Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/399

 398 Southern Historical Society Papers.

it. The artillery advanced and fired by section, keeping well up with the infantry. Gregg's brigade advanced some three hundred yards, obliquing in endeavoring, under fire, to keep the connection to the right. The connection, however, was broken in the thick woods, between the second and third battalions, the two right regiments pre- serving their connection with the line on their right, and wheeling with it to the right. The Third and Fourth regiments, advancing less obliquely, faced more to the south, while the left regiment of that brigade, the Fiftieth Tennessee regiment, under Colonel Suggs, moved more directly to its front, which was in a southern directioni owing to the left having been thrown back to connect with Preston's division, and at the same time it stretched out to the right, just north of Vinyard's fields, to cover the increasing interval, until nearly the whole regiment was deployed in open order as skirmishers. This movement of the Fiftieth Tennessee regiment was induced by the heavy attack of the enemy on that flank, but it did not succeed in preserving the connection, and it became separated from the brigade. In this condition the brigade fought gallantly, and kept up a heavy fire all along its broken line, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.

Two regiments of McNair's brigade, the Thirty-ninth North Caro- lina regiment, under Colonel Coleman, and the Twenty-fifth Arkan- sas regiment, under Lieutenant- Colonel Hupstalder, were sent forward between the Fiftieth Tennessee regiment and the brigade to which it belongs. These two regiments came up to the left of the Seventh Texas regiment, of Gregg's brigade, about four hundred yards in front of the position from which my line had moved, and ad- vanced gallantly to the road from Chattanooga to Lee & Gordon's mill, north of Vinyard's farm, and left still a wide interval on the right of the Fiftieth Tennessee regiment, which regiment continued to present an extended line and to fight gallantly and persistently the heavy forces in front, while its ranks were being continually thinned. It will be seen by the report of Colonel Coleman, of the Thirty-ninth North Carolina regiment, forwarded herewith, that the two regiments from Gregg's brigade drove the enemy in rapid flight across the Chattanooga road, and passed a small house in a cornfield west of the road, and north of Vinyard's house; and that here, though the enemy in their front, were in flight and broken, those regiments fell back for want of support, and on account of reinforcements received by the enemy, and a flank fire on the left.

In the meantime, the brigade of Brigadier-General Robertson, of Hood's division', was brought up and advanced on the right of the