Aly  regiment  moved  forward  with  the  others  of  the
brigade,  assembling  on  the  colors  as  far  as  it  was  possible
on  the  wa3%  until  in  ascending  the  steepest  part  of  the  slope,


Chattanooga  and  Mission  Ridge.  123

where  every  man  had  to  find  oc  clear  his  own  way  through
the  entanglement,  in  the  face  of  a  terrible  fire  of  musketry
and  artiller\^  the  men  of  the  different  regiments  of  the
brigade  became  generally  intermingled,  and  w^hen  the
brigade  finally  cro\vned  the  enem\''s  works  at  the  crest  of
the  ridge,  the  regimental  and  even  the  company  organiza-
tions had  become  completeh'  merged  in  a  crowd  of  gallant
and  enthusiastic  men,  who  swarmed  over  the  breastworks
and  charged  the  defenders  with  such  promptness  and  vigor
that  the  enemy  broke  and  fled,  leaving  their  artillery  "in
battery,"  and  barely  getting  away  a  portion  of  the  caissons
and  limbers.  Six  twelve-pounder  Napoleon  guns  \vere  thus
captured  by  our  brigade,  two  of  them  by  the  men  of  iny
regiment.
Hardly  had  a  lodgment  been  gained  in  the  works  when
the  enemy's  reserves  made  a  furious  counter-attack  upon
our  men,  yet  in  confusion.  This  attack  was  promptly  met
by  a  charge  en  masse  by  the  crowd,  virhich,  after  a  few
minutes  of  desperate  hand-to-hand  fighting,  cleared  the
ridge,  leaving  the  place  in  our  undisputed  possession,  with
between  two  and  three  hundred  prisoners  captured  in  the
melee.
The  captured  artillery  was  turned  tipon  the  retreating
enemy  and  manned  by  volunteei-s  from  the  different  regi-
ments, but  darkness  soon  closed  over  the  field  and  the  firing
ceased.
The  regiments  were  assembled,  and  after  collecting  and
caring  for  the  dead  and  wounded,  we  bivouacked  for  the
night.
