west of the elevation on which the 9 pieces of artillery had been captured - and I hastened to press forward Gregg's brigade, which had halted for a moment on the flank of the guns that were being removed while Johnson's brigade approached the same position from the left. From the crest of this ridge the ground descends abruptly into a corn-field and cove lying south of Vidito's house. West of the cove is a range of the Missionary Ridge, while north of it a spur of that ridge spreads out to the east. Through a gap at the angle between this spur on the north and the ridge on the west of the cove, and about 1,000 yards from the ridge on the east where my division was now taking position, passes the Crawfish [Spring] road, which continues south along the base of the ridge on the western side of the cove. Along this road a line of telegraph wires extended from Chattanooga to General Rosecrans' headquarters,a nd at the gorge of the gap a train of wagons filled the road, while a number of caissons and a battery of artillery for defense of the train occupied the grounds near Vidito's house. The ridge on the east of the cove was taken without resistance, though the enemy there constructed a breast-work of rails, and had piled up a large number of their knapsacks, secure, as they doubtless thought, from the danger of the battle-field.

As soon as this ridge was occupied, which was a few minutes before 2 m., our advance position, commanded by adjacent hills and separated on the right and left as far as I could see from our troops, induced me immediately to send my aide-de-camp, Captain Blakemore, to report our position to Lieutenant-General Longstreet, commanding our wing, and to bring up artillery and infantry to our support, while I disposed of my command for defense. Gregg's brigade was at once posted, partly facing to the north, at the edge of the woods at the north end of the field and partly facing to the west along a portion of the adjacent ridge. Johnson's brigade was posted, facing to the west, on the crest of the ridge about 100 yards to the left of Gregg's brigade. Both brigades immediately advanced their skirmishers to the front. When I discovered the train of wagons at the gorge of the Crawfish [Spring] road the enemy were making every effort to get them away. I promptly posted Everett's battery on the ridge between Johnson's and Gregg's brigades, where it opened fire on the train. The fire of the artillery and some shots from our advancing skirmishing created the utmost consternation among the drives and teams, causing some of the wagons to be upset and others to be run against trees and up the precipitous acclivities adjacent. Lieutenant Everett also sent forward one piece of artillery to a knoll in the corn-field south of Vidito's house, which fired up the gorge along the Crawfish [Spring] road. A few shots were fired upon us from a battery of the enemy posted on the high ground north of our position, to which Everett's artillery replied, firing about 6 rounds, when the enemy ceased firing on us. A ball from Lieutenant Everett's battery dismounted one of the guns (a rifled piece) near Vidito's house by breaking the axle-tree.

Our skirmishers now advanced and took possession of the wagons, caissons, and guns. Lieutenant Everett sent forward two teams and hauled off 1 Napoleon gun and caisson, attaching for that purpose the limber of a 6-pounder gun found near by the Napoleon, for which no limber was found. This guns has since been ascertained to be one of the guns of Lumsden's battery captured by the enemy on the 19th, and has been returned to that battery. Besides the 2 pieces above