Web Author's Notes:
The following is a detailed account of the battle written by Pvt. Frank H. Mason, Company A, 42nd Ohio. It was, apparently, published originally in a Cleveland newspaper from a letter received from Mason, written shortly after the battle. It may be interesting to compare this version of the battle with Mason's later version written in his work, The Forty-Second Ohio Infantry: A History of the Organization and Services of That Regiment in the War of the Rebellion, published 13 years later and which is presented on this website as the next Chickasaw Bayou battle account page.

It should be understood that battle accounts written by the participants often contain information conflicting with other accounts and, in many cases, reflect a more positive view of the actions of the soldier or his unit than actual facts may prove. When studying battles it is important for the researcher to review as many different perspectives and accounts as possible which will help formulate a more accurate picture. Pvt. Mason's account is somewhat favorable to his regiment, the 42nd Ohio, but is generally accurate and provides another colorful description of the bloody day experienced by DeCourcey's and other brigades at Chickasaw Bayou.