Bruinsburg, and soon after had the pleasure of meeting him on the field.

Determined to press my advantages, I ordered Generals Carr and Hovey to push the enemy with all vigor and celerity. This they did, beating him back over a mile, and frustrating all his endeavors to make an intermediate stand.

For particular mention of the regiments, companies, officers, and men who distinguished themselves in this daring charge, I would refer to the reports of these generals.

Returning to bring up the narrative of other operations, General Smith's DIVISION came up to Schaiffer's about 7 a. m., and just before General Hovey's moved to the support of General Carr's. The four DIVISIONS of my corps were now upon the field, three of them actually engaged, and the fourth eager to be. The last immediately moved forward into the fields in front of Schaiffer's house, and, together with a portion of General Osterhaus' DIVISION, held the center, and at the same time formed a reserve.

The SECOND position taken by the enemy on my right front was stronger than the first. It was in a creek bottom, covered with trees and underbrush, the approach to which was over open fields and ragged and exposed hill-slopes. Having advanced until they had gained a bald ridge overlooking the bottom, General Hovey's and Carr's DIVISIONS again encountered the enemy's fire. A hot engagement ensued, in the course of which, discovering that the enemy was massing a formidable force on my right front, with the evident design to force back and turn my right flank, I ordered General Smith to send forward a brigade to support that flank. Burbridge's brigade rapidly moved forward for that purpose; meanwhile General Hovey massed his artillery on the right, and opened a partially enfilading and destructive fire on the enemy. The effect of these combined movements was to force the enemy back upon his center with considerable loss.

Here, with a large concentration of forces, he renewed the attack, directing it against my right center. General Carr met and retaliated it both with infantry and artillery with great vigor. At the same time Landram's brigade, of General Smith's DIVISION, re-enforced by a detachment from General Hovey's DIVISION, forced its way through cane and underbrush and joined in Carr's attack. The battle was now transferred from the enemy's left to his center, and after an obstinate struggle he was again beaten back upon the high ridge on the opposite side of the bottom, and within a mile of Port Gibson. General Stevenson's brigade, of General Logan's DIVISION, came up in time to assist in consummating this final result.

The shades of night soon after closed upon the stricken field, which the valor of our men had won and held, and upon which they found the first repose since they had left D'Schron's Landing, twenty-four hours before.

At day-dawn on the morning of he 2nd, Smith's DIVISION, leading the advance, and followed by the rest of my corps, triumphantly entered Port Gibson, through which place and across the South Branch of Bayou Pierre the enemy had hastily fled the night before, burning the bridge across that stream in his rear.

This, the battle of Port Gibson, on Bayou Pierre, was one of the most admirably and successfully fought battles in which it has been my lot to participate since the present unhappy war commenced. If not a decisive battle, it was determinate of the brilliant series of successes that followed. It continued twelve hours, and cost us 803 men killed and

10 R R-VOL XXIV, PT. I