Wayne, the Tigers at the time were upset that Robert E. Lee left them so exposed. It was one of the rare instances where the Yankees fooled Lee (he thought it was just a demonstration to mask the main attack at Kelly's Ford), and that's why he didn't withdraw or reinforce them.

I ran across a Northern newspaper article awhile back (but can't lay my hands on it right now) that told of a fight that broke out between the N.C. and La. prisoners as they were being taken away by train. The Tar Heels said they had had enough of the war and were ready to quit but the Tigers disagreed and lit into them.