FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   >>   >|  
that the fire could be seen from where the retreating foe was burning his wagons, and he urged the pursuit so vigorously that Sturgis had to repeat his order for him to leave the field. Col. Sigel, in his report made at Rolla eight days after the battle, made a long and labored explanation of his operations during the day. He thus explained his failure to do more: In order to understand clearly our actions and our fate, you will allow me to state the following facts: 1st. According to orders, it was the duty of this brigade to attack the enemy in the rear and to cut off his retreat, which order I tried to execute, whatever the consequences might be. 2d. The time of service of the 6th Regiment Mo. Volunteers had expired before the battle. I had induced them, company by company, not to leave us in the most critical and dangerous moment, and had engaged them for the time of eight days, this term ending on Friday, the 9th, the day before the battle. 3d. The 3d Regiment, of which 400 three-months men had been dismissed, was composed for the greatest part of recruits, who had not seen the enemy before and were only insufficiently drilled. 4th. The men serving the pieces and the drivers consisted of infantry taken from the 3d Regiment and were mostly recruits, who had had only a few days' instruction. 5th. About two-thirds of our officers had left us. Some companies had no officers at all; a great pity, but a consequence of the system of the three months' service. Later, when Gen. Sigel was seeking promotion, Maj. Schofield, then a Brigadier-General, sent the following communication to Gen. Halleck: 184 St Louis, Mo.. Feb. 18, 1862. Maj.-Gen. Halleck, Commanding Department of the Missouri. General: The question of the merits of Brig.-Gen. Franz Slgel as a commander having assumed such shape as to deeply involve the interests of the service, I deem it my duty to make a statement of facts which came to my knowledge during the campaign of last Summer in the Southwest, ending in the death of Gen. Lyon and the retreat of his army from Springfield. Soon after the capture of Camp Jackson, in May, Gen. Lyon sent Col. Slgel, with his two regiments of infantry and two batteries of artillery, to the southwestern part of the St
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
service
 

battle

 

Regiment

 

retreat

 

Halleck

 
infantry
 
months
 

company

 
ending
 

recruits


General

 

officers

 
system
 

Springfield

 
consequence
 

Jackson

 
southwestern
 
thirds
 

artillery

 

instruction


batteries

 

regiments

 

seeking

 

companies

 

capture

 

Schofield

 

interests

 

question

 

Missouri

 

Department


Commanding

 
merits
 

assumed

 

commander

 

deeply

 
involve
 

Brigadier

 
Summer
 

Southwest

 
promotion

campaign
 

communication

 
statement
 
knowledge
 

dangerous

 

failure

 
explained
 

explanation

 
operations
 

understand