Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 36.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

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‘ [207] the enemy, and as absolute quiet was necessary, we ordered the soldiers to throw away the caps of their guns, so as to provide against even the accidental explosion of a weapon. I can remember the pitiful look some of the men gave while obeying the order, for they knew that they would be helpless if attacked, and, at any rate, something desperate was being planned. We made every man hold his canteen, so that it should not rattle. In the morning we moved forward. The Confederates had placed an abattis of rails stuck in the ground on end as their first line of protection, and then had piled the ground with timber. It took several moments to clear these obstructions away, so that the enemy had some little notice of our coming. They were in pens of logs and could not get out to fight, so that we captured them after a brief conflict, and then we bagged a whole division, including General Johnson, whose headquarters had been established in the McCool house. We could not advance, however, because our line had become disorganized. For twenty hours the fighting continued, re-enforcements coming up on both sides.’

The Landrum house, near which Hancock's men were massed by Colonel Bird, still stands, and is occupied by the Landrum family. ‘We had 500 bodies in and around our house,’ said Mr. Landrum, as he told of his experiences during the fight.