Thursday, June 2. — We were under marching orders, and about 3 P.M. moved to our rear. The whole corps marched ahead of us, leaving us as rear-guard. We had not gone far before the rebels attacked us. The whole thing was miserably managed. We checked the enemy, however. Our regiment was in the third line, being in front of Captain Thomas’s battery. While there we lost about six men, and Lieutenant Mitchell, wounded by our own shell. We were moved afterwards to the right, occupying some temporary rifle-pits. Had a heavy thundershower during the afternoon, just before the enemy attacked. Captain Cowdin, F. O. D., was wounded while falling back. During night, rainy. Dug some strong rifle-pits.
[Our position this day was a most disagreeable one. We were supporting a battery and in front of it, they firing over our heads and we lying down on the ground. The battery was on slightly rising ground, but the shells stripped as they were fired from the guns, and as the firing was unusually bad, it was most destructive to our regiment, as the strips of the shells and shot flew around us right and left. It was bad enough to be killed by the rebels, but to have our own men shoot us was worse. Captain Cowdin never turned up. He was probably killed. The last seen of him he was getting over a wall. He was a good officer and did his duty well, and we were very sorry to lose him.]
