day, watching the fighting on the other side of the stream. In the
evening they crossed the pontoon bridge, and went into the city.
After stacking arms on Main street, most of the men went into houses
to sleep. The effects of this short siege was awful to contemplate.
Some portions of the city were completely battered down. Buildings in
various parts of the city were burning, and during the night fresh
fires were continually breaking out. Although the enemy had carried
away most of their wounded and dead, still a few remained in the city.
In a cellar was found by the Union troops, ten women and a child, all
dead; they had gone there for protection from our shells, but one had
struck there, and bursting, killed them all. While a member of the
Sixteenth was searching for wood in the yard of a residence after
dark, he stumbled over what he supposed to be soldiers asleep on the
ground. Excusing himself he went on and after gathering an armful of
wood, was returning when he stumbled over the same men again. Much to
his disappointment they did not get up and damn him. Going into the
house and getting a lighted brand, he came out and found that they
were _three dead rebels_ who had been killed and lay there side by
side. One of them was an officer. An amusing incident occurred on this
same evening in Company H. Sergeant Spencer was around the yard
looking after boards to sleep on. Finding one that was some twelve or
fourteen feet long, he laid one end of it on what he supposed to be a
stone, and was about to jump on it to break it in the center, when a
soldier who lay there wanted to know "what he was trying to do?" In
the darkness of the night he had laid the board on a man's head. The
next day we were drawn up in line of battle, but being on the reserve
had nothing to do but witness the contest raging in front, which was
fearful. At dusk we moved to the front, where bullets came thick and
fast until eight o'clock, when the firing ceased, and all was quiet
during the night, except the howling of dogs, and the occasional
discharge of artillery.

On Sunday morning, December 14th, we returned into the city, remaining
there all day. The fighting continued hard in front. At sundown we
again moved to the front, where we remained supporting a battery until
the next night, when we returned to the city, crossed the river and
marched to our old camp, being the last brigade to leave the city.
Thus ended the battle without the Sixteenth