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of the Nineteenth infantry, fell in the last charge.
His loss is irreparable.
Many other gallant officers were lost.
Of the batteries of Guenther and Loomis I cannot say too much.
Loomis was Chief of Artillery for the Third division, and I am much indebted to him. His battery was commanded by Lieutenant Van Pelt.
Guenther is but a Lieutenant.
Both of these men deserve to be promoted, and ought to be at once. Without them we could not have held our position.
I fell in with many gallant regiments and officers on the field, not of my command.
I wish I could name all of them here.
While falling back to the line in the open field, I saw Colonel Charles Anderson gallantly and coolly rallying his men. Colonel Grider, of Kentucky, and his regiment, efficiently aided in repulsing the enemy.
The Eighteenth Ohio, I think it was, though I do not know any of its officers, faced about, and charged the enemy in my presence, and I went along with it. The Eleventh Michigan, and its gallant little Colonel (Stoughton), behaved well, and the Sixth Ohio infantry, Colonel Nick Anderson, joined my command on the right of the regular brigade, and stood manfully up to the work.
I fell in with the Louisville legion in retreat, Lieutenant-Colonel Berry commanding.
This regiment, though retreating before an overwhelming force, was dragging by hand a section of artillery which it had been ordered to support.
A part of General McCook's wing of the army had fallen back with the rest, but through the woods and fields, with great difficulty, bravely brought off the cannon it could no longer defend on the field.
When I met it, it faced about and formed line of battle with cheers and shouts.
To Lieutenant McDowell, my acting Assistant Adjutant-General; Lieutenant Armstrong, Second Kentucky cavalry; Lieutenant Millard, Nineteenth United States infantry, Inspector-General; Captain Taylor, Fifteenth Kentucky, and Lieutenant Alf.
Pirtle, Ordnance Officer, my regular Aids, and to Captain John D. Wickliffe and Lieutenant W. G. Jenkins, both of Second Kentucky cavalry, Aids for that battle, I am much indebted for services on that field.
The wounded were kindly and tenderly cared for by the Third Division Medical Director, Surgeon Muscroft, and the other surgeons of the command.
Lieutenant McDowell was wounded.
My Orderlies, James Emery and the rest, went through the whole fight behaving well.
Emery was wounded.
Lieutenant Carpenter, First Ohio volunteer infantry, one of my Aids, was so badly injured by the fall of his horse that I would not permit him to go on the field.
Lieutenant Hartman, Seventy-ninth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, a member of my staff, was ill with fever, and unable to leave his bed.
It should be mentioned that the Eighty-eighth Indiana, Colonel Humphreys, being placed at one of the fords on Stone River where our forces were temporarily driven back, very opportunely rallied the stragglers, and promptly crossed the river and drove the enemy back.
In this he was aided by the stragglers, who rallied and fought well.
The Colonel was wounded by a bayonet thrust in the hand in the attack of Saturday night on the enemy in the woods in our front.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
Lovell H. Rousseau, Major-General.
Brigadier-General Palmer's report.
headquarters Second division, left wing, camp near Murfreesboro, January 9, 1863.
Major L. Starling, Chief of Staff:
Major: I have the honor to submit, for the information of the General commanding, the following report of the operations of this division, from and including the twenty-seventh of December up to and including the fourth of January:
At 11.20 A. M., on the twenty-seventh of December, while in camp near Lavergne, I received orders to move forward, following the division of General Wood, and to detach a brigade to proceed by the Jefferson pike and seize the bridge across Stewart's Creek.
The duty of conducting this operation was assigned to Colonel Hazen--which was well and skilfully done.
The brigades of Cruft and Grose reached the west bank of Stewart's Creek late in the afternoon of the twenty-seventh, and bivouacked there until the morning of the twenty-ninth.
During all the day, Sunday, the twenty-eighth, the enemy's pickets were in sight across the creek, firing upon us occasionally at long range, but did us no harm.
On Monday morning, twenty-ninth of December, at nine o'clock, I was ordered to deploy one regiment as skirmishers; to dispose of my other troops so as to support it, and move forward at ten o'clock precisely and continue to advance until the enemy were found in position.
This disposition was made.
A few minutes before ten o'clock, Parsons was ordered to shell the woods to our front, and at ten o'clock Grose's brigade moved forward, skirmishing with the enemy, supported by the First brigade, Hazen not having yet joined me.
The command advanced steadily, driving the light force of rebel skirmishers before it to the top of the hill, some mile and a half this side of Stewart's Creek, and being under the impression that the divisions of Wood and Negley were to advance with me.
In a few moments Wood's advance came up on the left of the pike and the two divisions moved forward, constantly skirmishing (though much heavier on Wood's front than my own) to the ground occupied that night, afterward the theatre of battle of the thirty-first.
During the day the casualties were ten wounded in Grose's brigade, none severely.
On the morning of the thirtieth, my division was formed as follows: Third brigade (Grose's) in two lines, the left resting on the pike; First Major L. Starling, Chief of Staff:
