We went into camp near where Sherman was forming his lines. The rebels were keeping up a constant firing from their guns. Our cavalry cut off a train of ammunition belonging to the rebels, and then they blew up three carloads of their powder and fixed shell to keep us from capturing it. This made a terrible explosion.
On the morning of the 11th, General Hovey’s division had orders to take our position in the line of battle. Our regiment, the 24th Indiana, went in advance. After a march of three miles we ran into a body of rebels, posted in the edge of the timber, a mile from their fortifications. Part of our battalion moved out through the timber and looked for a road to move out and flank them. We drove their pickets in and returned to regiment to await reinforcements.
Soon a battery came up and unlimbered. They fired several shots at the rebels at the top of the hill. We then formed in line of battle and had quite a skirmish before the rebels fell back. We moved up to open field which was planted to corn, and just in good roasting ears. We could see the enemy going in double quick time for their fort as our batteries were pouring their shell into them. Our division moved down near the railroad and halted. At 5 p. m. the rebels opened fire on us with several large guns, making it pretty hot for us. This firing lasted until night. The shells cut through all parts of our lines. We lay here all night without any thing to eat and with no protection from shot and shell, as this was a comparatively level country.
On the morning of the 12th we again fell in line and moved up within two hundred and fifty yards of their main fortification. It was built of cotton bales and earth and made a strong fort. A deep ditch was on the outside.
Here we had some sharp fighting. We were in some black oak bushes and the bullets and shells, as they passed through, made all sorts of noises. At 2 p. m., General Lawman’s division came up and formed on our right. General Lawman, without orders charged the enemy. He got within twenty yards of their strong works, but they were reinforced and drove Lawman’s brave boys back with a heavy loss of four hundred, the most of them killed outright. Lawman’s command was taken from him and the division was placed under our general, A. P. Hovey.
On the morning of the 13th, the rebel cavalry had captured our pioneer train. They tried to burn our tools, but our cavalry drove them off and saved part of them. They were soon brought up and distributed, a pick and two shovels to the company.
We soon got busy and fair earthworks were thrown up. You cannot find many lazy soldiers where the bullets are cutting as close as they did there. While one of the boys was lying on top of the pit, a piece of shell struck him some place in the rear and tore all the hind part of his pants off. Another boy in Company B was hit in the shoulder.
We had just finished our breastworks when all of the rebel batteries in front of us got range of us and shelled us like fury until darkness set in.
As we had had nothing to eat since the morning of the 12th, each company had three men detailed to go back one mile in the rear and pack up rations for the regiment. These men would come running back to our rifle pits, loaded down with camp kettles, filled with coffee and roasting ears. We were glad to see them coming for we all had good appetites.
On the morning of the 14th the smell of our dead comrades near the rebel works became so bad that they could bear it no longer. They sent a flag of truce and requested a few hours in which to cover the dead which fell in Lawman’s charge of the 12th. They had refused to let us get near their works to bury our dead. We had carried off a part of our wounded at night, but many of them had perished. They were in the troops from Illinois.