Breaking News 1859: From the Field
From Stones River
"The cedars were very dense, making it difficult to keep an alignment while
going through to open ground on the opposite side. Those who got through
were met with such a volley of grape and canister from about forty cannons
that had been hurriedly placed there that they beat a retreat through the
dense cedars as best they could."
P. R. Jones, 10th Texas, CSA
"General Rousseau points me to the place he desires me to defend and enjoins me to ‘hold it until hell freezes over,’ . . .
My men are . . . concealed in the cedars, while the enemy, advancing through the open woods is fully exposed.
Troops are reported to be falling back hastily, and in disorder, on my left. I conclude that . . . hell has frozen over,
about face my brigade and march to the rear."
Col. John Beatty, 3rd Ohio, US
"It was impossible to supply all the wounded with tents. Rails were hauled
and fires built, and they were laid on the ground before the fires. Men
were wounded in every conceivable way, some with their arms and legs shot
off, some in the head, and some in the body. It was heart-rending to hear
their cries and groans. I saw the surgeons amputate limbs, then throw the
quivering flesh into a pile. Every once in a while a man would stretch
himself out and die."
Ira Owens, 77th Ohio US
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