"We were moved back about three-fourths of a mile. I found that Captain C. M. Lowe and Lieutenant L. T. Hughes of our Regiment, were captured. We were placed under guard at or near a house. Here a woman abused us very much. She insisted that Captain Lowe was the mean Yankee that was there the night before and stole her chickens. The Captain assured her that he had never been there before, and that she must be mistaken. She was certain he was the man, and had it not been for the guard, she would have pitched into him rough-shod. I think she was as hard a specimen of the fair-sex as I have ever seen in the Sunny South; and I have seen many that outraged decency and forever disgraced the name of woman.
"After the excitement of the battle was over, or rather of the scenes through which we passed that day, we had time to reflect. Here we were, prisoners of war, held by a motley set of human beings that, as far as outward appearances were concerned, would be a disgrace to barbarians. I wondered, "Is this the boasted chivalry of the South, sent out to fight the hated poor men of the North, the '_mud-sills_' and '_greasy mechanics_?'" When I saw my poor boys, dressed in their blue uniform, contrasted with these rag-a-muffins, I felt proud of them.
"The "Rebs" had great stories to tell us. Bragg had captured Louisville and all Buell's army. Lee had captured Little Mac. and 40,000 prisoners. Governor Gamble, of Missouri, had turned over 40,000 troops, well armed and equipped, to the Southern Confederacy; and they had come with 70,000 men to capture Corinth, and drive Grant out of West Tennessee, and the war would be over in a few days. All were jubilant.
"At night, we moved in the woods about a mile, and were consoled with a lot of wounded of both armies. About 9 o'clock at night, the news came back that they had captured Corinth, and we would be moved up there in the morning. About this time, Col. Prevene, of a South Carolina Regiment, came to see us, (he was a Mason,) and took Capt. Lowe and myself outside the lines and had a long talk with us. He assured us that Corinth was not taken, and that it would not be; and further, that Gen. VanDorn was (to use his own language) a d--d fool for attacking the place. To-night we had nothing to eat, except a cup of coffee that a Rebel Lieutenant made for us. I furnished the coffee. We passed a restless night.