When the rebel line got within forty yards of us their men fell to the ground and remained there one and one-fourth hours, before we repulsed them. We averaged fifty-eight rounds of cartridges to the man before the rebels withdrew. After that we never grumbled about carrying sixty rounds of cartridges.
After General Tracy and many others had been slain, the rebels fell back demoralized. Very many of their men had been slain and wounded. Our regiment had only thirty-four killed and wounded, as we were protected by the ditch, and did not suffer like other regiments.
The fighting along the line was kept up until five o’clock in the evening when the rebels fell back, some by the way of Grand Gulf and the others in the direction of Vicksburg. At two o’clock on the morning of the 2nd of May we were awakened by the jar and report of the exploding magazines which were blown up at Grand Gulf, when the rebels evacuated that strong fortress. We could see their signals going up all night, and thought that the rebels meant to concentrate their forces and fight a pitched battle with us, on the next day, but they saw that we had come to stay and decided that it would be better for them to take all of their men to Vicksburg.
Now it could plainly be seen that nothing could hold the blockade of the Mississippi against our mighty force of ironclads and the army which had undertaken to open it up.
Our loss at Port Gibson was 500 killed and wounded. The rebel loss was about 600 killed and wounded and we also took 700 of their men as prisoners. The divisions that were engaged at this place were A. P. Hovey’s, Osterhos’, and Carr’s. Logan’s division came up just at dark, and Quinby’s division did not get into the fight at all.
May 2, 1863, we moved into Port Gibson. Here we had to wait until a pontoon bridge could be constructed over Bayou Pierre, as the rebels had burned the bridges, while on their retreat.
Our boys found many valuables, such as watches, jewelry, silverware, and some gold and silver coin at this place. We also found plenty of good bacon which was buried in hogsheads and sodded over. This came in good play as our rations were getting slim. The citizens all seemed to be in mourning. Many of them had their property burned on the supposition that they had fought us the day before.
On the morning of the 3rd, our regiment crossed the bayou, and marched out six miles in the direction of Grand Gulf on a scout. We found plenty of bacon and other articles of food, which the rebels had concealed in the woods, but they were not sharp enough to hide anything from a yankee.
At two o’clock we started back, but when we came to the Jackson road we learned that our entire army had moved on. We then followed up as a rear guard.
We marched twelve miles and went into camp near Rocky Springs. Our army had nothing to eat and we were cut off from our base of supplies. Thus we had to forage off of the country. We foraged corn and ran one or two mills, and this furnished a half pint of meal to the man. Some made bread and cooked it on coals and others rolled the dough on sticks and baked it, and still others mixed water and meal together, making mush without any salt. At least we had a time to get something to satisfy our gnawing stomachs.