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The morning of the 3rd came with nothing unusual in appearance, and when the ordinary duties of the morning were gone through with, the paymaster came up and paid company A. and was now paying company F; and while our fresh pork, that we had captured rebels the day before, was lazily boiling, suddenly we heard the pickets firing off in front, and thinking we had another day's skirmishing on our hands we, without putting on our coats, buckled on our cartridge boxes and grabbed our faithful rifles, and were in ranks in a few minutes and moving out by flank to meet the enemy, while the paymaster flew to the main army, some four miles away.
Now we had four regiments of our brigade in line as follows: The 67th on the extreme left, the 60th Indiana next, then the 23d Wisconsin, then the 96th Ohio, the 83rd Ohio having been sent out that morning after forage. This line, commanded by Col. Owen, of the 60th Indiana, moved out about a mile and halted with our regiment, swung clear out upon the prairie, while the right of the line rested in a skirt of woods, and we had not been there but a few minutes when, away to our front, we could see General Green's whole division of rebel troops in line of battle. At this time General Burbrage sends an orderly to General Franklin – the commander of the expedition – for reinforcements and Franklin replies: “Hold the place at all hazards.” Meantime Green's whole troop is coming steadily over the prairie, when Gen. Burbrage sends his aid, Capt. Friedley, to Col. Buhler, ordering him to fall back, which Buhler refuses to do. When Burbrage again sends Friedley, peremptorily ordering Buhler to fall back to the woods. But it is now too late, as Green's masses were upon us with a heavy cavalry force pushing between us and the main army, and entirely surrounding us when our artillery was pouring shot and shell, while the rebel batteries were pouring a heavy fire of shot and shell into us; and now we open our musketry upon the advancing columns, and they pour a storm of minnie into our ranks; and by this time the cavalry was charging us, upon flank and rear, and our artillery had fallen back and was pouring into the rebels and us a storm of canister, while the rebel batteries were pouring into us and their men a storm of canister, while the rebel batteries were pouring into us a storm of grape; while at this juncture both forces became all mixed, and a pandemonium of sticking with bayonets, clubbing of muskets and shooting with revolvers. Meanwhile a storm of grape and canister was pouring into this fighting mass both from front and rear, while a cloud of smoke is spread over the scene, and we are overpowered and taken prisoners; and as they march us to the rear fire two loads of canister into us, but fortunately this last volley did not strike any of us, and thus Green's 8,000 men overpowered our 1200 troops, and are marching us off prisoners of war, while our reinforcements are coming on double quick, but they are too late. As they march us off the rebels fall back and the fight is over.
