[CHAP. XXII.

Bushrod R. Johnson's of General Cheatham's division. They moved forward at once, and were both very soon warmly engaged with the enemy. The resistance at this point was as stubborn as at any other on the field.

The forces of the enemy to which we were opposed were understood to be those of General Sherman, supported by the command of General McClernand and fought with determined courage and contested every inch of ground.

Here it was that the gallant Blythe, colonel of the Mississippi regiment bearing his own name, fell under my eye, pierced through the heart, while charging a battery. It was here that Brigadier-General Johnson, while leading his brigade, fell also, it was feared, mortally wounded; and General Clark, too, while cheering his command amid a shower of shot and shell, was struck down and so severely wounded in the shoulder as to disable him from further service, and compel him to turn over a command he had taken into the fight with such distinguished gallantry; and here also fell many officers of lesser grade, among them the gallant Captain Marshall T. Polk, of Polk's battery (who lost a leg), as well as a large number of privates, who sealed their devotion to our cause with their blood.

We, nevertheless, drove the enemy before us, dislodged him from his strong positions, and captured two of his batteries; one of them was taken by the Thirteenth Regiment Tennessee Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Vaughan, the other by the One hundred and fifty-fourth Senior Regiment Tennessee Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Preston Smith-the former of Colonel Russell's and the latter of General Johnson's brigade.

After these successes the enemy retired in the direction of the river, and while they were being pressed I sought out General Bragg, to whose support I had been ordered, and asked him where he would have my command. He replied, "If you will take care of the center, I will go to the right." It was understood that General Hardee was attending to the left. I accepted the arrangement, and took charge of the operation in that part of the general line for the rest of the day. It was fought by three of my brigades only-General Stewart's, General Johnson's (afterwards Colonel Preston Smith's), and Colonel Russell's. My fourth brigade, that of Colonel Maney, under the command of General Cheatham, was on the right, with Generals Bragg and Breckinridge. These three brigades, with occasionally a regiment of some other corps which became detached, were fully employed in the field assigned me. They fought over the same ground three times, as the fortunes of the day varied, always with steadiness (a single instance only expected, and that only for a moment), and with occasional instances of brilliant courage. Such was the case of the Thirty-third Regiment Tennessee Volunteers, under Colonel A. W. Campbell, and the Fifth Tennessee, under Lieutenant Colonel C. D. Venable, both for the moment under command of Colonel Campbell.

Shortly after they were first brought forward as a supporting force they found themselves ordered to support two regiments of the line before them, which were lying down and engaging the enemy irregularly. On advancing they drew the enemy's fire over the heads of the regiments in their front. It was of so fierce a character that they must either advance or fall back. Campbell called to the regiments before him to charge. This they declined to do. He then gave orders to his own regiments to charge, and led them in gallant style over the heads