prisonment, that their conduct shall be fully reported, I take the liberty of laying before you, unofficially, the following statement:

You will remember that the regiment then formed a part of the brigade of General W. H. L. Wallace, included in the division of General Charles F. Smith. On that day, however, in consequence of General Smith's illness, General Wallace commanded the division, and the Colonel Tuttle, of the Second Iowa, our brigade, which consisted of the Second, Seventh, Twelfth, and Fourteenth Iowa Regiments. Our division occupied the center of the line, having that of General Prentiss on its left, with General Hurlbut beyond him, while the divisions of Generals Sherman and McClernand were on its right. Our brigade occupied the left of the division, and was arranged in the order given above, from the right, so that the Fourteenth occupied the extreme left of the division, next to General Prentiss' command.

Our line of battle was formed about half past 8 o'clock a. m., about 500 yards from the enemy's artillery, which at once opened a severe fire upon us. The ground was rolling and wooded, but free from underbrush, interspersed here and there with cleared fields and cut up by several roads.

In a short time the enemy's infantry made their appearance, advancing in line of battle. I at once perceived that the line of our brigade was not parallel with theirs, but inclined to it at an angle of about 45 degrees, the left in advance, thus exposing my left to the enemy some distance in advance of General Prentiss' line, upon which it should have rested, and about 200 yards from his extreme right. After consulting with Colonel Woods, of the Twelfth, who was next to me on the right, I threw back my regiment and the left wing of the Twelfth, so as to bring our part of the line parallel to the advancing enemy and in line with General Prentiss' division, but still failing to connect with it by an interval of about 200 yards. This also improved our position, which had previously been directly upon a ridge, exposed to the enemy's artillery, and gave us that ridge as a partial shelter. The enemy advanced steadily in two lines, about 200 yards apart. I ordered my men to lie down and hold their fire until were within thirty paces. The effect of this was, that when the order to fire was given, and the Twelfth and Fourteenth opened directly in their faces, the enemy's first line was completely destroyed. Our fire was only returned by a few, nearly all who were not killed or wounded by it fleeing in every direction. I then immediately advanced my regiment, in which I was gallantly joined by the left wing of the Twelfth. Passing almost without opposition over the ground which had been occupied by the first lines, we attacked and drove back their second for some distance, until I was forced to recall my men for fear of my left flanks being turned, no part of General Prentiss' division having advanced with us. In this movement we took a number of prisoners, including 1 captain, whom I sent to the rear. Returning, the Fourteenth took up its old position in the line of battle, and Colonel Geddes, of the Eighth Iowa, now formed his regiment on our left in line with us and General Prentiss' division, filling up the gap which had previously existed there. That division, however, with the one beyond it, materially changed its position in the course of the forenoon, its left falling back repeatedly, until the line of these two divisions had swung around almost at right angles to us. I now perceived a large force of the enemy approaching from the left and front, and immediately reported the fact to Colonel Tuttle, who, at my request, sent me a couple of brass 6-pounders, which were near by. These I got into position just time to receive the enemy. They advanced with the