It was sundown and General Jameson had given me order for our whole brigade to fall back

to an entrenched position on the turnpike about a mile and a half to the rear, having the

advantages of wide open fields in front on both sides of the road where our batteries

would have a good range to guard against a night attack.

Somehow or other, I believe from the cowardice or other default of our courier charged with

the delivery of the order, it never reached us.

And after the other regiments of the brigade had gone safely back, and the enemy had followed

them a considerable distance along the turnpike behind us, we still held our position

on the to the left of the road in the very front where the hottest of the battle had

been.

I knew well from the direction of the firing on our right that the enemy had succeeded

in flanking us on that side, and there was still light enough to see fresh regiments

beyond the house moving to our left.

Our men had shot away all their ammunition, except perhaps one or two cartridges a piece,

and had emptied besides the cartridge boxes of our dead and wounded.

Captain Kirkwood of Company B, succeeding to the commandist senior captain, asked my advice

as to what he should do.

I told him we had done all we could for that day, that under the circumstances to remain

there longer was to expose what was left to the regiment to be sacrificed or captured,

as in a few minutes the only avenue of escape left us would be cut off.

We had sent back all our wounded that we could find, the dead we could not possibly take

with us through the slash and swamps we would have to cross.

...