from General Burnside in person, were to cross over after Sturgis should have carried the bridge, and after Cox's and Rodman's division should have crossed. My orders then were to take the right of the corps in the attack on Sharpsburg.

After crossing bridge, the road turns sharply to the right, runs up the stream about 200 yards, then to the left along an open hollow or ravine, which winds along to the village, overlooked by heights to the right and left. Once on the heights, the country in rolling and intersected with field fences, many of which are of stone. The enemy's sharpshooters were posted behind these fences as well as hay-stacks, which also,, with orchards and corn-fields, served to conceal their lines. A battery of field guns also commanded the road and hollow down to the river, and the whole plateau above was swept by cross-fire of artillery. Christ's brigade was filed across the hollow and drawn up along the crest on the right of the road, his left resting near the road, the Seventy-ninth New York (Highlanders), Latent-Colonel Morrison commanding, deployed as skirmishers, and the other three regiments of the brigade in line of battle. These regiments were the Fiftieth Pennsylvania, Major Overton; the Twenty-eight Massachusetts, Captain Caraher, and Seventeenth Michigan, Colonel Withington.

The Second Brigade, under Colonel Welsh, formed on the heights to the left of the road, deploying the One hundredth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Leckey, as skirmishers, and forming his other three regiments in line of battle, viz: Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Curtin, on the right; Eighth Michigan, Captain Ely, on the left. I brought with the division Cook's battery, Eighth Massachusetts, and left Benjamin's battery, Second U. S. Artillery, doing good work in a guns on the plateau and heights in front of us.

My division now formed part of a line which Generals Burnside and Cox were commanding, and all moved forward about-o'clock. We were under fire from the moment a man appeared at the crest of the plateau or crossed the hollow. Taking two pieces of Cook's battery, under Lieutenant Coffin, I moved up the road, while the two brigades gallantly advanced over the plateau toward Sharpsburg.

The rest of Cook's battery was posted on a hill near the bridge. Crook's brigade, of Cox's division, followed in support of my line. Christ's brigade attacked a force of the enemy's infantry along his front, and drove them steadily before him. In following them up, his brigade got in advance of the rest of the line; his supports were not up. While halting, the enemy turned their battery on him from their right (our left), and for a few moments his troops were exposed to the fire of their battery, a fire of infantry from a corn-field in his front protected by a stone fence, and from a battery farther up in front, beyond the corn-field. The left coming up, soon attracted the attention of the flanking battery. Lieutenant Coffin directed his pieces on the battery beyond the corn-field, and at the same time Christ threw forward the Seventeenth Michigan, with supports, to charge take battery, seeing the guns were withdrawn.

Meantime Welsh conducted his brigade against the enemy in his front and drove them before him with the same success, his right following the crest of the hollow, gradually approaching Christ's left, so that by the time we entered Sharpsburg the quarter part of my division was on the right of the road and extended across the hollow, up the side hill, and on the plateau. On this side hill was an orchard, in which a large