ARMY OPERATIONS. 



57 



wood was a large open field. Here and in the 

 surrounding wood a protracted straggle ensued 

 between Gen. McCulloch and the forces of 

 Col. Osterhaus. But the arrival of Gen. Davis's 

 force, as a reenforcement, so strengthened Gen. 

 Sigel that the enemy were finally routed and 

 driven in all directions. At the same time 

 Gens. McCulloch and Mclntosh and a number 

 of the Confederate officers were killed. 



Thus the right wing of Gen. Curtis was de- 

 feated, and his left was victorious. The dis- 

 cipline of the right wing, however, was such as 

 to keep the troops completely together, while 

 the right wing of the enemy, which was de- 

 feated, was greatly disorganized in consequence 

 of their loss of officers and lack of discipline. 

 During the night all the Confederate forces 

 formed a junction on the ground held by their 

 left wing, which was a strong position, and 

 they felt confident of a complete victory on 

 the next day. On the Federal side the pros- 

 pect was gloomy. The night was too cold to 

 sleep without fires, and their position and near- 

 ness to the enemy would not allow fires along 

 the advance lines. The men were exhausted 

 by two days' fighting and the loss of sleep. 

 The enemy's forces, in far superior numbers, 

 held the only road for their retreat, and nearly 

 a thousand of their companions were dead or 

 wounded. Xo alternative was presented to 

 them but to conquer or be destroyed. 



"With the rising sun the battle commenced. 

 Col. Carr's division had been reenforced by a 

 large part of that of Gen. Davis, thus ena- 

 bling the right barely to hold its position. Gen. 

 Sigel began to form his line of battle by chang- 

 ing his front so as to face the right flank of the 

 enemy's position. For this purpose he first 

 ordered the 25th Illinois, Col. Coler, to take a 

 position along a fence in open view of the ene- 

 my's batteries, which at once opened fire upon 

 the regiment. He next ordered a battery of six 

 guns, partly rifled twelve-pounders, into a line 

 one hundred paces in the rear of the 25th in- 

 fantry, on a rise of ground. The loth Missouri 

 then formed into a line with the 25th Illinois 

 on their left, and another battery of guns was 

 similarly disposed a short distance behind them. 

 Thus more infantry with batteries in their rear 

 was placed until about thirty pieces of artillery, 

 each about fifteen or twenty paces from the 

 other, were in continuous line, the infantry in 

 front lying down. Each piece opened fire as it 

 came in position, and the fire was so directed as 

 to silence battery after battery of the enemy. 



For two hours the Confederate forces stood 

 unshaken before that fire, with their crowded 

 ranks decimated and their horses shot at their 

 guns. One by one their pieces ceased to reply. 

 Then onward crept the infantry and onward 

 came the guns of Gen. Sigel. The range be- 

 came shorter and shorter. Xo charge of the en- 

 emy could face those batteries or venture on that 

 compact line of bayonets. They turned and 

 fled. Again the Union line was advanced with 

 a partial change of front, when an order to 



charge the enemy in the woods was given. 

 Then the infantry rising up pressed forward 

 into the dense brush, where they were met by a 

 terrible volley, which was fiercely returned; 

 volley followed volley, still the line pushed for- 

 ward" until more open ground was obtained, 

 when the Confederate force broke in confu- 

 sion. As Gen. Sigel advanced. Gen. Curtis 

 also ordered the centre and right wing forward. 

 The right wing turned the left of the enemy 

 and cross-fired into his centre. This placed 

 him in the arc of a circle. The charge was 

 then ordered throughout the whole line, which 

 utterly routed their forces as above stated, 

 and compelled them to retire in complete con- 

 fusion, but rather safely through the deep and 

 almost impassable defiles of Cross Timbers. 

 Gen. Sigel followed toward Keetsville, and the 

 cavalry continued the pursuit still further. 

 The Union loss in this battle was 212 killed, 

 926 wounded, and 124 missing. The Confed- 

 erate killed and wounded was larger in num- 

 bers, with a loss of nearly 1000 prisoners. 

 Among their killed were Gens. McCulloch and 

 Mclntosh. 



On the 9th Gen. Tan Dorn, nnder a flag of 

 truce, requested permission to bury his dead, 

 which was readily granted. In the reply to 

 this request Gen. Curtis said: ''The General 

 regrets that we find on the battle-field, con- 

 trary to civilized warfare, many of the Federal 

 dead, who were tomahawked, scalped, and their 

 bodies shamefully mangled, and expresses the 

 hope that this important struggle may not de- 

 generate to a savage warfare." 



To this statement, Gen. Van Dorn replied: 

 "He hopes you have been misinformed with 

 regard to this matter, the Indians who formed 

 part of his forces having for many years been 

 regarded as civilized people. He will, how- 

 ever, most cordially unite with you in repress- 

 ing the horrors of this unnatural war; and that 

 you may cooperate with him to this end more 

 effectually, he desires me to inform you 

 that many of our men who surrendered them- 

 selves prisoners of war, were reported to him 

 as having been murdered in cold blood by their 

 captors, who were alleged to be Germans. 

 The general commanding feels sure that you 

 will do your part, as he will, in preventing 

 such atrocities in future, and that the perpe- 

 trators of them will be brought to justice, 

 whether German or Choctaw." 



Gen. Curtis in answer further said : " I may 

 say, the Germans charge the same against your 

 soldiers. I enclose a copy of a letter from 

 Gen. Sigel, addressed to me before the receipt 

 of yours, in which the subject is referred to. 

 As ' dead men tell no tales.' it is not easy to see 

 how these charges may be proven, and the 

 General hopes they are mere 'camp stories,' 

 having little or no foundation. The Germans 

 in the army have taken and turned over many 

 prisoners, and the General has not before heard 

 murder charged against them ; on the contrary, 

 they have seemed peculiarly anxious to exhibit 



