and fought like brave men, driving them before us, and killing and wounding them in large numbers. They retired slowly and sullenly, fighting over and disputing well every inch of ground, taking advantage of every tree, thicket, log, or other protection, till they reached a small field beyond the woods, a distance of 300 yards. Through this they retreated in haste to the opposite fence and into a thin wood of large timber beyond, being driven entirely off the field, to which they never returned. We followed till they were out of our sight, and until we observed a body of cavalry on our left and a little to our rear. But for this we should have charged, and could have easily taken a section of artillery, about 250 yards to our right; but we did not regard it safe to leave the cavalry in our rear, and we returned to the wood and rested there, as we could not, of course, advance, having the artillery and cavalry as above described. We remained here a short time, when we were fired into by the artillery of the enemy and our own also, the latter killing 3 of our men and wounding several. From this we returned to the edge of the road, where we had started from, and found the Fifty-ninth Ohio there drawn up.

Our loss was heavy in this fight, and was the principal one sustained by us during the day. From an examination made of the wounded and prisoners and of the persons of the dead, we ascertained that we had fought the Kentucky regiment commanded by Joseph H. Lewis, of Glasgow, Ky., and a Mississippi regiment, and perhaps some Arkansas troops. We took several prisoners, among them a captain and lieutenant. We now formed with the Fifty-ninth Ohio, and after throwing out skirmishers we advanced in line, on the left of the Fifty-ninth Ohio, into the woods where we had fought, and wheeled to the right, thus throwing the Ninth Kentucky into the field above alluded to, and causing it to pass through the same into a woods to the right of it. We found no enemy, but, keeping out skirmishers to our left, we found small bodies, perhaps their skirmishers, and had for a time some desultory firing, in which we lost 1 killed and several wounded, all from the Ninth Kentucky, as it was next to the enemy. Continuing but a short distance we came upon and captured a section of the enemy's artillery, supported by a body of his infantry, but were forced to abandon it, mostly on account of a fire from another section farther on in advance of us, and also by a fire from one of our own batteries in the rear. We returned to the road again, but to a point on it to the right of where we had first been. After remaining a short time we returned and captured the section of the enemy's battery which we had just abandoned, our battery having ceased to fire on that point, and the other section of the enemy's battery having been in the mean time silenced, and, as I have since learned, taken by the Thirteenth Kentucky, Colonel E. H. Hobson, and Eleventh Kentucky, Colonel P. B. Hawkins. We this time held it. We here lost 2 or 3 men killed and a number wounded by a discharge from one of the guns and the infantry fire. The battle had now ceased, except to our right, where we marched and met with you in person, but got into no other engagement, as the day was now ours, and the enemy retreating before other forces.

Our loss, as far as we have been able to ascertain it, is as follows: (The lieutenant-colonel was absent, sick in Nashville; major absent on detached duty, and no field officer present but myself.) I had 23 officers of the line and my adjutant present, of whom 4 captains were wounded, 2 dangerously, 3 lieutenants were killed and 3 wounded. Total officers killed and wounded, 10; non-commissioned officers and