none of us divine. Men were there in every stage of
partial uniform and equipment; many were hatless and coatless, and few
still retained their muskets and their accoutrements complete. Some
stood wringing their hands, and rending the air with their cries and
lamentations, while others, in the dumb agony of fear, cowered behind
the object that was nearest them in the direction of the enemy, though
but the crouching form of a comrade. Terror had concentrated every
faculty upon two ideas, and all else seemed forgotten: danger and death
were behind and pressing close upon them; on the other side of the
river, whither their eyes were turned imploringly, there was the hope of
escape and an opportunity for further flight.

Meanwhile, louder than all the din and clamor else, swelled the roar of
cannon and the sharp, continuous rattle of musketry up in the woods
above. There, other thousands of our comrades--many thousands more they
were, thank God!--were maintaining an unequal struggle, in which to
further yield, they knew, would be their inevitable destruction. Brave,
gallant fellows! more illustrious record than they made who here stood
and fought through all these terrible Sabbath hours need no soldier
crave. There has been a noble redemption, too, of the disgrace which
Shiloh fastened on those poor, trembling fugitives by the riverside.
That disgrace was not an enduring one. On many a red and stubborn battle
field those same men have proudly vindicated their real manhood, and in
maturer military experience have fought their way to a renown abundantly
enough, and more than enough, to cover the derelictions of raw,
untrained, and not too skilfully directed soldiery.

There was a rush for the boat when we neared the landing, and some,
wading out breast deep into the stream, were kept off only at the point
of the bayonet. Close by the water's edge grew a clump of sycamores. Up
into one of these and far out on a projecting limb, one scared wretch
had climbed, and, as the boat rounded to, poised himself for a leap upon
the hurricane deck; but the venture seemed too perilous, and he was
forced to give it up in despair. The plank was quickly thrown out,
guards were stationed to keep the passage clear, and we ran ashore.
Until now there had been few demonstrations of enthusiasm, but here an
eager outburst of shouts and cheers broke forth that wellnigh drowned
the thunderings of battle. The regiment did not wait to form on the
beac