sun beating down with oppressive head and the canteens of my men scarce of water. The enemy had rallied and again thrown their batteries into position, when we advanced through the open fields under a hot fire of shell, which, however, proved fruitless upon our unbroken line. In this stand the enemy had thrown his heavy line of infantry in the skirt of woods on the left of the road, which were soon engaged by a brigade of General Churchill's troops and after a short engagement began to waver. The order then reached us to move across to that portion of the field in double-quick, which we did for over half a mile, but their hordes gave way before our gallant companions in arms we are we had time to give them a volley.

Another halt was given along the line about 3 o'clock at a point some 2 miles south of Richmond and the scattered men gathered to their proper commands. When rested for the space of an hour the line was again formed, and Captain Yancey, of the Second Tennessee Regiment, was placed in command of all the skirmishers of the brigade, which again resumed its position to the right of the road, marching steadily forward toward the town without an indication of a stand from the Federals until we came in half a mile of its spires. Our skirmishers were then thrown some 400 yards in advance to feel the enemy's strongest positions, and the repeated shots along our entire front soon told of their whereabouts and showed them to number a large force. The men under Captain Yancey maintained their advanced ground firmly and were driving back the enemy's sharpshooters when our line advanced at a quick-pace, opening a warm fire, and discovering the enemy densely massed along the fences, in the corn fields, and behind the hay-stacks bordering a turn of the pike into the environs of Richmond. Here the loss was slight to several regiments of the brigade, but the men moved on most gallantly, although grape and canister were plowing the earth all around them in every direction. When we reached the pike the order was given to charge across an uninclosed field lying between the road and the cemetery, the enemy being posted behind the fence and tombstones and in the corn fields and woods stretching off to the left. As we cleared a rise in the ground the deadliest fire was poured into us that occurred during the entire day, and although the bullets hailed our brave troops did not after, but with volley after volley and shout after shout routed them from their stronghold and pursued them through the streets of Richmond, and when night closed in we were, as we started in the morning, still in the advance line.

In this last engagement our loss in killed and wounded was severe:

Killed. Wounded.

15th Arkansas 2 15

13th Arkansas 3 19

5th Tennessee 2 12

48th Tennessee 5 54

2nd Tennessee 15 94

Total 27 194

The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Butler, of the Second Tennessee, was here killed, and Colonel Nixon, of the Forty-eighth Tennessee, received a severe contusion from a canister-shot while bravely leading his regiment.