of General Logan's DIVISION, came up, and attempting to carry the enemy's position by such an attack, failed to do so, thus attesting the correctness of General Osterhaus' admonition upon that point.

A flank movement had been resolved upon by General Osterhaus to accomplish the same object. With the view to deceive the enemy, he caused his right center to be threatened, and, taking advantage of the effect, rapidly moved a strong force toward his extreme right, and personally leading a brilliant charge against it, routed the enemy, taking three pieces of cannon. A detachment of General Smith's brigade joined in the pursuit of the enemy to a point within a half mile of Port Gibson.

BATTLE OF PORT GIBSON.

At 6. 15 a. m., when sufficient time had elapsed to allow Osterhaus' first attack to work a diversion in favor of my right, I ordered General Carr to attack the enemy's left. General Benton's brigade promptly moved forward to the right of the main road to Port Gibson. His way lay through woods, ravines, and a light canebrake; yet he pressed on until he found the enemy drawn up behind the crest of a range of hills intersected by the road. Upon one of these hills, in p Magnolia Church. The hostile lines immediately opened on each other, and an obstinate struggle ensued. Meanwhile Stone's brigade moved forward, on and to the left of the road, into an open field, and opened with artillery upon the enemy's left center.

The action was now general, except at the center, where a continuation of fields, extending to the front of my line for more than a mile, separated the antagonists. The enemy had not dared to show himself in these fields, but continued to press my extreme right, with the hope, as I subsequently learned, of crushing it and closing his concave line around me.

General Hovey came up at an opportune moment, and reported his DIVISION to be on the ground. I immediately ordered him to form it in two lines near the fork of the two roads, and to hold it there for further orders. About the time it had been thus formed, General Smith's DIVISION came up, and General Hovey was ordered to advance his DIVISION to the support of General Carr's. In the execution of this order, General McGinnis' brigade moved to the right front, in support of Benton's encountering the same obstacles that had been overcome by the latter. Colonel Slack's brigade moved by the flank near the main road, and without much difficulty gained its proper position to the left of McGinnis.

During the struggle between Benton's brigade and the enemy, the former had moved to the right to secure its flank, and left a considerable gap between it and Stone's. This gap was immediately closed up by a portion of General Hovey's DIVISION upon its arrival upon the ground assigned to it. The enemy's artillery was only 150 yards in front, and was supported by a strong line of infantry, which, it was reported, had just been re-enforced, and was the occasion of the shout of the enemy distinctly heard about this time.

To terminate a sanguinary contest which had continued for several hours, General Hovey ordered a charge, which was most gallantly executed, and resulted in the capture of 400 prisoners, two stand of colors, two 12 pounder howitzers, three caissons, and a considerable quantity of ammunition. * A portion of General Carr's DIVISION joined in this charge. About this time I heard that Major-General Grant had come up from

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*See Carr to Rawlins, July 22, 1863, appended to Carr's report of the battle of Port Gibson, p. 623.

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