Bryan Howerton posted these on the Arkansas in the CW Message Board. I thought some of you folks might be interested.
It was impossible to tell if any of my shots took effect, but after the battle I went to the spot and looked over the ground. The Confederate dead lay there thick, and I wondered, as I looked at them, if I had killed any of those poor fellows. Of course I didn’t know, and am glad now that I didn’t. And I will say here that I do not now have conclusive knowledge that during my entire term of service I ever killed, or even wounded, a single man. It is more than probable that some of my shots were fatal, but I don’t know it, and am thankful for the ignorance. You see, after all, the common soldiers of the Confederate Armies were American boys, just like us, and conscientiously believed that they were right.—Leander Stillwell, 61st Illinois Volunteers.
and
When the Confederates retired from this battlefield of December 7th, they left their dead and severely wounded on the field, as it was impossible for them to do otherwise. I walked around among these unfortunates, and looked at them, and saw some things that made me feel sorrowful indeed. I look in the haversacks of some of the dead to see what they had to eat, and what do you suppose was found? Nothing but raw, shelled corn! And many of them were barefooted, and judging from appearances, had been so indefinitely. * * * These things inspired in me a respect for the Confederate soldiers that I had never felt before. The political leaders of the Davis and Toombs type who unnecessarily brought about the war are, in my opinion, deserving of the severest condemnation. But there can be no question that the common soldiers of the Confederate army acted from the most deep-seated convictions of the justice and the righteousness of their cause, and the fortitude and bravery they displayed in support of it are worthy of the highest admiration.—Leander Stillwell, 61st Illinois Volunteers, following the action at Wilkinson's Pike, Tennessee, December 7, 1864.
Jim