Army Life: From a Soldier's Journal

VII. AFTER THE BATTLE

Beyond these, still further off, a cloud of dust is seen swelling up through and over the trees, and a moment more the glorious music of the rattling sabers of the Union cavalry is heard and then we see their foaming horses as they come to our aid. Closely following the cavalry, as they come to our relief, we soon see the gleaming guns and hear the glad hurrah of our infantry boys. The soldiers of the Thirty-third Illinois and Eleventh Wisconsin had run those seven long miles on a hot Southern July day to relieve us, their own comrades, and the battle is over. CHAPTER VII. AFTER THE BATTLE. The Union loss in the battle of Cache River was seven killed and forty wounded. Company A had three wounded: Captain Potter, Sergeant Fyffe and Corporal Bigger. Seeing how lame Captain Potter was, one of the boys ran out as the battle ended, and captured a riderless horse which the Captain rode the balance of our journey to the Mississippi. The loss of the enemy was large. How great is unknown. As we were continually obliged to fall back, it gave the enemy an opportunity to remove his wounded, which was zealously done. It is believed that the rebels also took away many of their dead. The Union soldiers were obliged to bury those left upon the field of whom they found over two hundred. This probably covered only a small fraction of their actual loss. But even that was fearfully large. For a small force that numbered all told three hundred and eighty two men to come out of a long contested fight in the open woods with only seven of their number killed and over two hundred of the enemy left dead upon the field is victory enough. As to how many of the enemy were engaged is also unknown. By the best information we derived, gained from the rebel prisoners who fell into our hands, and from other sources, it is believed that there were at least ten thousand armed rebels in those woods and that nearly all of them were at one time or another in the fight before it ended. Large forces of both cavalry and infantry were certainly brought against us. The first heavy onslaught was led by heavy lines of infantry. The effective force of their charge was probably retarded - After the Battle—Hard March to the Mississippi River. 91 instead of aided by the heavy columns of rebel cavalry that followed so close as to run upon them by the time they reached our first line after driving in our skirmishers. The following charges upon us were mainly by mounted cavalry. To this we were, undoubtedly, much indebted for the success we achieved. Mounted cavalry, in thick woods, can not successfully contend with well armed infantry. Another advantage we had was in our guns. We had trusty, far-reaching rifles that told with deadly effect at a distance the inferior rebel guns could not reach. When our cavalry reinforcements first came up, believing that it must be an insignificant force that our little band could hold at bay so long, they at once decided to go in and take those who were left prisoners. On they went. They soon came up to the retreating rebels but found the enemy so strong they were exceedingly glad to come back to us on a right lively run. Did we go over the battle field? No, indeed, I did not! Those who wished to do so did. But few of those who had been in the fight cared to review that gory field. Many a time our individual aim had been too distinct. By passing over the battle ground evidences could be found to tell whether the rebel aimed at had dropped to the ground only to escape from the whistling bullet or for a more fatal reason. Soldiers, even in the hottest fight, do not often care to know that their individual shot has proven fatal. For this reason most of us carefully kept from that bloody field, and the duty of gathering and burying the rebel dead was left to those who had not been in the battle. ON TO CLARENDON. After the battle of Cache River or Cotton Plant, as it was sometimes called, was ended, our troops came up rapidly and we were soon ready to push forward again. Our little force was highly complimented for its gallant action in...