behavior of my men on this forced march, and their soldierly endurance of fatigue and exposure, and sometimes of hunger.

Lieut. H. Müller was constantly on duty, and always did his duty well.

The above is respectfully submitted.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

WM. WHEELER,

Captain, Commanding Thirteenth New York Battery.

Maj. T. W. OSBORN,

Chief of Artillery, Eleventh Corps.

No. 111.

Report of Lieut. Christopher F. Merkle, Battery G, Fourth U. S.

Artillery.

HDQRS. BATTERY G, FOURTH U. S. ARTILLERY,

Lookout Valley, Tenn., December 2, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to forward a report of the late battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn.:

I was ordered forward by Major Osborn, chief of artillery Eleventh Army Corps, on the 23d November, 1863, at 2.30 p. m., and took up my position about 1 mile west of Mission Ridge and facing toward it. I fired several shots, about 4 p. m. of the same date, at the rebel camp close to the ridge.

About 2 a. m. of the 24th instant, I was ordered forward to a new position, about one-half a mile closer to the ridge, by order of MajorGeneral Sheridan. Opened fire upon a strong rebel picket about 3 p. m. of the 24th instant. After having driven them from their sition I was ordered to shell a rebel camp within easy range close to the ridge.

po

About 2 p. m. of the 25th ultimo, I was ordered to move my battery forward to a new position, some 600 yards nearer to the ridge by order of Brigadier-General Wagner, in order to shell the woods, drive the rebels out of them, and assist in the charge, which was to take place at a given signal in general, with which I complied. After our forces were in possession of Mission Ridge I ceased firing and remained on the field till next morning, when I received orders to join the Eleventh Army Corps at Chickamauga Station without delay, by order of Major-General Thomas.

I expended 340 rounds of ammunition, viz: 206 solid shot, 52 shell, and 88 spherical-case shot.

Lieut. Richard Wilson, Third U. S. Artillery, the only officer I had with my battery, behaved gallantly, admirably, cool, and collected. The battery behaved well in general, especially First Sergt. William Leroy and Sergt. John Hunter.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

C. F. MERKLE, Second Lieutenant, Fourth U. S. Artillery, Comdg. Battery. Lieutenant FREEMAN,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

No. 112.

Reports of Brig. Gen. John W. Geary, U. S. Army, commanding Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps, with congratulatory orders.

HDQRS. SECOND DIVISION, TWELFTH ARMY CORPS,

Wauhatchie, Tenn., December 15, 1863. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit to Major-General Hooker commanding, the following report of the movements of my command in the campaign commencing on the 24th of November and terminating on the 1st of December, 1863, embracing the victorious actions on Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and on Taylor's Ridge, at Ringgold, Ga. :

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.

At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 24th of November, I received the order of Major-General Hooker to cross Lookout Creek and to assault Lookout Mountain, marching down the valley and sweeping every rebel from it.

Pursuant to your orders of the 22d November, my lines had been extended so as to cover the entire position previously maintained by the Eleventh Corps and by my own command, the line extending from the confluence of Lookout Creek and the Tennessee River on the left to the top of Raccoon Mountain on the right, the situation gained by the important movement of General Hooker on the 28th of October, and the action of the same night, in which a portion of this division participated, at Wauhatchie.

For the proper protection of these defenses, I disposed 200 of my grand guards, from various regiments of my First Brigade, along the creek from Wauhatchie Junction to the left of the Kelley's Ferry road, joined by the Twenty-ninth Ohio, Col. W. T. Fitch, and seven companies of the Fifth Ohio, Col. J. H. Patrick, on the left, and 130 of the grand guards on the right, with the One hundred and ninth Pennsylvania, Capt. F. L. Gimber, and the Seventy-eighth New York, Lieut. Col. H. Hammerstein, in reserve on the right. The grand guards were under the supervision of Lieut. Col. E. Powell, Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteers.

I moved my command, supplied with one day's rations and full complement of ammunition on persons of the men, in light marching order at daylight to Wauhatchie railroad junction, where, pursuant to your orders, Brig. Gen. W. C. Whitaker reported to me with six regiments of his brigade (Second of the First Division, Fourth Army Corps), numbering 110 officers and 1,355 men. The available force of my division in this column was 141 officers and 2,218 men, making an aggregate of 251 officers and 3,573 men.

I discovered that during the night the enemy had doubled his pickets along the creek, his line being numerically stronger than my immediate one by at least one-half, and they were within 50 yards of

each other.

Crossing the railroad at Wauhatchie Junction, my command was marched, under cover of a belt of timber, to a point back of an old mill, about 2 miles up the creek from its mouth, and massed behind a hill which effectually screened it from view from the mountain.

At this time drifting clouds enveloped the whole ridge of the

mountain top, and heavy mists and fogs obscured the slope from lengthened vision, and so continued until we reached the summit, lifting only momentarily at intervals during the assault. So impenetrable was this gloom around the enemy's localities, that the movement was so favored as to become a complete surprise to him. One section of Knap's (Pennsylvania) battery, under Lieutenant McGill, accompanied the column to the point of massing, but was returned and posted on a hill half way between the old mill and Bald Hill, under supervision of Maj. J. A. Reynolds, my chief of artillery, as it could prove of no service on the other side of the creek. The creek being too deep to ford, I sent my pioneers forward to bridge it, under cover of two companies of the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, who crossed, and were deployed on the other side without opposition. I decided to make my crossing at this point in preference to Davis' Mill, as originally intended, as I thereby was enabled to save much time in moving up the mountain. At the same time I sent a small detachment of the Sixty-sixth Ohio to make a demonstration on the path leading from near Davis' Mill up the mountain, thereby diverting the attention of the enemy on top in that direction. Considerable skirmishing occurred, and a large body of their troops was kept there in expectancy of our main attack at that place. I then assembled my brigade and field officers and enlightened them with the project before them, with instructions to communicate it to their company officers.

Simultaneous with the crossing of the skirmishers, our picket line, by previous arrangement, surprised, with sudden movement, the pickets of the enemy in their immediate front, and captured them without firing. A picket of 42 rebels, with 1 negro, surrendered at the crossing. Major Reynolds placed the two sections of Battery K, First Ohio Artillery (light 12-pounders), Lieutenant Sahm, on Bald Hill near the junction of the creek and river, and put two sections of Battery I, First New York Artillery, on a hill opposite Lookout Point and behind Bald Hill. One section of 20-pounder Parrotts, of Fourth Ohio Battery, was situated in the gap to the right, and one section of howitzers, of First Iowa Battery, commanded the approaches to the lower bridge from the hill on the right of the gap. Two sections of Knap's battery were located on an eminence to the left of the Kelley's Ferry road on the original line of defense, from which it commanded the sides of Lookout.

My column was moved to the creek, and began crossing the bridge at 8.30 a. m. with great celerity. The Second Brigade, Col. G. A. Cobham, jr., in advance, moved rapidly up the hill-slope by the right flank, in a direct line from the crossing to the wall of the crest, followed by the Third Brigade, Col. D. Ireland, which joined its left.

General Whitaker's brigade then crossed, and closely afterward the First Brigade, Col. C. Candy. My line of battle, as formed, faced to the front, was Cobham, with two regiments on the right; Ireland, with four regiments in the center; Candy on the left, in echelon, at about 30 paces interval to the troops on the right, with his Sixty-sixth Ohio and three companies of the Fifth Ohio, en échelon, as reserve. This constituted the front, covering the slopes from the mound of the crest to Lookout Creek. The Eighth Kentucky, Thirty-fifth Indiana, Ninety-ninth and Fortieth Ohio, respectively, in order from the right of Whitaker's brigade, formed the second line in support, about 350 yards to the rear of the front line, his right

́resting opposite Cobham's center. About 100 yards in rear of the supporting line were placed the Ninety-sixth Illinois and Fifty-first Ohio, also of Whitaker's brigade. This formation, with admirable maintenance of distances, was observed throughout the movement to the farthest point gained on the mountain, with the exception of necessary changes in Candy's attitude on the left.

The inclination of the mountain was from north by east to south by west. We swept the westerly slope from this point about 3 miles south of the dividing ridge between the east and west sides of the mountain known as Point Lookout.

A heavy line of skirmishers had been advanced, and covered the entire front throughout the day's movements, and the flanks were so intact that the supporting line was, by this guarded measure of the front, likewise perfectly secure from hostile demonstration on the part of the enemy, excepting from sharpshooters on the crest.

At shortly after 9 o'clock, the whole line moved forward, the right held by the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, kept in close contact with the rugged precipice of the summit, the necessity for which gradually swerved our advance in an oblique direction from the creek, which lengthened the line for cover on the left, so as to change Candy's formation, a mile after starting, from échelon to two lines. The left was instructed to govern its movements by those of the front line on the right, the extreme left resting near the creek, and the guide being the upper curvature of the mountain.

The right, center, and right of the left brigade made rapid headway over the very steep sides of the mountain, which sloped throughout its length at nearly an angle of 45°, and breaking into numerous successive ravines, varying from 50 to over 100 feet in depth, overcame, by clambering, almost perpendicular ascents and descents, with hands as well as feet, in many places. As the skirmishers had reported a hostile movement from above toward the flats, I took measures to obtain mastery of the enemy's rifle-pits at the base of the mountain, not far from the mouth of Lookout Creek, which resulted in their capture, and thus uncovered the fords where Colonel Grose's brigade, of Cruft's division, was to cross, as noted in your order, and the one near the mouth of the creek where Osterhaus was to come up in reserve.

After uncovering the fords, and the troops in reserve seen to have a footing, Candy's brigade was ordered forward at a "half wheel," and, for a convergence on the offensive point, swept up the mountain with celerity at an oblique angle to the main line, heading for Poirt, Lookout.

When the right and center had progressed 14 miles, the enemy' pickets were encountered, and, though they were well covered with natural defenses, my skirmishers at once engaged them and drov them back upon their main body, which was formed about 1 mile beyond, within a camp covering the whole plateau in front of the left of my right and my center, formidable in natural defense and seemingly impregnable with rocks, stone, and earth breastworks, surrounded with tangled slashings. These were the advanced works of a continuous net-work of fortifications, rugged, natural and artificial, irregular polygons, of the enemy, within which was Walthall's brigade of Mississippians, in battle array.

My skirmishers engaged them, and the whole line, with unbroken front and bayonets fixed, charged on the "double-quick" over obstructions which, without excitement, would have greatly impeded

them. The men were full of animation and enthusiasm, and, regardless of the active work of the sharpshooters in the gorges and from the crest, in the lucid intervals of the fog drifts, and of the heavy musketry in front, animated with rallying cheers of officers, they made a sudden and vigorous assault, Ireland's brigade and Cobham's One hundred and eleventh Pennsylvania closing in with the enemy, and the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, on the right, hurled themselves upon their flank with furious effort."

Our fire was delivered in continuous volleys while hotly pressing upon and encompassing the camp, and, with wall of steel, colors and men were over the works and hand to hand disputed the enemy's possession of them. The ardor of our men surprised and stultified the enemy, and we punished him severely in his irresolution. Walthall's men offered a sturdy but brief resistance, and when we closed with them they soon yielded and threw down their arms, pleading for protection. Our first success was gained in less than fifteen minutes after the lines became engaged.

Detachments, starting in flight, were checked by the fire from Reynolds' batteries beyond Lookout Creek, and they preferred capture to running the gauntlet of shells exploding with such precision in their retreating path. The whole brigade was ours, and its camp thickly strewn with rebel killed and wounded, small-arms, and equipage. The One hundred and forty-ninth New York here took three battle-flags, and the Sixtieth New York one, from the hands of the color bearers, during the fight. The prisoners were at once dispatched to the rear, to be disposed of by General Whitaker's command, which had enthusiastically cheered our onslaught and pressed on in support, eager to participate in it, but as the front had neither faltered nor halted, the opportunity was not offered. As Cobham's and Ireland's forces could not be weakened by detaching guards, the prisoners captured had therefore to be disposed of in this manner, and my wounded left for the attention of the ambulance corps, close in rear of the line.

At this time the rebel signal flag was active on a bench below the pinnacle of the mountain, but our onward progress soon compelled its withdrawal. All seemed influenced with the conviction that rapidity of action would conduce to corresponding success, and without halting upon the site of the victory, like a vast piece of machinery the column pressed eagerly forward in original formation, Ireland's colors ever in advance of the center. The obstructions now surmounted at every step, of ravines, precipices, immense bowlders, abatis, slashings, and carefully-constructed works, plainly showed the place could have been defended to great advantage by a small determined force, against heavily outnumbering assailants.

They did not intercept the speedy passage of the troops, who impulsively disregarded the necessary toil which, under ordinary circumstances, could have early exhausted them. With indomitable perseverance, they were carrying out the order to "sweep every rebel before them, moving with rapidity."

Sharpshooters were busy in secreted places in front, from which they were dislodged and mostly captured, and of those on the cliffs many were killed and wounded by sharpshooters on our side.

Stretching over a large plateau and down the mountain side toward the valley from the base of the precipitous rampart of rocks, which, like a promontory, bears the cloud-soaring peak of Point Lookout on its apex, was a systematically-arranged chain of fortifications, outer and inner, like a honey-comb.