Today in History:

402 Series I Volume XXX-II Serial 51 - Chickamauga Part II

Page 402 KY.,SW.VA.,TENN.,MISS.,N.ALA., AND. N.GA. Chapter XLII.

I again moved forward about 4 o'clock, the brigades of Generals Brown and Bate having successively advanced and engaged the enemy. Passing Bate's brigade, then in front, my line continued steadily forward with promptness and spirit, accompanied nearly to the Chattanooga road by the Fifty-eight Alabama Regiment, Colonel Bushord Jones (which attracted my attention by the excellent order in which it moved), and a small portion of another regiment which I did not recognize, both of Bate's brigade.

The enemy continued to retreat to and beyond the Chattanooga road, near which my brigade captured two pieces of artillery, which were brought off in the manner stated by my regimental commanders, whose reports accompany this. My brigade continued the pursuit of the enemy one-half mile beyond the road, when a staff officer reporting the enemy advancing in strong force from the right, and it also having been reported to me, through my assistant adjutant-general by a staff officer whom he did not recognize, that the enemy's cavalry had been seen in force upon the left as if preparing to advance, my brigade fell back across the road at leisure, where I halted and reformed it in connection with the portion of General Bate's brigade already referred to.

I take pleasure in mentioning that Captains Crenshaw and Lee, with their companies from the Fifty-eighth Alabama Regiment, of Bate's brigade, accompanied mine beyond the road. They are gallant officers.

In this charge my brigade captured 50 or 60 prisoners besides the two pieces of artillery, and I have reason to believe that the loss in killed and wounded inflicted upon the enemy to some extent compensated for out own in the earlier engagement.

Changing the direction of my line by a front forward upon the right, and the other two sides of a triangle being formed by Generals Brown and Bate, night coming on, the troops slept upon their arms within a few hundred yards of the enemy, who could be distinctly heard erecting breastworks. During the night my pickets brought in about 40 prisoners, among whom were several officers of the lower grades.

Early on the morning of the 20th, the brigade was moved to the right and in a position about 300 yards from and parallel to the Chattanooga road. Here it remained until 11 o'clock subject the most of the time to a severe fire from the enemy's artillery, by which several men were wounded.

About 11 o'clock, General Brown being in front and General Bate on my right, the whole division advanced under a most terrible fire of grape and canister from the enemy's artillery, before which several most gallant officers fell bravely leading their men, among whom I cannot forbear to mention the name of the chivalrous and accomplished Lieutenant Colonel R. F. Inge, of the Eighteenth Alabama Regiment. Notwithstanding this, the brigade pressed forward through a narrow corn-field to the first pieces of artillery by the road side, when two other batteries, one in front and one upon the right assisted by small-arms, began a most murderous fire, before which all were compelled to retire. I was myself struck by a grape-shot and compelled to dismount for a short time. The Thirty-eighth Alabama Regiment, scarcely breaking its line, fell back only a short distance. The other regiments promptly reformed near the position originally occupied by them and moved forward to rejoin it. General Brown's brigade was reformed by Colonel Cook (General B[rown] having


Page 402 KY.,SW.VA.,TENN.,MISS.,N.ALA., AND. N.GA. Chapter XLII.