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� July Rebel Charg 83

charged on the enemy and drove them from the old ruins. Men wer found buried alive in the earth, half buried, wounded and hurt in all ways. About mid day the rebs charged in two lines acrost the field from the city to regain their last position and our side did but little to prevent them. Our troops that was now holding the old crater was negro troops from the 9th corps and wer orderd by their officer (which was drunk) not to cap thair guns, and in this con-dition the rebel forces came sweeping over the field carrying everything before them without resistence. The leading officers of the 9th Corps wer all reported intoxicated and I believe they must have been or they would have followed up the advantage and closed the war in two month. But me, this was the way many a battle was lost, thousands of lives sacrifised and millions money wasted for our government by trechery, prejudist, and whisky. An old reb come in from their lines which was pressed into the L. G. service from Florida.