About 3 o'clock
I inquired . `` Retreat , retreat ! '' they said , in broken English -- they were Louisiana Acadians . About 3 o'clock the rush began . I shall never forget that woful sight of a beaten , demoralized army that came rushing back , -- humanity in the last throes of endurance . Wan , hollow-eyed , ragged , footsore , bloody , the men limped along unarmed , but followed by siege-guns , ambulances , gun-carriages , and wagons in aimless confusion . At twilight two or three bands on the court-house hill and other points began playing Dixie , Bonnie Blue Flag , and so on , and drums began to beat all about ; I suppose they were rallying the scattered army .