Hill, La.; At 3 p. m., my regiment, then under command of Lieutenant Colonel William H. Heath, received orders to move forward from the position we then occupied, viz, 1 mile in rear of Pleasant Hill, and take position at the right of the Third Brigade, First Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, and immediately in rear of the Eighty-ninth Indiana Infantry Volunteers, which had formed in line of battle upon the summit of Pleasant Hill and in front of the woods. The regiment remained in this position until about 5 o'clock, when Lieutenant-Colonel Heath was ordered to move to the right a short distance to support the Third Indiana Battery. This movement was accomplished under a severe fire from the enemy, who had succeeded in breaking our first line of battle in front and were pressing vigorously forward. The fire of the enemy becoming extremely severe, Lieutenant-Colonel Heath ordered the men to lie down to prevent an unnecessary loss of life. The enemy, now greatly encouraged by their success, continued advancing with renewed energy upon the retreating brigades, effectually preventing their reforming and at the same time breaking our second line. At this juncture my regiment was ordered to rise and charge the enemy. While gallantly leading the regiment in this charge Lieutenant-Colonel Heath was severely wounded in the head and forced to leave the field, leaving myself in command. I continued advancing with my regiment until the fire of the enemy compelled me to halt and cause my men to lie down. In this position I continued to pour an incessant and destructive fire into the ranks of the enemy, without material loss to my command. The enemy, being unable to withstand the effective and unerring fire now showered upon them by our troops, wavered. Perceiving their lines wavering I again ordered a charge, which succeeded in breaking their lines, throwing them into confusion and compelling them to fall back to the woods with considerable loss. At this juncture a battery of four guns opened upon me with canister, which, fortunately for my command, passed almost entirely over them. Well knowing that it would be impossible for me to withstand a successful fire from this battery, I pushed forward with renewed speed and charged the battery, receiving a severe volley of musketry from their support, which I was informed by a wounded rebel officer taken by my command consisted of the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Missouri Regiments, under command of General Parsons, who was killed at this place by a ball in the left temple.* After discharging their pieces the enemy fled, panic-stricken, leaving numbers of their dead and wounded and the battery in my possession. I sustained my entire loss at this battery. While reforming my regiment preparatory to charging again, Brigadier-General Mower rode to the front, and pointing with his sword to the battery we had just taken, cheered the regiment. The men thus encouraged charged forward and entered the woods with an unbroken line, steadily advancing upon the enemy, who still continued obstinately contesting every inch of ground, until finding themselves irretrievably lost, fled, a panic-stricken mob, leaving horses, guns, equipments, and everything that impeded their progress upon the field. It now becoming too dark to pursue the flying enemy, I received orders to reform at the edge of the woods and bivouac for the night upon the field.

Too much praise cannot be given to the officers and men of the regiment for their coolness and energy displayed while under the

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*A mistake. General Parsons survived the war.

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