under a heavy artillery fire from the enemy, causing some loss. My position was on Hood's left and Buckner's right, near the center of the Left Wing of the army facing west, parallel with the La Fayette and Chattanooga road, 600 or 800 yards distant. The brigades of Deas and Manigault constituted my first line and Anderson's my reserve. Nothing important happened during the remainder of the day. After dark, in the readjustment of my line, a sharp skirmish occurred on Manigault's left, the enemy retiring.

About 11 a.m. on Sunday, September 20, under orders from Lieutenant-General Longstreet, commanding the Left Wing, my command moved forward simultaneously with the troops on my right. At the distance of 300 yards skirmishing commenced, and immediately my whole line was engaged. Rushing on at the double-quick through a storm of bullets, shot, and shell, Deas' brave Alabamians and Manigault's Alabamians and South Carolinians, equally brave, drove the enemy from his breastworks, then pushed him beyond the La Fayette road, and charged his second line of breastworks, 300 yards farther on. The troops on Manigault's left not advancing with him, he was enfiladed on that flank by infantry and artillery, checked, and at length forced to retire. One gun of his battery, temporarily disabled, was left exposed to capture, when Colonel J. C. Reid, Twenty-eighth Alabama, gallantly faced about and brought if off in safety. Deas swept like a whirlwind over the breastworks. Anderson's fearless Mississippians, carrying the breastworks in their front, moved up rapidly on his left to Manigault's place. Without halting, these two brigades then drove the enemy across the Crawfish Spring road and up the broken spurs of Missionary Ridge to its first elevation, 100 yards west. Hiding behind this, the enemy opened a tremendous fire of musketry and cannon upon our line as it advanced, and at the same time enfiladed it from an eminence in a field on the right; but without faltering he was charged, driven from his strong position, and pursued upward of three-quarters of a mile when he ceased resisting and disappeared, going north completely routed. A body of Federal cavalry, covering the retreat of the infantry, made a demonstration against my right, but retired hastily when about to be attacked.

Meantime Manigault sent back for and received the support of Trigg's brigade, of Buckner's corps, and with it compelled the rapid retreat of the force in his front.

The Fifteenth Alabama Regiment, of General Law's command, which had lost its direction, fired on Deas' right, but upon discovering the mistake, moved up and fought gallantly with him. I now sent staff officers to the right and left, and ascertained that my advance was nearly a mile farther west than any other troops of the Left Wing, none of which had yet reached the Crawfish Spring road. To my right and rear there was hot firing. I determined to move there, and gave the necessary orders, directing the command marched northeast to the La Fayette road till the position of our troops then engaged should be ascertained. This was to avoid the possibility of collision with friendly forces, and to gain time for reforming portions of my command disordered by their rapid pursuit of the enemy.

In the splendid advance, which I have attempted to describe, through woods and fields and over a part of Missionary Ridge, against the troops of Sheridan's and J. C. Davis' divisions, 17 pieces of Federal