24th, artillery firing on the lines all day by the enemy, with at 10 p. m. became rapid and continuous; heavy skirmishing on my right. 25th and 26th, the usual artillery firing and skirmishing on the line; men busily engaged on the works. 27th, this morning when on the lines enemy opened fire on Ward's battery, which was responded to on our part. As it was about ceasing a shall exploding over the works severely works severely wounded General Ector in the left thigh, rendering amputation necessary, and wounded Captain Ward, of their artillery, mortally. Captain Ward was a file soldier and his loss was severely felt. General Cockrell is absent wounded, Ector wounded, and General Sears absent sick. 28th, this morning Loring's division moved to my left to join those already there. Enemy was also seen moving to our left. At 1 p. m. rapid firing commenced on my left and front; opened on the enemy with artillery. Soon discovered that a general engagement was taking place; heard that Generals Steward and Loring were wounded. Received a note from Walthall to send him a brigade; sent General Ector's, under command of Colonel Young. He joined the forced on the Lick Skillet road at the close of the battle. I continued an enfilading fire all night on the enemy from Hoskins' battery. 29th and 30th, some artillery firing and a little skirmishing on the picket line. 31st, it being Sabbath the firing on all sides appeared to cease out of respect to the day.

August 1, in the afternoon enemy opened a rapid fire of artillery all along my front, killing a men at my headquarters, breaking a wagon, and wounded Captain Henderson's horse; outhouses and trees struck several times. 2nd to 5th, nothing unusual occurred on my front till about 4 p. m. on the 4th, when the enemy advanced on my vedette line, which had been maintained at a distance of 500 yards in front of the skirmish line, and attacking it in force it was driven in. Colonel W. H. Clark, Forty-sixth Mississippi, in command of the line, advanced with about 500 men and attacked the enemy vigorously and drove them back and re-established his vedettes, capturing 21 prisoners and a number of small-arms, killing and wounding many of the enemy. Their own papers adopted their loss to be between 300 and 400. We had 7 killed, 25 wounded, and 1 missing. I had now some twenty-five pieces of artillery in position, four of them being 320 pounders, rifled, and had ammunition been obedient could have annoyed the enemy very much; as it was, and as subsequent information showed, they suffered severely. The enemy had in my front some thirty pieces of artillery. Among them was a battery of 4 1/2-inch Parrott guns, from which they kept up to the close of the siege an almost uninterrupted fire day and night; not at my lines, but on the heart of the city. They made every effort with hot shot to set the city on fire. 6th, received orders to make a demonstration on the enemy's works in my front to aid General S. D. Lee on the left. For this purpose three of the Missouri regiments and one Mississippi regiment and the skirmishers on the line moved forward, under command of Colonel E. Gates, to feel the enemy's position and develop his strength. The enemy was driven from his skirmish line on our left and center and forced into his main works. At the same time Colonel W. H. Young, now in command of Ector's brigade, advanced on the right with a strong force, attacked and drove the enemy from his rifle-pits, but could not advance far owing to the nature of the ground. Colonel Gates halted troops after they had moved forward about three-