Numbers 49. Reports of Colonel John Q. Lane, Ninety-seventh Ohio Infantry, commanding Second Brigade, of operations November 29-december 1 and december 15-16, 1864.

HDQRS. SECOND Brigadier, SECOND DIV., FOURTH ARMY CORPS,
Nashville, Tenn., December 7, 1864.

SIR: In obedience to orders from the headquarters Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, I have the honor to very respectfully submit for the information of the general commanding the following report of the operations of this brigade from and including the 29th day of November to and including the 1st day of December, 1864:

I assumed command of the brigade on the morning of the 29th ultimo while the troops were in line of battle on the north side of Duck River, near the Franklin pike. The brigade consisted of the Twenty-sixth Ohio Veteran Volunteers, Captain Clark commanding; Ninety-seventh Ohio Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Barnes commanding; Twenty-eight Kentucky Veteran Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Boone commanding; Fortieth Indian Veteran Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Leaming commanding; Fifty-seventh Indiana Veteran Volunteers, Major McGraw commanding, and One hundredth Illinois Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Hammond commanding, making in all 80 commissioned officers and 1,586 enlisted men. At 8 a. m., by order of General Wagner, I moved my command in the direction of Spring Hill. I was notified that a division of rebel cavalry was on our flank, and made the usual dispositions to guard against surprise by putting out flankers, &c. On nearing Spring Hill it became apparent that the enemy was trying to get possession of that place. Leaving the Twenty-sixth Ohio one mile and a half south of town for the purpose of protecting our trains I moved my command at double-quick to the east side of town, formed line of battle, deployed the Twenty-eighth Kentucky Veteran Volunteers as skirmishers, and by order of General Wagner moved at once on the enemy, who was in heavy force on an eminence half a mile east of the town, with his skirmishers within 400 yards of our trains. The troops moved forward in splendid style; the enemy stubbornly resisted for thirty minutes, when he yielded the eminence to Colonel Boone's Twenty-eighth Kentucky Veteran Volunteers, and moved to my right in the direction of the Third Brigade. I ordered Colonel Hammond, with his regiment (One hundredth Illinois Volunteers), to support Colonel Boone, Twenty eight Kentucky, whom I had instructed to hold his position, when, by order of General Wagner, I withdrew my line of battle to a position near the town, where we immediately constructed a line of rifle-pits. I had but just made this disposition of my command when the Third brigade became engaged with greatly superior numbers, which after a gallant resistance, commenced falling back in the direction of the town. By order of General Wagner I changed my front forward on the First Battalion, let the Third brigade pass me and form in my rear, and prepared to dispute the enemy's farther advance with a line of skirmishers well out. I moved the One hundredth Illinois and Company F, Fortieth Indiana, to my left so as to hit the enemy in flank, which caused him to stop and reform his lines. Before he could again advance the darkness of the night made our position secure.

The troops rested on their arms until 4 o'clock on the morning of the 30th, when by order of General Wagner I resumed the march in the