diately in front of my left battery, about 450 yards distant, when it came to a halt. i gave them canister and solid shot with such good effect that I am sure that several hundred were put hors de combat in a short space of time. The column was broken-part fled in the direction from whence it came; part pushed on into the woods on our left; the remainder endeavored to shelter themselves in masses around the house and barn. After the battle, I visited the position where this column in its confusion massed up around the house and barn heretofore mentioned, and found 120 odd dead, belonging to three South Carolina regiments. This mortality was no doubt from the effect of the artillery fire. The asperities of the ground in front of my batteries were such as to enable the enemy's sharpshooters in large numbers to cover themselves within very short range. At about a quarter to 6 o'clock the enemy's infantry gained possession of the woods immediately on the left of my line of batteries, and our infantry fell back both on our right and left, when great disorder ensued on both flanks of the line of batteries. At this period of the action, all of the batteries were exposed to a warm infantry fire from both flanks and front, whereupon I ordered them to retire 250 yards and renew their fire. The New Jersey battery mentioned, being out of ammunition, retired to the rear. The Fifteenth New York Battery also retired from the field. Captains Bigelow and Phillips, who were under my observation about all the time, evinced great coolness and skill in retiring their batteries. Captain Phillips, Lieutenant Scott, and 4 men hauled one of his pieces off by hand, every horse in the limbers having been shot down, at which work Lieutenant Scott received a serious wound in the face, and it is a mystery to me that they were not all hit by the enemy's fire, as they were surrounded and fired upon from almost every direction. Captain Bigelow retired by prolonge, firing canister, which, with Captains Phillips and Thompson firing on his right in their new position, effectually checked the enemy in his advance for a short time. Captain Thompson, having all his horses belonging to one of the limbers of one of his pieces killed while retiring, was compelled to leave the piece, which fell into the hands of the enemy. The crisis of the engagement had now arrived. I gave Captain Bigelow orders to hold his position as long as possible at all hazards, in order to give me time to form a new line of artillery, and justice demands that I should state Captain bigelow did hold his position and execute his firing with a deliberation and destructive effect upon the enemy in a manner such as only a brave and skillful officer could, until-one officer killed and the others wounded, and more than half his men either killed or wounded, and his horses all shot down at the limbers-he was forced to leave four guns and retire. Two guns under command of Lieutenant Milton were taken safety to the rear. In the meantime I formed a new line of artillery about 400 yards to the rear, close under the woods, and covering the opening which led into the Gettysburg and Taneytown road of the following batteries and parts of batteries: Battery I, Fifth Regular, and a volunteer battery which I have never been able to learn the name of; three guns of the Fifth Massachusetts and two of Captain Thompson's Pennsylvania battery, and commenced firing on the enemy's line of infantry and artillery, which had formed in the open field only about 700 or 800 yards in our front. A brook, running through low bushes parallel to our front, midway between ours and the enemy's lines,