General Cleburne's right, which was in the woods to my front and left. General Maney and Colonel Manigault I accompanied across the Wilkinson pike, just in front of the enemy's battery last mentioned, which the enemy had abandoned on our approach. The one in the woods to our right was also abandoned, most of the horses having been so disabled that the guns could not be removed. After crossing the Wilkinson pike, I rode forward to the cedar brake toward the Nashville pike, where I found General Stewart's brigade, hotly engaging the enemy. He captured three of his guns, drove him through the woods and beyond the field to the Nashville pike. During this encounter, Colonel Bratton, of the Twenty-fourth Tennessee Volunteers, a most gallant officer, was killed. Colonel Vaughan advanced with Cleburne's division, fighting and driving the enemy until he reached the Nashville pike, when the enemy's fire became so heavy he was forced to retire, after having again driven the enemy from two of his guns. Late in the evening I placed him on the Wilkinson pike, in the rear of General Cleburne's division, with instructions to remain there until further orders. This brigade acted most gallantly during the entire day, having had two terrible engagements, losing 705 men out of 1,813.

About 10 o'clock General Donelson's brigade was ordered forward to the support of General Chalmers' brigade, which had been partially driven back. General Donelson pressed forward through the open field in front of the burnt, under a terrific fire of twenty pieces of artillery and heavy infantry force. Colonel Savage's regiment (Sixteenth Tennessee) and three companies of the Fifty-first Tennessee passed to the right of the house, extending to the river on the right; the remainder of the Fifty-first, with the Eight and Thirty-third Regiments, passing to the left of the house, advanced, under a heavy fire of infantry, toward the south end of the cedar brake. During this advance Colonel Moore, of the Eighth Tennessee, had his horse killed under him, and in a few moments afterward that gallant officer fell, dead, having been shot through the heart by a minie ball. The Eight Tennessee Regiment, now under the command of its gallant lieutenant-colonel, John H. Anderson, dashed forward into the cedar brake, drove the enemy before them, charged and captured a battery, and, in connection with the Thirty-eighth and seven companies of the Fifty-first Tennessee Regiments, fought and drove the enemy out of the south end of the brake, through the open field to his reserves on the Nashville pike, capturing from 600 to 700 prisoners. Colonel Savage, of the Sixteenth Tennessee, advanced beyond the burnt house (Cowan), and took position on the right of the railroad, and for three hours held the columns of infantry in his front in check, and when, after the arrival of General Adams' brigade, he withdrew his regiment, he left 30 dead men in the line he had occupied. The loss of this regiment was 207 out of 402, being over one-half. The Eight Tennessee, under Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson, lost 306 men and officers out of 472, which shows what they had to contend against. The other regiments of this brigade suffered nearly as badly.

As soon as [it was] discovered that our advanced line had been checked I immediately commenced forming a double line of infantry in the cedar brake, in order to resist any movement the enemy might make against us. General Stewart's brigade being in the advance, was first aligned. General Maney's brigade was formed on its left, and Colonel Loomis' on its right, with Generals Donelson's, Preston's, Adams', and Manigault's brigades in the rear line. General McCown formed his division on the left of General Maney. In this position they remained until