It was now about half-past eight o’clock, and the firing in the northwest, where Lyon was supposed to be, and where he really was fighting, had almost entirely ceased. At this instant, Dr. S. H. Melcher, the assistant surgeon of Salomon’s regiment, and some of the skirmishers came back from the front, where desultory firing had been going on, and reported that Lyon’s men were coming up the road, for they could be seen plainly, and the gray-coated Iowa regiment plainly distinguished. At once, Lieut. Col. Albert, of the 3d Missouri, and Col. Salomon, of the 5th, notified their regiments _not to fire_ on the troops coming in this direction, for they were friends, and Sigel himself gave the same caution to the artillery. Everybody was surprised at this unexpected turn of affairs, and the Germans of Sigel’s and Salmon’s regiments began jabbering away delightedly, and the color-bearers were beckoning with their flags to the advancing hosts to “come on”—when, all at once, two batteries of artillery, one on the Fayetteville road and one on the hill where it was supposed Lyon’s men were in pursuit of the flying Confederates, opened with cannister, shell and shrapnel, while the gray-coated troops, supposed to be the Iowans, advanced from the Fayetteville road and attacked the Federal right, and a battalion of cavalry made its appearance, apparently ready and waiting to charge! The jabbering of the German soldiers was now something wonderful, but it had a different tone from that of a few minutes previously! It is impossible to describe the consternation and frightful confusion that resulted. So surprised and frightened were the soldiers that they could not understand these were _Confederates_ who were firing upon them and coming rapidly forward to sweep them from the face of the earth. They hurried and skurried about crying, some in English: “It is Totten’s battery!” others in German: “_Sie haben gegen uns geschossen! Sie irrten sich!_” (They are firing against us! They make a mistake!) And then making no effort to fight worthy of the name, they began to retreat. The artillerymen, all of whom were recruits from the infantry, who had seen but little service of any kind, could hardly be brought forward to serve their pieces, although directed by Sigel himself; the infantry would not level their guns until it was too late; indeed, they could not be made to stop running, let alone to turn and fight. Salomon cursed in German, in English, in French. Sigel threatened and bullied and coaxed. No use. As well try to stop a herd of stampeded buffaloes. Lieut. Farrand, with his company of cavalry brought off one piece of artillery which had not been unlimbered and put in position, and away it went the wheels bouncing two feet from the ground and the postilions lashing their horses like race riders.