place one of great natural strength, and proceeded to fortify it. Lines were laid off by the engineer, Captain Kossak, and a very excellent parapet was constructed by the men in a style that elicited the approval of General Halleck. Men worked day and night, and as soon as it was done, and the dense trees and undergrowth cleared away in front, to give range to our batteries, Sherman directed his pickets to drive the enemy further back behind a large open field to his front and right. This was handsomely executed by the regular detail of picketguard, under the direction of the field officer of the day, Lieutenant-Colonel Loudon, of the Seventieth Ohio.

They remained in that intrenched camp until the night of the 27th, when Sherman received from Halleck an order by telegraph, "to send a force the next day to drive the rebels from the house in our front on the Corinth Road; to drive in their pickets as far as possible, and to make strong demonstrations on Corinth itself," authorizing him to call on any adjacent divisions for assistance. He asked General McClernand for one brigade and General Hurlbut for another, to coöperate with two brigades of his own division. Colonel John A. Logan's brigade, of General Judah's division of McClernand's reserve corps, and General Veatch's brigade, of Hurlbut's division, were

placed subject to Sherman's orders, and took part with his division in the operations of the two following days.

The house referred to by General Halleck was a double log building, standing on a high ridge on the upper or southern end of the large field before referred to as the one to which our pickets had advanced. The enemy had taken out the chinks and removed the roof, making it an excellent block-house from which, with perfect security, he could fire among our pickets. The large field was perfectly overlooked by this house, as well as by the ridge along its southern line of defense, which was covered by a dense grove of heavy oaks and underbrush. The main Corinth Road runs along the eastern fence, whilst the field itself, about three hundred yards wide by about five hundred yards long, extended to the right into the low land of Philip's Creek, so densely wooded as to be impassable to troops or artillery. On the eastern side of the field the woods were more open. The enemy could be seen at all times in and about the house and the ridge beyond, and our pickets could not show themselves on our side of the field without attracting a shot.

The problem was to clear the house and ridge of the enemy with as little loss as possible. To accomplish this, Sherman ordered General J. W. Denver,

with his brigade (Third), and the Morton battery of four guns, to march in perfect silence from our lines at eight A. M., keeping well under cover as he approached the field; General Morgan L. Smith's brigade (First), with Barrett's and Waterhouse's batteries, to move along the main road, keeping his force well masked in the woods to the left; Brigadier General Veatch's brigade to move from Hurlbut's lines through the woods on the left of and connecting with General M. L. Smith's and General John A. Logan's brigades, to move down to Bowie Hill Cut, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and thence forward to the left, so as to connect with General Denver's brigade, on the extreme right; all to march at eight A. M., with skirmishers well to the front; all to keep well concealed, and, at a signal, to rush quickly on to the ridge, thus avoiding, as much as possible, the danger of crossing the open field exposed to the fire of a concealed enemy. It was impossible beforehand to ascertain the force of the enemy, and nothing is more embarrassing than to make dispositions against a concealed foe occupying, as this was, a strong natural position.

The preliminary arrangements having thus been made, two twenty-four pound Parrot rifle guns, of Silversparre's battery, under the immediate supervision of Major Taylor, chief of artillery, were

moved silently through the forest to a point behind the hills, from the top of which could be seen the house and ground to be contested. The guns were unlimbered, loaded with shell, and moved by hand. to the crest. At the proper time Sherman gave the order to Major Taylor to commence firing and demolish the house, or render it decidedly uncomfortable to its occupants. About a dozen shells, well directed, soon accomplished this; then designating a single shot of the twenty-four pound Parrot gun of Silversparre as a signal for the brigades to advance, he waited till all were in position, and ordered the signal, when the troops dashed forward in fine style, crossed the field, drove the enemy across the ridge and field beyond into another dense and seemingly impenetrable forest. The enemy was evidently surprised, and only killed two of our men, and wounded nine. After he had reached the ridge, he opened on us with a two-gun battery on the right and another from the front and left, doing but little harm, but killing three of General Veatch's men. With the artillery, the rebel guns were soon silenced, and by ten A. M. the Union troops were masters of the position. Generals Grant and Thomas were present, and witnessed the movement, which was admirably executed, all the officers and men keeping their places like true soldiers.

Immediately throwing forward a line of skirmishers in front of each brigade, we found the enemy reënforcing his front skirmishers; but the woods were so dense as to completely mask his operations. An irregular piece of cleared land lay immediately in front of General Denver's position, and extended obliquely to the left, in front of and across Morgan Smith's and Veatch's brigades, which were posted on the right and left of the main Corinth Road, leading directly south. For some time it was doubtful whether the artillery fire had come from the enemy's fixed or field batteries, and Sherman intended to move forward at great hazard to ascertain the fact, when, about three P. M., our troops were startled by the rattle of musketry along their whole picket line, followed by the cheers and yells of an attacking column.

The artillery, and Mann's battery of Veatch's brigade, had been judiciously posted by Major Taylor, and before the yell of the enemy had died away arose their reply in the cannon's mouth. The firing was very good, rapid, well directed, and the shells burst in the right place. Our pickets were at first driven in a little, but soon recovered their ground and held it, and the enemy retreated in utter confusion. On further examination of the ground, with its connection on the left with General Hurlbut, and right resting on Bowie Hill Cut,