Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/369

368 brave, drove the enemy from his breastworks, then pushed him beyond the Lafayette road, and charged his second line of breastworks three hundred yards further on. The troops on Manigault's left not advancing with him, he was enfiladed on that flank by infantry and artillery, checked, and at length forced to retire. One gun of his battery, temporarily disabled, was left exposed to capture, when Colonel I. C. Reid's Twenty eighth Alabama gallantly faced about and brought it off in safety.

Deas swept like a whirlwind over the breastworks. Anderson's fearless Mississippians carrying the breastworks in their front, moved up rapidly on his left, to Manigault's place. Without halting, these two brigades then drove the enemy across the Crawfish Spring road and up the broken spurs of Missionary Ridge, to its first elevation, one hundred yards west. Hiding behind this, the enemy opened a tremendous fire of musketry and cannon upon our line as it advanced, and at the same time enfiladed it from an eminence in a field on the right. But, without faltering, he was charged, driven from his strong position, and pursued upwards of three quarters of a mile, when he ceased resisting and disappeared, going north, completely routed. A body of Federal cavalry, covering the retreat of the infantry, made a demonstration against my right, but retired hastily when about to be attacked.

Meantime Manigault sent back for, and received the support of Trigg's brigade of Buckner's corps, and with it compelled the rapid retreat of the force in his front.

The Fifteenth Alabama regiment of General Law's command, which had lost its direction, fired on Deas's right, but upon discovering the mistake, moved up and fought gallantly with him. I now sent staff officers to the right and left, and ascertained that my advance was nearly a mile further west than any other troops of the left wing, none of which had yet reached the Crawfish Spring road. To my right and rear there was hot firing. I determined to move there, and gave the necessary orders directing the command to march northeast to the Lafayette road, till the position of our troops then engaged should be ascertained. This was to avoid the possibility of collision with friendly forces, and to gain time for reforming portions of my command disordered by their rapid pursuit of the enemy.

In the splendid advance which I have attempted to describe, through woods and fields and over a part of Missionary Ridge, against the troops of Sheridan's and J. C. Davis's divisions,