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mishers on the least alarm. Proceeding on his rounds, he had visited the post at the junction, and was returning, when a rapid firing was heard which seemed to be in the direction of the bridge, where the enemy lay. Riding forward, he soon ascertained that the firing, which soon ceased, was beyond his pickets. Returning to headquarters to report, he found the command under arms and in line. All soon becoming quiet, after half hour, the men were sent to their quarters. They were scarcely in, when firing again commenced and now in earnest; for the rebels, having watched from the secure heights of Lookout Mountain the movements of General Geary, thought to surprise and crush him by a night attack, and were now advancing in strong force without skirmishers. Colonel Rickards rode quickly to the out-post, and met his men falling back, but in good order, contesting the ground with great firmness and excellent effect, giving time for the main column to get into position. The One hundred and thirty-seventh New York was formed on the extreme left, One hundred and eleventh Pennsylvania on the right, One hundred and ninth Pennsylvania in the centre, and the One hundred and forty-ninth New York on the railroad bank at right angles with the right of the One hundred and ninth. The two Companies, C and G, of the Twenty-ninth, which had been driven in from the bridge, were posted to support the battery, and when the enemy made a strong demonstration on the right, were moved to the railroad bank. The attack was made with rebel impetuosity, and the men were falling rapidly, especially in the battery; the loss in horses was also very great, thirty-five being killed out of forty-eight. The sixty rounds of ammunition with which the men started was nearly exhausted, when the enemy made a fresh demonstration on the right, and gained possession of the railroad bank, from which they delivered a galling fire, all efforts to dislodge them proving fruitless. At this juncture a piece of the artillery was taken outside the railroad bank, at a crossing in the rear, which enfiladed the portion occupied by the enemy. In the absence of horses to move it, Companies C and G, of the Twenty-ninth grasped the prolongs and soon had it posted, when a few well directed shots sent the enemy from the sheltered position to which he had clung with such desperate pertinacity. This had a depressing effect upon him, for his fire soon slackened, and the White Stars remained masters of the field.* Companies A and F, under Lieutenant Coursault, held the wood on the right of the railroad, and prevented the enemy from gaining the rear, behaving with much discretion and bravery.

"Geary, meanwhile, had been fighting for three hours, without assistance, and, although at one time almost enveloped on three sides, finally succeeded in completely repelling the assault on his front. The moon shone fitfully into the valley, and the commands could often distinguish each other only by the flashes of their firearms. The strange echoes of the cannon among the hills, and the muttering of musketry from every quarter, alarmed the teamsters of Geary's wagon train, who deserted their mules, and in the darkness and noise the animals became more frightened than their drivers; they soon broke loose, and with their tackle dangling and rattling about their heels, rushed in a body directly towards the enemy. This augmented the confusion of the rebels, who supposed it to be an attack of cavalry, and their rout was rendered inglorious by the assistance of a pack of mules.-Military History of Grant. Badeau, pages 449 and 450.

The enemy had already turned our left flank and captured the wagon train. But this instead of a disaster was accounted a gain; for the enemy fell to plundering and was slaughtered in great numbers by the artillery which was immediately turned upon him. Lieutenant Colonel Zulick, of the Twenty-ninth, coming up soon after with a small force which he had collected, re-captured it and brought it to the rear. From the fact that the Twenty-ninth Regiment was distributed around the camp on the picket line, the loss was comparatively light, and was principally in the two Companies, C and G, picketing the road on which the enemy advanced. The loss was one killed, five wounded and one missing.

The conduct of this handful of men, struggling in the darkness, in tangled wilds, on unknown ground, against a powerful, veteran division of Longstreet's army, familiar with every foot of ground and rejoicing in a knowledge of the weakness of its foe, was most heroic. The personal bravery and skill of the commander was everywhere manifest, and his presence felt in every part of the line. Often amidst the darkness was his voice heard ordering up fresh troops, which never came; but at every order the men cheered the voice of their General most lustily, the deception producing the same effect upon the imaginations of foe as though the solid columns were actually moving forward and taking their places in the shattered lines. The battery, posted on a little knoll in the midst of the camp, did signal service, and was the special object of the enemy's fire, the rebel officers being repeatedly heard ordering their men to concentrate their fire upon it. "The men and officers of Knap's Battery," says Colonel Rickards, "acted nobly. Lieutenant Geary, son of our General, was killed at my side, shot through the brain at the instant he commenced fire after aiming his gun. His was a serious loss to the service; Captain Atwell was badly wounded in the hip and spine; most of the sergeants were killed or wounded. The infantry had sixty rounds of ammunition and none in the train. When this was expended the killed

and wounded were searched for a supply."

The attack was made by General Bratton of Longstreet's Corps, who on the evening previous, in company with Generals Polk, Longstreet, Breckinridge, Hood, Cheatham and Cleburne, from a lofty station on Lookout Mountain, had watched the progress of Geary's troops, and had planned a surprise which it was confidently anticipated would annihilate it. None but White Stars were engaged who proved themselves equal in this fiery ordeal to thrice their number of the enemy's best troops. The first firing of the pickets commenced at half past eleven P. M., and the struggle ended at half past two A. M. The firing ceased and the command immediately commenced fortifying their position.* Gen

The rebel authorities were greatly chagrined at this achievement, and their newspapers were full of lamentations. Mr. Jefferson Davis had visited Lookout Mountain only a week before, and feasted his eyes with the sight of the national army, shut up aruong the hills, like an animal ready for slaughter; and now, at a single stroke the prey had been snatched from his grasp. The door for relief was open, and from a be

eral Howard and staff soon after rode in, and at five o'clock Hecker's Brigade of Howard's Corps arrived. General Hooker came at nine, expressing much surprise at the evidence of the hard fighting. The rebel killed left on the field were one hundred and fifty-seven, and one hundred and thirty-five prisoners were taken, most of whom were wounded. Estimating the rebel wounded according to the usual ratio of killed to wounded, and their total loss could not have fallen much short of one thousand. The rebel forces engaged numbered five thousand strong, while the Union strength was only fourteen hundred and sixty-three, or little exceeding thirteen hundred muskets, a number not much above the loss of the enemy.

On the afternoon of the 29th, the regiment was relieved and marched to Wauhatchie Junction, being vigorously shelled on the way by the rebels on Lookout Mountain, but without effect except in the wounding of two mules. The shelling was continued until the 31st, when the brigade was ordered to take position and fortify a hill at the foot of Raccoon Mountain, on the right of the Kelly's Ferry road facing Lookout.

Lookout Mountain was still well fortified and firmly held by the enemy.

sieged and isolated army, the force in Chattanooga had suddenly become the assailant. It was Bragg who was now on the defensive.- Military History of Grant, Badeau, page 451.

The army felt as if it had been miraculously relieved. Its spirit revived at once, the depressior of Chickamauga was shaken off, and the unshackled giant stood erect.Military History of Grant, Badeau, page 452.

Extract from Major General Hooker's Report.

Headquarters, Eleventh and Twelfth Corps,
Army of the Cumberland,
Lookout Valley, Tennessee, November 6, 1863.

During these operations, a heavy musketry fire, with occasional discharges of artillery, continued to reach us from Geary. It was evident that a formidable adversary had gathered around him, and that he was battering him with all his might. For almost three hours, without assistance he repelled the repeated attacks of vastly superior numbers, and in the end drove them ingloriously from the field. At one time they had enveloped him on three sides, under circumstances that would have dismayed any officer except one endowed with an iron will and the most exalted courage. Such is the character of General Geary. With this ended the fight. We had repelled every attack, carried every point assaulted, thrown the enemy headlong over the river, and more than all, secured our new communications for the time being, peradventure. * The force opposed to us consisted of two of Longstreet's Divisions, and corresponded in numbers to our corps. From the prisoners we learn that they had watched the column as it descended the valley, and confidently counted on its annihilation. JOSEPH HOOKER. Major General Commanding.

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Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. 7, Docs., p. 584.

Extract from Major General Thomas' Report.

Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland,
Chattanooga, October 30, 1863.

The repulse by Geary's Division of greatly superior numbers, who attempted to surprise him, will rank among the most distinguished feats of arms of this

war.

GEORGE H. THOMAS, Major General Commanding.

Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. 7, Docs., p. 588.

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