delivered several shots upon his retiring force. Seeing the enemy retiring, the movement of my line was changed more sharply to the right, throwing a small part of it into the woods on my right and the remainder moving rapidly forward to the ridge-top he had abandoned. A short delay being necessary for Colonel Manigault to reform his brigade, my own got considerably in advance, and the battery in the woods opened on my right regiment. Colonel Feild at first took this to be our own battery, and ordered his regiment to lie down without firing, though he was within 200 yards of it; nor was this mistake discovered until one messenger to stop its fire had been killed and another narrowly escaped the same fate. His regiment was then ordered to fire, and with the aid of (I think) a portion of Colonel Manigault's brigade, which came up on the right, soon silenced the battery. Meantime my other two regiments, having attained the ridge-top in the open field but just abandoned by the enemy, were met with a furious shelling from a battery in plain view, about 500 yards distant, and just across the Wilkinson pike. The word coming to me from my right that we were being fired on by our own battery, led me to take the one across the road to be alluded to, that in the woods being at the moment hidden from my sight. Under these circumstances my line was ordered to lie down, and staff officers sent instantly to the right for accurate information. My battle-flag was conspicuously displayed from the ridge-top, but instead of diminishing seemed only to attract the fire of the battery across the road. Next moment suspicious became certainty as to this battery by discovering the flag of the enemy in the woods to the right of and near it. His purpose in withdrawing from the ridge was now plain. The ground between my line and the Wilkinson pike (a distance of from 400 to 500 yards) was an open field, sloping gradually to the pike, on the opposite or north side of which and directly in my front was a thick wood, affording good cover. The enemy had withdrawn from the ridge I now occupied and posted his infantry in these woods, and established his battery so as to rake the field between us with an oblique fire from my front and right. Evidently his dispositions were made in expectation of my moving directly over this field against him. Fortunately, however, the ridge he had abandoned commanded the new position he had taken, and, finding an excellent location for my battery, I got it instantly in position and opened upon him with admirable effect, my infantry line lying down the while for protection. For a short time the artillery fire was hot and spirited, but Turner's Napoleons and 12-pounder howitzers, being in easy range and aided by advantage of position, were more than the enemy could stand. His battery was soon silenced and his infantry in retreat under our fire.

About this time Major-General Cheatham came in person to my line, and Colonel Manigault reported his brigade reformed and again ready to advance. By order of the major-general, Colonel Manigault was moved from my right to my left, and we moved across the field in line together, bearing sharply to the right, General Cheatham accompanying us. In this movement my center regiment passed over the four guns just beyond the pike with which my battery had been engaged, and which were too much disabled to be carried off in the enemy's flight. My line, after crossing the pike, was inclined to the left, and moved down through the cedar brake between the Wilkinson and Nashville pikes. The enemy fled before us without making any stand in these woods, but in a short time opened a furious shelling from his main position near the Nashville pike. My command was halted at the northern margin of this cedar brake, in line with other brigades on my right, and in a short time Major-General McCown's division came forward in prolongation to my left.