Pouring out his thoughts to Julia, he paid tribute to the indomitable grit of Confederate troops, which had clearly astounded him. The enemy, he reported, “are fighting with great desperation entrenching themselves in every position they take up . . . The world has never seen so bloody or so protracted a battle as the one being fought and I hope never will again . . . As bad as it is they have fought for [their cause] with a gallantry worthy of a better.”
