supplied by Mercer's, then by Walthall's, and then by Govan's brigades. General Brown, as senior officer, was directed to take charge of the defence of that portion of the mountain occupied by my troops.
On the 9th instant the enemy, formed in column of divisions, made a heavy assault upon the angle in Pettus' line. The fight was obstinate and bloody, but resulted in a complete success to us. For details I would refer you to the reports of Generals Brown and Pettus. In the mean time, the enemy had advanced his sharpshooters close upon the line of Brown's brigade on the mountain, and Reynold's and Cumming's in the valley. Soon after the assault upon Pettus, the enemy manœuvred considerably in the valley, and seemed at one time disposed to assault the position of Generals Cumming and Reynolds. In front of General Cumming he appeared several times in line of battle, but was checked by the fire of skirmishers, and of those guns of Major J. W. Johnston's battalion of artillery that could be brought to bear upon him. From this time until we retired from the position, there was constant skirmishing, first along my whole line, and later mainly in front of Brown's and Pettus' brigades.
On the night of the 13th instant, agreeably to orders, I vacated my position and took up the line of march for Resaca. On the morning after my arrival near this place, I took up position in two lines north of Resaca, and immediately upon the right of the Resaca and Dalton road. I was soon afterwards ordered to connect with Major-General Hindman on the left of the Resaca road, and, for this purpose, moved two regiments across the road. Cumming and Brown were in my front line, Pettus being the second line to the former and Brown to the latter. During the morning there were several attacks upon General Hindman, and in my front the sharpshooters of the enemy obtained positions which entirely enfiladed portions of Cumming's line. The men were sheltered as well as possible by such defences as they could construct of logs and rails, but still suffered severely. The fire of these sharpshooters upon the artillery, some pieces of which were advanced in front of the line of General Cumming, was particularly destructive, and amongst the wounded was the brave Major J. W. Johnston, the battalion commander.
About five o'clock that evening, agreeably to orders, I commenced a movement to dislodge the enemy from the high points of the ridge some distance in front of General Cumming. Brown and his
