No. 45.

Report of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Moore, Fifty-eighth Indiana Infantry.

HDQRS. FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INDIANA Volunteers, Chattanooga, Tennessee, November 27, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, under my command in the late engagement near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and on Missionary Ridge, on the 23d, 24th, and 25th of November, 1863:

On Monday, the 23rd of November, about 1 p.m., I received orders from Brigadier-General Wagner, commanding brigade, to form my regiment and march to the front, which was immediately done, in connection with the other regiments of the brigade. My regiment was formed in line of battle in the front of the brigade, the

Ninety-seventh Ohio on the right and One hundredth Illinois on the left, my regiment in the center, and this line was formed a short distance in the rear of the picket line. I was here notified that this line would be under the immediate command of Colonel Wood, of the Fifteenth Indiana Volunteers. We remained in this position a short time waiting for the troops on our left to get into position. As soon as the line was completed the line of skirmishers advanced and drove back the pickets of the enemy in splendid style. Our line followed in the rear of the skirmishers until we reached the old picket line of the enemy, where we changed direction somewhat to the right, marched a short distance farther to the front, where we were halted and lay greater part of the night and threw up

rifle-pits. About 2 a.m. we marched near 200 yards to the left, so as to connect with the troops of General Wood, where we lay during the 24th, while the fight was going on over Lookout Mountain, and up to about 1 p.m. of the 25th of November, when we again advanced to the front until we formed a line with General Hazen's brigade, which was on our left.

This time the Fortieth Indiana Volunteers was on the right of our line, Twenty-sixth Ohio next to the Fortieth Indiana, Fifty-eighth Indiana next, and the One hundredth Illinois on the left. The men were ordered to lie down in this position,as the enemy was pouring a heavy fire upon us from their artillery on Missionary Ridge.

We remained in this position until about 3 p.m., when the order was given to move forward on to the enemy's works, a short distance from the foot of Missionary Ridge. The line started forward in quick time, but soon came to a double-quick and run, and charged over the enemy's works and up to the foot of the ridge, capturing quite a number of prisoners that had failed to climb the hill in time to make their escape. All this time we were under a perfect hail of shot from the enemy's artillery and infantry that were on the top of the ridge, and were so completely covered that it was impossible for our men to do much execution.

By the time we reached the foot of the hill, the men having already run near 1 mile, and that with their blankets, rations, and 80 rounds of cartridges, besides equipments, on them, so they were almost perfectly exhausted; consequently, our progress in climbing the hill was not very rapid, although we were making some progress, when we received orders to fall back to the enemy's old breastworks, then in our rear near 200 yards. We fell back to the works and rested for a few minutes, when we again charged forward, this