Our batteries opened; the Rebel batteries responded.  Our gunners proved the best, and our shot had the greatest effect.  We had better ammunition than that of our enemies, and thus reduced the disparity caused by their excess of guns.  Our cannonade was slow and careful; theirs was rapid, and was made at random.  At the end of two hours of steady, earnest work, we could see that the Rebel line was growing weaker, while our own was still unshaken.  The work of the artillery was winning us the victory.

In the center of the Rebel line was a rocky hill, eighty or a hundred feet in height.  The side which faced us was almost perpendicular, but the slope to the rear was easy of ascent.  On this hill the Rebels had stationed two regiments of infantry and a battery of artillery.  The balance of their artillery lay at its base.  General Curtis ordered that the fire of all our batteries should be concentrated on this hill at a given signal, and continued there for ten minutes.  This was done.  At the same time our infantry went forward in a charge on the Rebel infantry and batteries that stood in the edge of the forest.  The cleared field afforded fine opportunity for the movement.

The charge was successful.  The Rebels fell back in disorder, leaving three guns in our hands, and their dead and wounded scattered on the ground.  This was the end of the battle.  We had won the victory at Pea Ridge.

I followed our advancing forces, and ascended to the summit of the elevation on which our last fire was concentrated.  Wounded men were gathered in little groups, and the dead were lying thick about them.  The range of our artillery had been excellent.  Rocks, trees, and earth attested the severity of our fire.  This cannonade was the decisive work of the day.  It was the final effort of our batteries, and was terrible while it lasted.

The shells, bursting among the dry leaves, had set the woods on fire, and the flames were slowly traversing the ground where the battle had raged.  We made every effort to remove the wounded to places of safety, before the fire should reach them.  At that time we thought we had succeeded.  Late in the afternoon I found several wounded men lying in secluded places, where they had been terribly burned, though they were still alive.  Very few of them survived.

Our loss in this battle was a tenth of our whole force.  The enemy lost more than we in numbers, though less in proportion to his strength.  His position, directly in our rear, would have been fatal to a defeated army in many other localities.  There were numerous small roads, intersecting the great road at right angles.  On these roads the Rebels made their lines of retreat.  Had we sent cavalry in pursuit, the Rebels would have lost heavily in artillery and in their supply train.  As it was, they escaped without material loss, but they suffered a defeat which ultimately resulted in our possession of all Northern Arkansas.