THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.

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and credit them with doing all there was for them to do. During the night of the6th the remainder of Nelson’s division, Buell’s army, crossed the river, and wereready to advance in the morning, forming the left wing. Two other divisions,Crittenden’s and McCook’s, came up the river from Savannah in the trans-ports, and were on the west bank early on the 7th. Buell commanded themin person. My command was thus nearly doubled in numbers and efficiency.

During the night rain fell in torrents, and our troops were exposed to thestorm without shelter. I made my headquarters under a tree a few hundredyards back from the river-bank. My ankle was so much swollen from thefall of my horse the Friday night preceding, and the bruise was so painful,that 1 could get no rest. The drenching rain would have precluded the pos-sibility of sleep, without this additional cause. Some time after midnight,growing restive under the storm and the continuous pain, I moved back tothe log-house on the bank. This had been taken as a hospital, and all nightwounded men w T ere being brought in, their wounds dressed, a leg or an armamputated, as the case might require, and everything being done to save lifeor alleviate suffering. The sight was more unendurable than encounteringthe enemy’s fire, and I returned to my tree in the rain.

The advance on the morning of the 7th developed the enemy in the campsoccupied by our troops before the battle began, more than a mile back fromthe most advanced position of the Confederates on the day before. It isknown now that they had not yet learned of the arrival of Buell’s com-mand. Possibly they fell back so far to get the shelter of our tents duringthe rain, and also to get away from theshells that were dropped upon them bythe gun-boats every fifteen minutesduring the night.

The position of the Union troops onthe morning of the 7th was as follows:

General Lew Wallace on the light, Sher-man on his left; then McClernand , andthen Hurlbut. Nelson, of Buell’s army,was on our extreme left, next to theriver; Crittenden was next in line afterNelson, and on his right; McCook fol-lowed, and formed the extreme right ofBuell’s command. My old command thusformed the right wing, while the troopsdirectly under Buell constituted the leftwing of the army. These relative positionswere retained during the entire day, or un-til the enemy was driven from the field.

In a very short time the battle became general all along the line. This dayeverything was favorable to the Federal side. We had now become theattacking party. The enemy was driven back all day, as we had been the daybefore, until finally he beat a precipitate retreat. The last point held by him

MAJOR-GENERAL B. M. PRENTISS.FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.