sickles' message,
and
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