The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports. Page: 476
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KY., TENN., N. MISS., N. ALA., AND SW. VA. [CHAP. XXII.
The effect of this tremendous concentrated fire was very evident.
The reserves, which could be plainly seen going up to Prentiss' relief,
fell back in confusion under the shower of shot, shell, and canister that
was poured upon them, while our infantry, encouraged by such heavy
artillery support, rushed forward with a shout and carried the position.
I regret that I cannot state the name of the staff officer ordering me
up or to whose staff he was attached. All I have been able to ascertain,
upon consultation with battery commanders touching this remarkable
concentration of artillery, is that it was not the result of accident, but
under and by the direction of one controlling mind, as batteries were
brought up from various portions of the field and directed to this par-
ticular position. I have made repeated inquiry of officers of the artil-
lery and staff officers to ascertain by whose order this movement was
executed, and the only reliable information I have received was com-
municated to me by Lieuts. A. H. Polk and William B. Richmond,
aides to Major-General Polk, who state that they felt assured it was
executed under the direction of Brigadier-General Ruggles, as they saw
him at that time on our extreme left engaged in ordering up batteries
for some position along the lines.
I have the honor to remain, captain, your obedient servant,
SMITH P. BANKHEAD,
Colonel of Artillery, Provisional Army, Confederate States.
Capt. RoY MAsoN HooE,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Jackson, Miss.
[Inclosure No. 3.]
COLUMBUS, MISS., January 25, 1863.
GENERAL: Being cognizant of many inquiries made by officers of the
artillery who participated in the memorable battle of Shiloh relative to
artillery practice, &c., and particularly concerning the effect our artil-
lery had in forcing Prentiss' division to fall back in a direction which
compelled his ultimate surrender, I will, with your permission, make a
short statement of a few facts which occurred under my own observa-
tion respecting the latter idea, i. e., concerning the artillery fire and
Prentiss' division:
I conceive a few remarks on this topic necessary from the fact that
so few of our officers are aware under whose direction that especial
concentration of artillery was made, which seemed to my mind to have
such a controlling influence over the line of march taken by General
Prentiss' command in his retrograde movement.
Late Sunday evening, the first day of the fight, after our forces had
compelled Prentiss' troops to commence a rapid retreat, I rejoined you
just beyond an open space known as the enemy's parade ground, I
think, and found myself, as I afterwards ascertained, in the wake of
the retreating enemy. At this point, however, a desperate stand was
made by them, and they succeeded in checking our infantry, and were
apparently intending to hold the ground they then occupied till they
could be re-enforced.
At this juncture (about 3 p. m., as near as I can recollect) I received
from you a verbal but positive order to bring up all the artillery I could
find and post it along the Woods road, running between the parade
ground above mentioned and a small cleared field in front, through the
center of which passed a small brook densely crowded with large shrub-
bery, in which large numbers of the enemy had taken refuge, to the
serious discomfort of our troops, who for the time were unable to dis-476
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., book, 1884; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154613/m1/484/?q=Roberts: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.