Lieutenant-Colonel Frambes, permitted him to approach within 50 yards, when they poured a deadly volley into him and broke his line in front; but the enemy's superior numbers enabled him to sweep around on Colonel Frambes' flanks, when the colonel retired in good order to a ravine in a corn-field 150 yards in rear of his first position. There being little or no firing in front of the Forty-fourth Indiana, Lieutenant-Colonel Aldrich commanding, kept his position until I ordered him in line with Colonel Frambes. The line thus formed remained undisturbed until 4 a.m. of the 19th, when Colonel Wilder ordered me to fall back to the Chattanooga road in order that daylight might not discover my exposed position to the superior force of the enemy. I then placed my two regiments on the left of the road in the edge of a dense wood, fronting an open field, toward the north. I immediately ordered the position to be strengthened by throwing up a barricade of rails and logs in front of my line, and remained there until 1 p.m., when the Thirteenth Ohio and Eighty-sixth Indiana were ordered to rejoin me, when I was ordered forward with the division.

At this time, General Thomas being hard pressed, I was ordered forward on double-quick, and to form in two lines in rear of and to support the First Brigade on General Thomas' right. But the First Brigade having oblique to the left, and my front line, composed of the Fifty-ninth Ohio and Forty-fourth Indiana, being uncovered, was immediately engaged and gallantly drove the first line of the enemy back to his second, where he made a stand. I again charged him until I found a superior force from his rear was marching rapidly past my right flank through an interval of more than a half mile, occasioned by General Davis' division swinging too far off in that direction. I was then compelled to retire my first to my second line, composed of the Eighty-sixth Indiana and Thirteenth Ohio, which was done with but little confusion and under a most galling fire. My brigade being now in one line, with the Fifty-ninth Ohio on the right and the Thirteenth Ohio on the left, I was ordered to form on General Beatty's second line, which was immediately done. The enemy was soon advancing upon us, but received a withering volley which confused and halted him in my immediate front, but again he brought from his rear a heavy column, by the right flank and on double-quick, and threw it upon my right. I was now under fire on my front, right, and rear, and was compelled again to fall back, this time, more rapidly and in more confusion than at first. At this critical moment, Lieutenant Frank H. Woods, my efficient and energetic acting inspector-general, was mortally wounded by a Minie ball while gallantly endeavoring to rally the crumbling ranks on my right. Here also was the brave Lieutenant-Colonel Mast, commanding the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteers, instantly killed while encouraging his men to hold their ground, and Major Snider, of the same regiment, severely wounded; thus leaving the regiment in command of the senior captain [Cosgrove]. I now rallied my command 400 or 500 yards west of the road on a ridge, and for a short time supported a part of the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Battery. Having the enemy still on my right, I was compelled to fall still farther back to another and higher ridge, taking advantage of a thin wood on its top. Here I soon collected the greater part of the brigade, when, the firing having nearly subsided, I marched back in good order to the Crawfish Spring road to rejoin the division. The division having reformed, I marched with it to the support of batteries on the ridge.