The 11th Indiana and 29th Wisconsin of our brigade charged on our left, driving the rebels out of the road. They also captured a battery and took 160 prisoners. General Logan’s division charged on our right, and drove the enemy in a mass, back in front of Hovey’s division. There was cheering all along the line because the boys thought that we had the rebels routed. But they had only fallen back to mask their forces and draw Hovey’s division into a trap.
Our regiment moved up and gave three cheers on account of holding our part of the skirmish line so near the enemy. Our company joined on to our regiment and moved two hundred yards to the left flank at the top of the hill. This was where the 11th Indiana had taken a battery.
We faced the enemy and charged down the hill. On we went, unmindful of the death and destruction which we were running into. Not a shot was fired to warn us of the danger, until we were in nineteen steps of a masked division. Fifteen to one hundred of them came up out of the ditches. They were to our right flank and rear, not over 200 yards from where we had started down the hill.
Regiment after regiment poured death and destruction into our ranks until we had only a little squad left, to rally around the flag. At the first volley the most of our little battalion fell, dead and wounded. I dropped into a ditch and loaded and fired three shots at the rebels. They were so close that I could see the whites of their eyes.
It seemed as though the hill was filled with rebels. On they came and I had to get up and change my position. When about half way up the hill, I ran into a squad fighting hand to hand. Here was the place where the old 24th almost lost its flag, and also, Colonel Barter almost lost his hand. The colors were shot out of it and the flag staff was split into three pieces. Corporal Steel carried the flag off of the field.
We could not get reinforcements and the chance of any of us being saved was a forlorn hope, but just at the last moment, we were saved by reinforcements. They came into line on the right at the top of the hill. We were a mixed up bunch, but those brave Missouri and Iowa boys, the 3rd, 5th and 6th Missouri and the 10th Iowa, saved us. When the rebel host saw our solid line of reinforcements they became panic stricken. They were so excited that the last load that they fired they did not return their ramrods, but fired them into our faces, threw down their guns, and fled for safe quarters.
We had won the day, but Hovey’s and Logan’s divisions had paid dearly for their prize. At four o’clock the enemy fell back in confusion. They were being hard pressed on all parts of the lines and they made no stand until they reached Black River Bridge, which place they had well fortified.
The rebels, on their retreat, had left many dead to be buried in fence corners.
Our division, commanded by General A. P. Hovey, was composed of the following troops: the 11th, 24th, 34th, 46th and 47th Indiana; 29th Wisconsin; 24th Iowa; 56th Ohio; and 22nd Kentucky.
The loss of our division was 1,500 killed and wounded. The loss in our regiment was 259. Our company loss was 22. Two of our boys were taken prisoners. The number of men when we went into the charge had been 480. Our brigade having suffered the greatest loss, was left on the field to care for the wounded and bury the dead.