given in person, I preceded to get my battery ready for action. I placed my filled pieces in position on a hill in rear if Yager's house just vacated by Captain Anderson, and then returned to my camp, and sent Lieutenant Wooding to take charge of it. Before getting my other pieces in position word was brought that the rifled gun was useless, a ball having lodged in it near the muzzle. i galloped to the place at once, and had it withdrawn to a position where the men could drive the ball up. I then ordered Lieutenant Wooding to take a gun and go across the river and report to Colonel Johnson, who had sent for it to support his skirmishers. I then brought up one of my bronze 6-pounder guns to the position occupied by the rifled piece, and directed fire upon three of the guns of the enemy in battery in a meadow about 800 yards distant. At this time the enemy had opened a steady and well-directed fire upon position six guns of different caliber. After the men had succeeded in ramming home the ball lodged in the rifled piece I brought it up to the front and opened fire upon the enemy's caissons; but, unfortunately, the balls would lodge, owing to the close fit and to the gun's fouling easily. Finding the last ball hopelessly lodged, as I supposed, I sent it to the rear, out of the way.

At this time the fire of the enemy was very severe, and so well aimed as to make in necessary to charge my position several times. About this time Lieutenant Wooding returned and informed me that the skirmishers had all fallen back, and that Colonel Johnson had directed him to return across the river, and that he had broken his lanyard. I ordered him to take position in front of Yager's house, where he could enfilade the road leading to our position, and to open fire upon the enemy's batteries, changing his position whenever the range of their fire made it necessary. At this time we were sallying to them with only four pieces-two of my own of Captain Rice's, who commanded his piece, and a gun on a high hill to my left under the command of Captain Deshler. I galloped at once to the rear and brought up my fourth gun, under command of Sergt. Joseph H. Jones, and placed it in the best position that the nature of the ground and the tents of the infantry encampments would allow. The fire of the enemy had now become so severe as to compel me to order the removal of every gun a few feet after every third fire, and I sent word to Captain Rice (who had been working his piece beautifully for two hours, and to whom too much praise cannot be given for the deliberate manner with which he loaded and fired his piece, loading and firing by detail for an hour in the midst of a storm of shot and shell from the enemy) to charge his position at once. He withdrew to a position about 250 feet in rear, and rested his men and awaited the cooling of his gun.

Observing at this time that the enemy had been driven back from the river to our left a fire from Colonel Rust's regiment, and that they were forming in two lines for a demonstration in front, I ordered the fire to cease, and directed my chiefs of piece to rest their men, cool their guns, then load their pieces with canister, and await my order to fire. The enemy meanwhile had been moving down to our right flank to the number of 2,000, when I heard who open to my left. I galloped to the point and found my men in confusion, all of Captain Rice's gone but 2,1 man dying, and was told that Captain Rice and 1 of my corporals were badly wounded. I reprimanded the sergeant, and he informed me that Colonel Johnston and Colonel Taliaferro ordered him to fire, and that he told them he had orders from me not to fire. Colonels Johnson and Taliaferro were not with the guns when I came