Slowly and sadly the remaining few of the regiment fell back, keeping their faces to the foe. Only one hundred and sixteen, out of three hundred and seven, returned to the rear unhurt; and many of these were disabled from service by severe exposure to the intense heat of the sun, and lack of water. The regiment retired to a hill, and was not again brought into action during the afternoon. At night, however, it was ordered out on picket. After advancing to Cedar Creek it was challenged, and no one answering, it received a terrible volley from the front and both flanks. It fell back to the cover of a piece of woods, and finally to the rear, about a mile, where it bivouacked.
As night settled upon this field of carnage, Banks' entire corps withdrew to the position it occupied early in the day; but the artillery kept up an intermittent fire until near midnight. General Jackson, from his mountain-top, could see every movement of troops, and was enabled to calculate just how long it would take to re-enforce General Banks. Had he not been so imprudent as to come down from his mountain fastness, and attack the Federal forces after night, his loss would have been comparatively little. But as Banks retired, he moved twelve thousand men on to the battle-field, and kept them there during the night; at the same time advancing one battery through the woods into the open field beyond the battle-ground. From this position it opened on the division of Union troops occupying the advance. As soon as the first flash of his guns was seen, Major Davis, chief of artillery in McDowell's corps, ordered two batteries into position, and opened on the enemy. These batteries, being very close, and getting good range, did fearful havoc among the rebels. It is said that General Hartsuff sighted one of the guns that did the most execution. After the battery had retired, Major Davis' guns shelled the battle-field. The enemy being massed in small space, this fire told fearfully on their ranks. After firing about one hundred shells, and the enemy not responding, Major Davis ordered his guns silenced, little dreaming that he had left more dead rebels on the field than all the random artillery firing of the afternoon.
Many deeds of daring were performed at this battle. Captain Ash, of General Pope's staff, riding up to a battery with an order from the general to stop firing, saw that it was a rebel battery; he, however, had sufficient presence of mind to give the order, and ride off. It was obeyed; the battery ceased to fire, and soon after moved off. Captain Ball, of McDowell's staff, did the same thing, and with a like result.
The following incident is from the pen of a correspondent of an Eastern paper:
"Just after the firing of musketry became interesting, I noticed a private soldier coming off the field, and thinking perhaps he was running away to avoid danger, I rode up to him, when I found he had two fingers of his left hand shot away, and a third dreadfully lacerated. I saw at once that he had at least a hand in the fight. I assisted him to dress his wound as well as my limited knowledge of surgery would permit, he, in the mean time, propping up my pluck by his quaint remarks. Said he: 'I don't care a darn for that third finger, for it warn't of no account, no how; but the 'pinter,' and t'other one, were right good 'uns, and I hate to lose 'em. I shouldn't have come to the rear, if I had been able to load my gun; but I wasn't.' After I had dressed his hand, he looked over in the direction of the firing, and stood a moment. Turning to me, he said: 'Stranger, I wish you would just load up my shooting-iron for me; I want to have a little satisfaction out of them cusses for spilling my fore paw.' I loaded his gun for him, and he started back for the top of the hill at a double-quick, in quest of satisfaction. His name is Lapham, of the Ohio Seventh."
During the action, General Banks was leaning against a tree, when a cannon-ball struck it about eighteen inches above his head, passing entirely through. It has been his singular fortune to meet with many narrow escapes. While riding through Winchester, on his retreat before Jackson, a rebel, from a window above, took deliberate aim at him, but was shot by a private of a Massachusetts regiment before he could fire.
The loss to the regiment in this engagement was very heavy, and shows with what determination it maintained the contest. It went into the engagement with three hundred and seven, rank and file, and came out with a loss in killed and wounded of one hundred and ninety-one,—a loss of more than sixty-two per cent.
The following is the list:
Killed.—Lieutenants, James P. Brisbine, Joseph Ross, Frank Johnson; sergeants, C. P. Bowler, Moses Martin; corporals, J. J. Evans, D. W. Wright; privates, Joseph T. Blackwell, William Adams, Edward Burnet, E. S. Shepherd, Charles G. Hettinger, Charles Masters, Benjamin F. Gill, H. F. Dinger, H. Hight, John J. Hensher, Henry C. Case, M. Eckenroad, N. H. McClurg, C. C. Miller, G. B. Swisher, E. Fox, James Stephenson, Alvin H. Benton, John Manning, Michael Waldof, James Ray, Frank Miller, John Weeland.
Wounded.—Colonel William R. Creighton, Lieut.-Colonel O. J. Crane, Adjutant J. B. Molyneaux, Captain William R. Sterling; lieutenants, Henry B. Eaton, W. D. Braden, S. S. Reed, Marcus Hopkins; sergeants, Z. P. Davie, J. S. Cooper, J. C. Jones, A. S. Allen, Arvin Billings, George W. Barnette, E. M. Lazarus, James R. Carter, E. G. Taylor, G. W. Moore, Charles A. Brooks; corporals, M. D. Holmes, Henry J. Brown, L. Wilson, Joseph Trotier, William E. Smith, Thomas C. Brown, Frank J. Ware, Clark Wilson, C. H. Buxton, Norman L. Norris, F. A. Davis, Albert A. Smith, James Alexander, Benjamin Gridley, W. T. Callors, Robert M. Brisk, A. C. Trimmer, Christopher Nesper, James Grobe; privates, A. M. Clinton, Thomas Sherwood, Edward St. Lawrence, Arthur Laffin, Leonard Walker, Jacob C. Gaycly, F. N. Brund, Abraham Ginter, John G. Parsons, Henry Hatfield, Andrew J. Crippin, Charles E. Preble, John H. Galvin, F. Creque, Philip Kelley, T. Hammond, E. Lown, William Cammel, John Boyle, James Dixon, Samuel E. Garden, Jacob E. Hine, Benjamin Hasfield, Frank Henrickle, P. E. Hill, William L. Latch, Jacob Marks, Thomas C. Riddle, John Stone, Ernest Zincker, Franklin Gaskill, N. Badger, George Carrathurs, T. P. Dixon, Henry Fairchild, J. M. Rofflige, M. Richmond, Theodore Wilder, Oliver Wise, A. Colwell, William Gardner, John Frank, S. E. Hendrickson, N. R. Holcomb, E. Hobday, W. Lapham, F. Manley, John McAdams, H. H. Rhodes, J. Harnner, Joseph L. Clark, James Kelley, William W. Mecker, Charles Himpson, John Wickham, J. Roberts, J. R. Green, Edward E. Day, Lewis Owens, S. A. Fuller, D. G. Burthroff, J. M. Holcomb, Frank Strong, E. G. Meekins, H. Wallace, M. S. Gibbons, J. Donthit, S. Reed, Arthur Adams, Ezra Brown, Ira M. Barlow, George M. Caldwell, George W. Carter, John Downer, Thomas Ely, Sherman Collinger, Stephen H. Hopkins, Daniel Jones, Perrin D. Loomis, David C. Nunemaker, J. L. Oviatt, G. Russell, N. Twitchell, Ralph Winzenried, John C. Fox, A. Inskeep, James Kincaid, John Lentz, R. D. Murray, John Pollock, E. S. Mathews, A. Shaffer, C. Glendenning, Alfred Jackson, Hiram Deeds, Ira S. Ray, Richard Freeman, Samuel Knap, John Fishcun, James A. Tell, William Kelley, T. D. Williams, Charles Smith, George A. Earl, Maskell Bispham, Frederick Michael, Henry Schmid, John Hammond, William Pfahl, John Pike, George Sahl, George Zipp; George Rogers, musician.