CKickamauga. 407
than that of Rosecranz. Fighting at such disadvantage our troops suffered severely in the desperate charges against entrenched hues, and there were points in open spaces in front of their works where an active person might have crossed a considerable extent of ground on the dead bodies of our men, which lay like fallen timber in newly cleared land. I do not remember that I ever saw an offtcial report of our loss, but I remember hearing it stated at headquarters as about 17,600.
There is no doubt of the fact that the fruits of our hard-earned vic- tory were thrown away by the failure to follow it up promptly. Our troops were eager to advance, and could not understand the delay on the battle-ground all next day. Finally, when we did move, it was not direcdy on Chattanooga. Had the victory been followed up, as advised by General Longstreet and General Forrest, there is little doubt but that we would have taken Chattanooga at once, and, probably, have broken up Rosecranz's army.
I was sent forward with communications to General Forrest on Missionary Ridge, and heard him express the opinion that he could drive the wreck of Rosecranz's army into or across the Tennessee river with the cavalry force of our army alone. No one chafed at our inactivity more than this hard-fighting cavalry general, and more than once he sent back messages to General Bragg, urging the importance of pushing the defeated enemy.
Becoming interested in the subject, under the influence of the " old- soldier" habit of talking over past battles, I have written more than I intended at the start. I regret that I have had to make so frequent use of the pronoun " I, " but I trust I have not done so in a way to indi- cate a want of proper modesty. I regret that a want of experience in the role of newspaper correspondent makes it almost a necessity for me to write in the first person. The details as to my personal services in different commands in this engagement, are given to show that I was so situated as to be able to see very much of the operations of our troops, and those points, of which I have written minutely, are indelibly fixed in my memory as an actor or eye-witness in the scenes.
Macon, Ga., April ^th, 188 j.
