the fact that the fleet was in no condition to continue the combat
and must retire for repairs.

There was nothing for Grant to do, therefore, but prepare for a
siege, and with a heavy heart he returned from the battered gun-boat
to give the necessary orders. He had scarcely set his foot on
shore, however, before a staff officer dashed up with the startling
intelligence that the Confederates had sallied forth and attacked
a division of the army commanded by General McClernand and that
his troops were fleeing in a panic which threatened to involve
the entire army. Grant knew McClernand well. He was one of the
Congressmen who had made speeches to the 21st Illinois and, realizing
that the man was almost wholly ignorant of military matters and
utterly incapable of handling such a situation, he leaped on his
horse and, spurring his way across the frozen ground to the sound
of the firing, confronted the huddled and beaten division just in
the nick of time. Meanwhile, General Lew Wallace--afterwards famous
as the author "Ben Hur"--had arrived and thrown forward a brigade
to cover the confused retreat, so that for the moment the Confederate
advance was held in check. But despite this, McClernand's men
continued to give way, muttering that their ammunition was exhausted.
There were tons of ammunition close at hand, as the officers ought
to have known had they understood their duties, but even when assured
of this the panic-stricken soldiers refused to return to the field.
They were in no condition to resist attack, they declared, and the
enemy was evidently intending to make a long fight of it, as the
haversacks of those who had fallen contained at least three days'
rations. This excuse was overheard by Grant and instantly riveted
his attention.