Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 16.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Sir,—Major J. C. Rogers and Captain J. S. Cleveland having been wounded in the actions of the 19th and 20th instant, the former upon the first day, and the latter upon the last day, the duty devolves upon me therefore to make the report of the part taken by the Fifth Texas regiment in the late engagement. I have the honor therefore to submit the following: [382]

At 3 o'clock P. M. Saturday, the Fifth Texas regiment, under the command of Major Rogers, being in line of battle, was ordered forward through a thick wood on a side hill, and just before we struck the flat some of our men were struck down by the shells of the enemy, but we pressed forward, and on the edge of the woods, bordering the road to Chattanooga, we encountered the enemy in force. They delivered but one volley, and fell back across the road. The regiment pressed them and urged them into a field, across which they fled. The enemy up to this time were in possession of this entire field; but where the Fifth Texas engaged them, the woods extended much farther out in the direction of the enemy than it did upon our immediate right or left, and we were thus covered by the timber in our advance some two hundred yards further forward than our friends on our flanks. Our numbers being thus hid from the view of the enemy, the impression prevailed among them, both upon the right and left of us, that they were flanked, and after delivering a feeble fire into our flanks they fled across the field to the cover of the woods beyond, and it was with the greatest difficulty that our men could be held back from their pursuit. After a time Major Rogers, assisted by Captain Cleveland, succeeded in getting the regiment in line on the side of a ravine running near and parallel to the field. Here we remained for one hour or more, the enemy giving us occasional volleys from their small arms, and throwing over us charge upon charge of grape and canister. We held them in check, preventing any forward movement in our immediate front or flanks, and we thus remained until ordered to fall back, Major Rogers having sent repeatedly in the meantime to notify our friends upon our left of our position. After falling back some two hundred and fifty yards we were halted, and in a short time the enemy advanced and showed themselves about fifty yards off. Major Rogers ordered us to charge, and we threw ourselves upon them at a run, the enemy falling back in great disorder. The men followed the fleeing enemy to a ravine in the field, the brave Major Rogers all the time urging them forward, until he saw that our friends had failed to come up upon our right and left, when the order was reluctantly given to fall back. We were here exposed in going in and returning to an incessant shower of grape and canister from a battery on the opposite side of the field. It was in falling back from this field to our original position that the gallant Major Rogers fell from a severe wound, and the regiment is thus deprived for a time of the services of one of its best officers. In this last charge the regiment sustained [383] its greatest loss in men and officers. On falling back, under cover of the woods, Captain Cleveland reformed the regiment, and ordered Lieutenant Fuller forward with some twelve or fifteen men, who held the ground until our wounded were removed. This was about 6 o'clock, and we were ordered back some hundred and fifty yards, where we lay in line of battle until the next morning, September 20th, 1863.

At daylight on this morning (20th) we were aroused and remained drawn up in line for some time, when we were moved by the right flank about half a mile, where we were held in line of battle until about 10 o'clock A. M., when we were ordered to lay down to allow Polk's corps to pass over us to the front, but they never appeared on that portion of the field. We remained thus until about 11 o'clock A. M., a spirited fire being kept up upon our right and left, when we were ordered up and forward, there being, as we were told, two lines of battle (Confederate) in front. Captain Cleveland, previous to our advance, addressed a few encouraging words to the regiment and placed himself in front of the colors, where he remained as long as I saw him. We were moved forward in quick time across a wooded flat, and before we gained the hill beyond the enemy hailed down upon us a perfect shower of shot and shell; but we pressed forward and, just after crossing a small field, we found the enemy's first line of breastwork, but we encountered no one here, the enemy having fled precipitately. About three hundred yards further on we crossed the Chattanooga road, and, on entering a thicket beyond, we were hid for a time from the rest of the brigade, and here an order came from our right to fall back, and Captain Cleveland, supposing it was a general order, commanded us to fall back, and the regiment dropped back about a hundred yards, but, failing to see that our left had done so, he halted us, and had just got us in line, when an order came from General Robertson for the regiment to press forward. The regiment soon pressed forward, and by the time we had entered the field beyond the road before mentioned, the balance of the brigade, assisted by a portion of the Fifth, had run over and captured a battery on our left. We were advancing rapidly across this field to rejoin our brigade when we received a fire into our right flank, the enemy being in the woods to our right. The regiment immediately made a right half wheel, and fired a volley which proved so fatal that they scattered and fled. Captain Cleveland, taking the flag and a portion of the regiment, moved off and joined the brigade, and just as he reached the woods upon the heights, the brigade commenced [384] to fall back, recrossing the field, and, in doing so, this gallant officer received a severe wound in the fleshy part of the thigh. When Captain Cleveland moved off to join the brigade, he left me and some twenty-five or thirty officers and men to hold in check the enemy that were then making their appearance in this quarter. This we did, and, at the same time, drove a body from their breastworks near by, causing them to set fire to them and their knapsacks. We here took several prisoners, and three pieces of artillery. The artillery we held until the Eighth South Carolina came up and a brigade was brought up by General Law, when we were ordered to join our brigade on the left. I was then put in command of the regiment, and we were shortly moved to the right, where we were held until nearly night, when we were carried forward to the left, and our brigade took possession of the heights, relieving General Kershaw's brigade, the enemy, in the meantime, evacuating the field. We had one officer killed and seven wounded, twelve noncommissioned officers and privates killed, eighty non-commissioned officers and privates wounded, and twelve missing, making our total loss, in killed, wounded and missing, one hundred and twelve, a list of which has already been furnished.