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| Union Camps - April 6, 1862 - A.M. |
As the sun rose, Union soldiers camped here and at nearby
sites looked forward to a peaceful and leisurely Sunday. A flood of Rebel infantry, however was about
to engulf them from the southwest.
Whitelaw Reid, a Northern reporter, described the lack of
preparation in the Union camps, “Some, particularly among our officers, were
not yet out of bed. Others were
dressing, others washing, others cooking, a few eating their breakfasts. Many guns were unloaded, accoutrements lying
pell-mell, ammunition was ill-supplied – in short, the camps were virtually
surprised . . . .”
By the end of the day, the Southerners had overrun most of
the camps. Many Union soldiers spent the
night without food, bedding, or other supplies left behind in haste.
“Shells were hurtling through the tents while, before there
was time for thought of preparation, there came rushing through the woods the
lines of battle sweeping the whole fronts of the division camps . . . .”
– Whitelaw Reid
War Correspondent, Cincinnati Gazette
Col. Everett Peabody, already suffering from four wounds,
was killed near his headquarters here when a minié ball struck him in the head. Peabody had wisely sent out a creconnaissance
patrole that discovered the approach of the Confederates.
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