Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 10.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[180] the enemy from my part of the hill, turning that portion of their right flank which occupied the barren hill in front of the troops of our own brigade, on my right, and thereby assisting them in gaining the hill in their front. In this charge a portion of one of the Texas regiments joined me (the First Texas) and behaved well. After gaining the hill I continued to move forward, driving the enemy before me at a rapid rate, capturing between one hundred and forty and two hundred prisoners, including officers as well as men. I had gone on rapidly from the top of the hill between a quarter and a half mile ahead of the other portion of our brigade, which I found had halted at the top of that portion of the hill in their front, when I discovered a large body of the enemy moving so as to put themselves between me and the troops on my left and in my rear, and thereby cut me off entirely from support. As soon as I saw the danger to which I was exposed I ordered a halt, and also ordered my regiment to fall back.

I fell back to the stone fence before referred to, and there very soon arranged my line and fought the enemy in this position until I saw the troops on my left getting ready for another charge. I at once ordered my regiment to charge, which they did well, driving the enemy from their position. The troops on my left then fell back to their original position and the enemy commenced advancing upon my left. I took a small party of men, threw them out as skirmishers on the left and drove back the enemy's advance, but very soon a heavy column of the enemy came upon my left flank, drove in the skirmishers, and not being supported on the left in that position, I fell back again to my original position, and continued the fight at this point until I received a message from the commander of the troops on my left, stating that he was going to charge the enemy again, and desired me to do the same on my part of the line, which proposition I agreed to at once, and immediately ordered my regiment forward, and again did they obey my order with alacrity and courage, driving the enemy this time entirely out of the woods in my front. I then changed the front of my line so as to fire upon the enemy in the open field at the foot of the mountain on my right. In this position my line was almost at a right angle with the line of the brigade. I placed them in this position so as to assist the troops on the left, who had followed the retreating column of enemy, and were then attempting to charge a portion of the mountain height. I ordered my men to pour in a heavy fire upon the enemy as soon as the troops on the left commenced falling back, as I thought they would have to do, and thereby protect their retreat as much as possible. This they did very effectually. I remained in this position