Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 18.djvu/21

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The Battle of the Crater.
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and missing. Negotiations under a flag of truce are now pending. Probably Grant wants to bury the dead between the lines. Permission was granted to water his wounded. I observed several citizens from the enemy's line take part in this act of humanity. They were probably members of the sanitary committee. I saw also a woman standing in the Yankee breastworks. We indulge a hope that our brigade will be relieved to-night and return to its quiet position on the right."

"Tuesday, August 2, 1864.—Back at Willcox's farm. Our brigade and Saunders' relieved last night. Truce for four hours yesterday morning for burying the dead between the lines. Express of this morning, states that 12 of our men were found between the lines and about 700 of the enemy. There could not have been as many as 700. We made the negro prisoners carry their dead comrades to the Yankee line, where the Yankees made their negroes bury them. Loss in our regiment 18 killed and 24 wounded. The Sixth regiment lost 70 killed and wounded out of 80 carried in the fight. The remainder of the regiment was on picket. Company C of sharpshooters, a detachment from the Twelfth, lost, out of fifteen, 5 killed and 8 wounded. The enemy admit a loss of over 4,000. Colonel Thomas, commanding one of the negro brigades, told Captain Jones-(of our regiment), yesterday during the truce, that he carried in 2,200 men and brought out only 800.

"It is said that we captured 20 flags from the enemy, and that the prisoners captured represented two corps—9th (Burnside's) and 2nd (Hancock's).

"Thursday, August 4. Yankee accounts of the affair put their loss in killed wounded and prisoners at 5,000. They say the plan was to spring a mine at 3 o'clock Saturday morning; but that the fuse failed to ignite the powder twice; that they had six tons of powder in the mine. The 9th and 18th corps made the charge, and the 5th was in reserve. Our losses foot up 1,200, of which 300 are no doubt prisoners—the enemy claiming to have taken that number."

"Saturday, August 6,—The loss of our brigade in the fight of Saturday was 270 killed wounded and missing, of whom 88 were killed on the field just one-half of the whole number (176) that had been killed from the battle of the Wilderness to the present time."

"Monday, August 8, 1864.—General Mahone, in a congratulatory order to Mahone's, Saunders' and Wright's brigades for their conduct in the affair of Saturday, July 30, says that, with an effective force of