enemy was pressing my front with overwhelming numbers, the ammunition of the Fourteenth Iowa and twenty-fourth Missouri nearly exhausted, Lieutenant-colonel Newbold, commanding Fourteenth Iowa, shot dead, his adjutant Mortally wounded. I there considered it necessary to give the orders to fall back to the three regiments with which i could communicate, leaving colonel Scott, Thirty-second Iowa, to extricate himself as best he could. Owing to the heavy firing and great loss of officers in the Fourteenth Iowa and Twenty-fourth Missouri, I was compelled to give the orders to the men in person to fall back, which, together with the thick brush, caused a temporary confusion in their ranks, but they rapidly reformed and were ready again to meet the enemy, but night had set in and the fighting ceased. My men fought well, holding their ground till ordered to retire, and although my loss was three times that of any other brigade on the field, they were still in such condition tat the commanding general saw fit to give them the responsible post of covering the retreat of the army. which commenced at 1 o'clock the next morning, and was accomplished in safety.

I have to report the loss of many valuable officers and men. Among them I will mention Lieutenant-Colonel Mix, Thirty-second Iowa, in whom the State has lost a valuable citizen and the army a good soldier; and Lieutenant-Colonel Newbold, commanding Fourteenth Iowa, a Christian gentleman, and a brave, industrious, and conscientious officer, whose loss to his regiment is irreparable.

I cannot speak too highly of my regimental commanders. Of Colonel John Scott, Thirty-second Iowa, it is sufficient praise to say that he is worthy to command the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry - a regiment which, after having been entirely surrounded and cut off from the rest of the command, with nearly one-half of its number either killed or wounded, among them many of their best and most prominent officers, successfully forced its way through the enemy's lines, and was in line ready and anxious to meet the enemy in less than thirty minutes. Of Colonel Gilbert, Twenty-seventh Iowa,and his regiment I can say tat did their whole duty. Although they had never been under fire before, they gave their fire with coolness and precision of veterans, and fully sustained the reputation of Iowa soldiers. Colonel Gilbert, although wounded early in the action, remained in command of his men until the fighting ceased. Of Lieutenant-Colonel Newbold, commanding Fourteenth Iowa, and his regiment, upon whose banners, were inscribed Donelson, Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, and Corinth, they fully maintained the credit of a name already glorious in the annals of their country. To Major Fyan, Twenty-Fourth Missouri, with his command and a detachment of Twenty-first Missouri (those heroes who had learned to fight under old Dave Moore), I cannot give too great praise for the successful manner in which they defended do long the important position that was assigned them - a position the most important in our whole line, and which, had it been defended less obstinately, might have endangered our whole army. the long list of killed and wounded, amounting to nearly 500, shows the desperate valor with which my men fought. My men were the first in the fight, the longest in the fight, and in the hardest of the fight, and were the last to leave the battle-field, and were ready and willing to remain and reap the fruits of a victory they had so dearly purchased; but they were soldiers and must obey the orders of their superiors. To Captain Granger, Lieutenant Berg, and Lieutenant