made on the farm road leading from Mrs. Brown's to the ford, and also immediately in front of Mrs. Brown's house. In the first of these I placed one section of Harvey's battery, and the other section of the same battery was put in the work at Mrs. Brown's. Our skirmishers, having the advantage of rifle-pits previously prepared, found no difficulty during this day in maintaining their ground, though the cross and plunging fire upon them made their position a trying one. In artillery practice the rifled guns of Cockerill's and Harvey's batteries proved more than a march for the rebel guns, which seemed mostly light 12-pounder smooth guns, and none of the enemy's batteries were able to maintain a position, though they shifted their ground and kept up a fire at intervals throughout the day. During the morning the Fourth Corps took position on the ridge at my rear (on which Mrs. Porter's house is), and the two wings of that command reaching the river, right and left, covered the flanks of this division, and prevented the enemy from annoying me by a flank fire. Soon after noon Henderson's brigade reported (Colonel I. N. Stiles temporarily in command, on account of sickness of Colonel Henderson), and was placed on the right of Reilly's, beyond Mrs. Brown's house, and somewhat recurred, so that the whole division was now formed in a crescent upon the ridge before described.

Early in the morning of the 29th I was notified by the major-general commanding that the report that the enemy was crossing Duck River in force several miles above, made it necessary to withdraw most of the Fourth Corps from its position, and I received orders to hold the bend of the river and prevent the rebels from crossing or laying a pontoon bridge till evening. The enemy had used the night in making rifle-pits and other shelter for troops along the river-bank, and succeeded in getting a battery in position where it enfiladed the line of rifle-pits for our skirmishers near the ford and old bridge-head, making it impossible for the men to remain in them or in the open ground at the extreme point of the tongue of land in the bend. I thereupon ordered Brigadier-General Reilly, commanding First Brigade, to establish a new line as far forward as it was possible to obtain cover, and give it such supports as to prevent any enemy from forming above the bank of the river, still keeping the men in the old positions on the right and left, where they could command the approaches to the river on the opposite side. He accordingly ordered the Twelfth and Sixteenth Kentucky Volunteers to occupy the open timber down to the edge of the cleared ground, in irregular open order, using the trees for shelter. These regiments occupied this position through the day, and by a well-directed fire foiled all efforts of the enemy to bring down to the river or launch pontoons until late in the afternoon. A brisk cannonade was kept up on both sides at intervals during the day, the enemy striving to establish batteries sufficiently far up and down the river to take our positions in reverse, but were foiled by the very active use made of his guns by Captain Cockerill, chief of artillery, and the superior practice of our gunners. The enemy in the town (since learned to be Lee's corps, with the whole artillery park of Hood's army) made redoubled efforts to force a crossing as the afternoon advanced, and about 4 o'clock succeeded in getting several pontoon boats down to the water. With these, sheltered by the steep banks of the river and covered by a heavy fire of both artillery and musketry, they ferried over a considerable force, which made an effort to form and charge into the open wood where the two Kentucky regiments were posted. As soon, however, as they showed themselves on the open ground they were met with a severe and galling fire, which soon drove them for shelter under the river bank. Colonel