The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-06-12
TIE SBIL0B CAMPAIGN
Last Act of Sundays Battle---Nel-
sons Arrival.
XIV.


XIV.
The following description of the closing
scenes of Sunday night at Shiloh is from
Whtelaw Reid l''Agate's y letter to the Gin
cinnati Gazette, written Oh the battlefield on
the 9th of April:
THE CLOSE OF SUNDAYS FIGHT
"We have reached the last act in the tragedy
of Sunday. 1t is halt-past clock. Our front
line Of divisions has been lost since half-past
TO- Our reserve line is now gone, too. The
rebels occupy the camps of every division save
that of w. H. l.. Wallace. Our whole army is
crowded in the region OF Wallaces camps, and
to q circuit of one-haf to tYe-thirds OF q mile
around the Landing. We have been falling
back all day. We can do no more. The next
repulse puts us into the river, and there are
not transports enough to cross a single division
till the enemy would be upon us.
Lew Wallace's division might turn the tide
for us-it is made of fighting men-but where
is it? Why has it not been laundering on the
right for three hours past? We dc not know
yet that it was not ordered up I'LL noon. Buell.
is coming but he has been dong it all day, and
all last week. His advanee-gua is across the
river now waiting ferriage; but what is an
advance guard, with G0,0O0 victorious foes In
front OF usg
THE SITUATION.
ave have lost nearly all our camps and camp
equipage. We have lost nearly half our field
artillery. We have lost division general and
two or three regiments OF our soldiers as prls-
oners. We have lost-how dreadfully we are
afraid to think-in killed and wounded The
hospitals are full to overiiowing long ridge
bluff is set apart for surgical uses 1t is covered
with the manned, the dead and dying. And
our men are discouraged by prolonged defeat.
Nothing but the most energetic exertlon, on
the part OF the officers, prevents them from
becoming demoralized. Regiments have lost
their iaVorite tield-ofiiceT5; companies the cap
tans whom they have always looked to, with
that implicit faith the soldier learns, TO lead
them to battle.
Meanwhile there is lulI in the firing.
For the first time since sunrise you fail to
catch the angry rattle OF mu5ketry or the heavy
booming OF the feld-guns Either the enemy
must be preparing for the grand, final rush that
is 10 crown the days success and save the
Southern Contederacy, or they are puzzled by
our last retreat, ana are moving cautiously lest
we spring some trap upon them. Let Us EN-
brace the opportunity, aud look about the
landing. We pass the old log house, lately
post-oifice now full OF wounded and surgeons,
which constitutes the Pittsburg" part OF the
Landing General Grant and staf are III a
group beside it. The general is confident.
/ We can hold them off till Tomorrow; then
| they'll be exhausted, and we'll go at them with
fresh troops!' A great crowd is collected
around the building-all In uniforms, most OF
them with guns. And yet we are needing
! troops III the front so sorely
THE PANIc5sTRIeKEN.
"On the bluffs above tbs river is a sight that
may well make our checks tingle There are
/ not less than 5000 skuikers lining the banks (.
Ask them why they don't go 10 their places in
! the line: OH our regiment is all cut to
pieces Why don't you 80 TO where 1t is form
/ ing again?' i cant find II; and the hulk
looks as if that would be tie very last thing
| he would want to do.
/ Officers are around among them trying TO
hunt up their men, stormihg, coaxing, COM
manding-cu rsing, l am afraid. One strange
feilowa major, if / remember ari9ht-is max
ing sort of elevated, supertine Fourth OF July
speech to every body that Will listen TO him.
i He means well, certainly Men OF Kentucky,
of Illinois, OF Chic, OF Iowa. OF Indiana, i'm
plore you, beg of you, come up now. Help
| US through two hours more BY all that you
hold dear, by the homes you hope to defend,
by the flag you love, by the States you honor,
by all your love OF country, by all your hatred
/ OF treason, eoniure you, come up and do your
| duty now' And so on Tor quantity. That
/ feller,s good speaker, was the only response
| heard, and the fellow who gave 1t nestled
more SNugIy BEHIND HIS tree dS ne poke.
II knew well enough thenature of the skulk-
ing animal in all army during battle. had
seen their performances before, but never on so
I large scale, never with such an utter sickness
OF heart while l looked, as now. Still, 40 not
believe there was very much more than the
average percentage. 1t was big army, and
the runaways ali sought the landing.
ARRIVAL OF GENERAL BUELL
Looking across the Tennessee we see a BODY
of cavalry, awaiting transportation over. They
are said to be Buells advance. yet they have
been there an hour or two alone. But suddenly
there is rustic among the Tunaways. 1t is!
it is You see the cleaning of the gun-barrels,
you catch amid the leaves and underground
down the opposite side of the river glimpses OF
the steady, swinging tramp of trained soldiers
A division Of Bueils army is here! And the
men who have LETT their regiments on the field
send up three cheers for Buell.. They cheering
May it parch their Threats, as if they had been
breathing the simeon!
I" Here comes boat across with lieutenant
and two or three priyates of the signal corps
Some orders are instantly given the officer aud
as instantly telegraphed to the other side by
the mysterious Wayings and raisings and drop
pings OF the flags. 4 steamer comes up with
pontoons Oh board with which bridge could
be speedily thrown across Unaccountabiy
enough, to on-lookers, she slowly reconnoiters
ana SG6an5 DacK again. PefnapS, aiter all; II
is better TO have no bridge there. 1t simpliies
the question, takes escape out of the count, and
leaves it victory or death-to the towards that
sink behind the bluffs as well as to the brave
men who peril their lives to do the State some
service ON the fields beyond. Preparations 60
rapidly forward for crossing the division
General Nelson's, which has the advance Of
BuelFs army on the dozen or so transports
that have been tied up along the bank.
A SURGEON TO THE FRONT.
eve have spent but a few minutes or the
bluff, but they are the golden minutes that
count for years. Well was it for that driven
defeated, but not disgraced army of General
Grants that those minutes were improved
Colonel Webster, chief of staff and an artillery
officer Of no mean ability, had arranged the
guns that he could collect Of those that re
manned to US in sort of semi-circle, protecting
the landing and bearing chiefly on our center
and left, by which the rebels were pretty sure
to advance. Corps of artillerists to man then
were improvised from all the batteries thai
could be collected. Twenty-Five guns in al
were placed in position. Two of them were
heavy siege-guns, long thirty-twos. Where
they came from / do not know what battery
they belonged to / have no idea; | only know
that they We're there, iii the right place, half
mile back from the bluf, sweeping the ap
proaches by the left and by the ridge Corintf
road; that there was nobody to work them
that DR.. Cornyn, surgeon of Frank Blair's ole
LIST Missouri artillery, profered bis services
that they were gladly accepted, and that he dit