The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-12-31

The plan of the enemy was to turn the left
flank of Grants line and roll it up to the
right, hence he began on Prentiss. Prem
tiss, at least, was not caught mapping:
neither were his men. On the evening Of
the 5th, Saturday. he doubled his grand
guard and sent out pickets a mile or more
to the front.
Among the pickets were four companies
of the Sixteenth, under command of Lieut..
Col Cassius Fairchild Before daylight
on Sunday, the 9th, the videttes reported
some activity on the front, and the reserve
pickets marched out in a body to reconnoi-
ter. Seeing some cavalry at distance
they moved toward them, but the skir-
mishers, on approaching a rail fence, were
startled to see behind it, hugging the
ground, full line of Confederate troops
ready for battle. The Confederates opened
fire and the captain and orderly sergeant of
"a" company of the Sixteenth were killed.
| The Confederates evidently belonged to
the Second Arkansas, of Hindman's divi-
sion. Two companies of the Twenty-frst
Missouri (Union) were on picket with the
Sixteenth, and may have participated in
the skirmish, but the record is clear that
the Wisconsin men suffered at the first fire
|
in early, and they staid and fought so long
and hard that their losses in killed and
wounded exceeded those of any other regi-
ment in Prentiss' division.
On receiving the fire of the enemy Col.
! Fairchild marched his men back, and with
some re-enforcements the enemy was de-
tanned in his advance until Prentiss got
his troops in line to defend his camps. The
Sixteenth formed its line eighty rods in
front of the tents and engaged the enemy
until Gen. Prentiss ordered change of
| front and then retreat to a new position,
forty rods in rear of the first. The enemy
meantime was advancing in overwhelm-
ing numbers and keeping up terrible
| fire. For him everything depended upon
the destruction of Prentiss, so that the at
| tack might be pushed down the Union line
against Sherman. ~
After changing position three times the
| Sixteenth stood directly in front of its regi-
mental tents and made desperate fight
for its encampment. Its commander, Col.
Allen, had one horse shot down under
him, and as he was about to mount a sec
ond it was killed at one blow. Col. Fair
child was wounded at the same time and
carried from the field. The Confederates
moved forward from the right, front and
| left against Prentiss, bringing their artil-
| lery into play whenever it was feasible.
The Sixteenth men, with the Others of the
division, made a hot and stubborn fight,
and the Confederates suffered heavily Il ON
their well aimed bullets, the artillerists
especially being made targets.
The struggle over the camps lasted some
hours, no one can tell how long, for no
one takes note of time in such whirl-
wind. Regiments and brigades became
! disrupted, but still the men fought on.
Some one has called Shiloh a soldiers
| fight, on the Union side. 1t is true the
men stood up individually and did their
best, even if they did it blindly.
| About 9 o'clock Prentiss saw that further
defense of his camps would be useless, and
told his colonies one by one to take to the
| trees with their men and make their way
to high wooded ground about half mile
in the rear. That position was reached by
the most of the men, firing as they slowly
made the backward step. When the Six
teenth reached there the cartridge boxes of
the men were empty, and after these had
been refilled it took its place in linz. Prem
tiss posted his troops so as to overlook the
main road of the region as it passed dag
onally across his front.
| They were screened from the enemy by a
growth of scattered trees standing on the
edge of a dense thicket of bushes. The
Confederates charged, firing rapidly and
mildly, but their bullets went over the
heads of Prentiss' men, who lay fat on
their stomachs in the thicket The entire
Union line blazed with musketry, and at
intervals the artillery was given play. At
the first taste of this deadly fire the Con-