shot
through the body could run so fast, and to suspect that perhaps I was
not mortally wounded after all; felt for the hole the ball had made,
found it in the blouse and shirt, bad bruise on the ribs, nothing
more--spent ball; never relaxed my speed; saw everything around--see it
yet. I see the enemy close in on the flank, pouring in their fire at
short range. I see our men running for their lives, men every instant
tumbling forward limp on their faces, men falling wounded and rolling
on the ground, the falling bullets raising little puffs of dust on
apparently every foot of ground, a bullet through my hair, a bullet
through my trousers. I hear the cruel _iz_, _iz_, of the minie balls
everywhere. Ahead I see artillery galloping for the landing, and crowds
of men running with almost equal speed, and all in the same direction.
I even see the purple tinge given by the setting sun to the dust and
smoke of battle. I see unutterable defeat, the success of the
rebellion, a great catastrophe, a moral and physical cataclysm.

No doubt, in less time than it takes to recall these impressions, we
ran out of this horrible gauntlet--a party who shall be nameless still
in the lead of the regiment.

Before getting out of it we crossed our camp ground, and here one of
our college set, the captain of the company fell, with several holes
through his body, while two others of our set were wounded. In that
short race at least one-third of our little command were stricken down.

Immediately behind us the Confederates closed in, and the brave General
Prentiss and the gallant remains of his command were cut off and
surrendered. As we passed out of range of the enemy's fire we mingled
with the masses of troops skurrying towards the landing, all semblance
of organization lost. It was a great crowd of beaten troops. Pell-mell
we rushed towards the landing. As we approached it we saw a row of
siege guns, manned and ready for action, while a dense mass of
unorganized infantry were rallied to their support. No doubt they were
men from every regiment on the field, rallied by brave officers for the
last and final stand.

We passed them--or, at least, I did. As I reached the top of the bluff
I saw, marching up, in well dressed lines, the advance of General
Nelson's division of Buell's army, then being ferried across the river.
They moved up the bluff and took part in repulsing the last, rather
feeble assault made at dark by a small portion of the