threatened a strong position of the enemy, and, when commanded, retired with the order of old soldiers. It continued from this position to annoy the enemy with remarkable effect, by assaulting and retiring until the appearance of a large body of advancing men on our right, when it retired to a more defensible position to cover the flank.

From this point I dispatched messengers to learn what forces were moving toward us, and learned that it was General Blunt's advance.

This information I immediately communication to the commanding general (Herron). I also sent General Blunt what information was necessary as to our position. The firing, which, previous to his appearance, was waging severe on the left, in which the Thirty-seventh was engaged, now began to wane. The enemy, who evidently had endeavored to overpower our left before his arrival, now was massing his forces against General Blunt's.

I immediately sent General Blunt word, as we were near him, and there appeared at the time nothing else to do, that the Twentieth would move in conjunction with his forces. By a stoutly contested fight the forces advanced to the crest of the hill (with the assistance of General Blunt's well-directed artillery), and maintained this corner-stone to the enemy's position until he, under cover of a feint of moving one regiment against our left, had withdrawn his forces from there and thrown them in overwhelming numbers against us. The fire was galling. General Blunt's Indians commenced retiring, and I directed the Twentieth to retire gradually and take a covered position under the hill. In doing so, General Blunt's artillery, from as yet an unopened battery, commenced, as he informed me he would do, to deal destruction into the ranks of the advancing foe, and, under the immediate supervision of General Herron, Murphy's battery soon opened on the same spot. The Twentieth continued its fire against this force as long a there was an enemy within sight, and then, under the fatigues of the day, retired to rest on arms. Some firing continued on General Blunt's extreme right for a short time after this, and night then dropped a veil over the bloody scene.

At the commencement of the battle, the Thirty-seventh Illinois advanced without order from or through me. The brigade was entirely broken up by orders, which never reached us, and the parts sent to widely separated portions on the field.

Finding that orders were constantly being sent directly to officers under my command, I soon abandoned all hope of harmonizing the movements of the brigade, as such, with those of other bodies, and devoted the greater part of my attention to the movements of the Twentieth Iowa.

Fort these reasons I must respectfully refer to the reports of junior commanders for information as to the conduct of their respective commands, where not immediately under my eyes, and also for details.

The Thirty-seventh Illinois, as will be seen by Major [H. N.] Frisbie's report, claims to have captured and spiked a battery of three guns; to have captured one regimental color from the enemy, and to have carried within our lines the regimental flag of the Twentieth Wisconsin, which had been left on the field.

There were many guns, &c., picked up, but as yet I have not received a list of the property, all of which I directed to be turned over to the quartermaster.

Although the troops of the brigade did, at least, their part in the charges on the left, as well as on the right, with General Blunt, yet