Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/326

 320 Sotithern Historical Society Papers.

raged with great fury. It resulted in considerable loss to ourselves, and a frightful loss to the enemy in consequence of the dense column exposed to our fire, while our men were under cover of logs, trees, ravines, &c. When the enemy deployed his overwhelming force, Lieutenant-Colonel Locke, in obedience to his previous instructions, withdrew his command as promptly as possible to the main works. Having taking position in the battery of four guns on the Commissary Hill, as soon as I discovered with my glass that our own troops had left the top of the hill and the enemy was occupying it, I ordered this battery to open fire on them. Colonel Johnson opened about the same time with two guns from his works. Thus began the gen- eral engagement and assault upon the left wing.

The troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Locke had scarcely reached their position in the trenches when the enemy's column appeared upon the hill they had just left, pushing boldly forward in columns of regiments. The four guns upon the Commissary Hill, and the two in Colonel Johnson's camp, soon obtained their ranges. After bursting many shells amongst them, they succeeded in breaking their ranks and creating great confusion in the head of the column, but the artil- lery fire did not stop the advance. Their lines, though in confusion, were pushed boldly forward under cover of the fallen timber and ravines, and until within good range of our infantry in the rifle-pits. The battle now was general on my line and terrific, and was continued for two hours with great fury.

The enemy's sharpshooters crept up near our batteries and killed and wounded many of our cannoneers, the fallen timber giving com- plete protection. After the enemy found us prepared in front, he flanked a portion of his troops to the right and came up fronting our lines, which ran thit)ugh the field known as " Bull Pen." Fearing a movement of this kind, I had called upon the Major General for a regiment to reinforce that point. Colonel O. P. Lyle, of the Twen- ty-third Arkansas, with his command was sent, and reached his posi- tion in time to arrest the enemy's further progress in this direction.

Colonel Johnson's position on my extreme right (known since as Fort Desperate) was vigorously attacked simultaneously with the as- sault upon the other portion of my line ; his whole force was less than three hundred (300) men. He was assailed by an overwhelm- ing force, but through the determined resistance and admirable marksmanship displayed by his men, he succeeded in driving the masses back, and compelling them to seek shelter among the fallen timber and ravines surrounding two sides of this work ; there they