same time hugging the
ground for dear life, and where we remained in defiance of the exultant
rebels. This was our darkest day of the war.

The loss of the brigade on this occasion was truly severe. Colonel
Daniel McCook fell mortally wounded, and Colonel Harmon succeeding him,
survived his command but one moment, when he was carried off the field
a corpse.

The total loss of the regiment in this charge, in killed, wounded and
missing, was ninety-six men.

The company loss was as follows:

KILLED.

Company A 11
Company C 4
Company D 2
Company F 3
Company G 2
Company H 2
Company I 3
Company K 1
--
Loss in killed 28

WOUNDED.

Company A 7
Company B 3
Company C 6
Company D 9
Company E 5
Company G 7
Company H 13
Company K 5
--
Loss in wounded 55

MISSING.

Company A 6
Company D 2
Company F 1
--
Loss in missing 9

Officers wounded 4

Ninety-six men were lost from the Eighty-sixth on that fatal day. It
was a loss to be remembered and remarked, for they were among our
foremost and best men. They were as noble, as true and trusty men, as
loving and as loyal as ever lived.

May a just Heaven reward them as their merit deserves! May the earth
rest light on their bones! Mourn them not; it was with them "_dulce et
decorum, est pro patria mori_." How well these men have fought and
with what heroism they have suffered, let the battles of Chickamauga,
Mission Ridge and Kenesaw answer! They will be rewarded, for they have
left their "footprints on the sands of time."

It was now a busy time at the hospitals, for they were full of the most
heart-rending cases. Among the physicians conspicuous there for energy
and ability, were the indefatigable Hooton and Guth--men who justly
deserved the confidence and respect of their boys. Among the most
trying positions in the army, the Surgeon's is first. The minds and
dispositions of soldiers are as varied as the colors of the
kaleidoscope, and hard to comprehend even in a sound condition, but
when fretted by ill health no one man could come out best with all of
them. A good Surgeon