Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 5.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[324] one of our batteries brought on a renewal of the engagement for two hours, in the course of which each side is believed to have lost two or three hundred more in killed and wounded. By a cavalry charge, after midnight, of the enemy, Generals Pope and McDowell, and their respective staffs, were within an inch of being killed or ridden down. They had dismounted in the front to rest a few minutes from the saddle, when the enemy's cavalry made so sudden a dash upon them that they had barely time to mount and get quickly out of the way. In so doing they were mistaken by a company of their own men for charging rebels, and received their fire, killing a few of their horses only, we believe.

We heard, after leaving the field, that two of Gen. Pope's staff were killed by rebel fire during the latter part of the engagement, but were then without any means of verifying the fact.

Our loss of regimental and company officers was very heavy. Among those killed were Col. Crane, of the Third Wisconsin; Major Savage, and Captains Abbott, Russell, and Gooding, and Lieut. Browning, of the Second Massachusetts. Col. Donnelly, of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania, was, we fear, mortally wounded. Col. Creighton and Adjutant Molyneau, of the Seventh Ohio, are also very badly wounded. Captain Robert W. Clarke, of the First District regiment, received a wound in the foot. Gen. Augur received a Minieball in his back, as he was in front of his division turning in his saddle to cheer it on. Gen. Geary is wounded in the arm so that he will likely lose it, and Gen. Prince is slightly wounded.

On Saturday evening, as General Augur was being carried past us back to the hospital, it was thought his wound was mortal, but, on surgical examination, it was found to be a severe but not a dangerous wound, we rejoice to be able to say.

At six P. M. yesterday seven hundred and fifty of our wounded had reached Culpeper Court-House by ambulance. Every church and other suitable building in the village, including private houses, was filled with them. The citizens, male and female — those of secession proclivities even throwing them aside for the time being — were very generally vieing with each other in rendering them every accommodation and assistance in their power.

Both sides made some hundreds of prisoners in the course of the engagement, and it was from prisoners that it is made certain that the rebel loss is equal to ours, if not greater. We estimate our killed and wounded at one thousand five hundred, after striving to inform ourselves as correctly as possible on the subject.

At six o'clock in the evening, as before remarked, seven hundred and fifty had been brought to Culpeper Court-House, and there were then at least two hundred remaining in the two or three houses in the rear of the field occupied as hospitals. Yesterday morning, on the re-formation of the lines of Gen. Banks's corps in the rear of the reenforcements that had come up, as explained above, it was found that his loss had been by no means as great as was thought at dark on the previous day.

Both armies rested Saturday night upon their arms, in the positions in which the close of the battle found them. Generals Pope, McDowell and their staffs being unremittingly engaged until daybreak in getting theirs into the positions for the expected conflict of yesterday assigned to them.

At daybreak yesterday morning, the sharpshooters of the enemy were found precisely where their front was at the close of Saturday's battle, and skirmishing with ours immediately commenced. Their forces had, however, disappeared from sight. At sunrise a rebel brigade, supported by artillery, emerged from the woods in the front, and just as they got into line of battle, Gen. Milroy opened on them with his battery of Wiard guns, which seemed to sweep off an entire company or two, the rest instantly taking to their heels for the cover of the woods. Shortly afterwards Gen. Bayard, who continued, as before, in the extreme front, scouting to the right and left with his cavalry, reported them filing in force in both those directions, as though aiming to flank us on both sides. General Pope immediately despatched Tower's division of McDowell's corps to follow, watch and confront them on the right, and a division of Sigel's corps d'armee--whose we did not learn — to do the same for those moving on the left. General Bayard, with two regiments of his cavalry brigade, from New-Jersey and Pennsylvania, was thrown in advance of Tower, and the gallant and efficient Colonel Duffle, of Bayard's command, with his own Rhode Island and the First Maine cavalry, was thrown in the advance of our division of observation on the left.

At eleven A. M. it was definitely ascertained from reports from these forces that the purpose of the enemy could hardly be flank movements. Ere two P. M., the impression became general at Gen. Pope's headquarters on the field, that instead of seeking thus to renew the engagement, the rebels were either seeking a new position in the rear or skedaddling.

Since we reached Washington General Pope has telegraphed here that the engagement was not renewed yesterday afternoon; that the enemy have retired to a position two miles back, and that he advanced his own army this morning to that lately held by the enemy.

We omitted to state above that the prisoners say that the rebels commenced the fight with ten thousand men, General Ewell in command, who were reinforced by Jackson with five thousand more before six o'clock P. M., the balance of Jackson's army getting up early in the night. They claim their combined force to be from fifty to sixty thousand strong.

By a break in the telegraph the reception of Gen. Pope's order to Gen. King to join him with his admirable division was delayed twenty-four hours. He however started his advance from the vicinity of Fredericksburgh at four o'clock P. M.