Murfreesborough, on Sunday, December 28, this brigade was the second one from the extreme right of the second line; was north of Murfreesborough and a little west of the Lebanon pike. Though there had been skirmishing with artillery and small-arms, no regular engagement had taken place between our troops and those of the enemy up to the night of December 30.

Late in the evening of this day my brigade, with the others of Major-General Cleburne's division, was moved from the extreme right to the extreme left of the second line of battle, in order to support Major-General McCown's division, which formed the extreme left of the first line. My brigade consisted of five regiments, whose position from right to left, and whose strength, respectively, on the morning of the battle in front of Murfreesborough, were as follows:

General and staff.................................... 6

37th Tennessee, Col. Moses White...................... 225

44th Tennessee, Col. John [S.] Fulton................. 509

25th Tennessee, Col. John M. Hughs..................... 336

17th Tennessee, Col. A. S. Marks........................ 598

23rd Tennessee, Lieut. Col. R. H. Keeble................. 272

Darden's battery..................................... 70

Strength of brigade taken into action................2,016

The Jefferson Artillery [four guns], commanded by Capt. Putnam Darden, having been on detached service with Brigadier-General [S. A. M.] Wood's brigade, reported for duty with my command on the morning of December 31 and moved with my brigade. My brigade was posted between Brigadier-General Liddell's brigade [which was on the extreme left of our line] and the brigade of Brig. Gen. L.[E.] Polk.

At early dawn, on the last day of the old year so full of bloody records, our line was formed, running north and south on the west side of the West Fork of Stone's River, my left resting on the lane leading up to the McCullouch house. The order was immediately given to advance in support of Major-General McCown's division, by wheeling the whole of our division to the right.

My brigade moved first over open fields up a gentle ascent for about 1,200 yards, when we reached the summit of the slope, with my left within about 150 yards of the Triune road. Here the enemy's balls from cannon and small-arms fell around and in our ranks. Though we had moved out on the second line to support Major-General McCown's division, it became evident that there was here nothing before us but the enemy, whose sharpshooters were posted at the fence and in the woods along the north side of the Triune road. We therefore prepared to take our place in the first line. I ordered out skirmishers in front of each regiment, halting and correcting the right of my line, which had been somewhat broken in passing through a small thicket in the field. Col. Moses White and Lieutenant-Colonel [R. D.] Frayser, of the Thirty-seventh, and several men of the men of the Forty-fourth Tennessee Regiment, were here wounded before we had fired a gun. Major [J. T.] McReynolds, a faithful and brave officer, then took command of the Thirty-seventh Regiment Tennessee Volunteers.

Our skirmishers now drove the enemy from the fence and border of the woods, and the brigade advanced to the Triune road in a beautiful line, completing the wheel to the right. My command was here moved to the left on the road, to give room to Brigadier-General Polk's brigade.

In front of the left wing of the Twenty-fifth Regiment Tennessee Volunteers there was, at this time, a lane running nearly perpendicular to