As night closed in, I ordered General Jeff.  C. Davis to keep one of his brigades at the bridge, one close up to my position, and one intermediate.  Thus we passed the night, heavy details being kept busy at work on the intrenchments on the hill.  During the night the sky cleared away bright, a cold frost filled the air, and our camp-fires revealed to the enemy and to our friends in Chattanooga our position on Missionary Ridge.  About midnight I received, at the hands of Major Rowley (of General Grant’s staff), orders to attack the enemy at “dawn of day,” with notice that General Thomas would attack in force early in the day.  Accordingly, before day I was in the saddle, attended by all my staff; rode to the extreme left of our position near Chickamauga Creek; thence up the hill, held by General Lightburn; and round to the extreme right of General Ewing.

Catching as accurate an idea of the ground as possible by the dim light of morning, I saw that our line of attack was in the direction of Missionary Ridge, with wings supporting on either flank.  Quite a valley lay between us and the next hill of the series, and this hill presented steep sides, the one to the west partially cleared, but the other covered with the native forest.  The crest of the ridge was narrow and wooded.  The farther point of this hill was held-by the enemy with a breastwork of logs and fresh earth, filled with men and two guns.  The enemy was also seen in great force on a still higher hill beyond the tunnel, from which he had a fine plunging fire on the hill in dispute.  The gorge between, through which several roads and the railroad-tunnel pass, could not be seen from our position, but formed the natural place d’armes, where the enemy covered his masses to resist our contemplated movement of turning his right flank and endangering his communications with his depot at Chickamauga Station.

As soon as possible, the following dispositions were made:  The brigades of Colonels Cockrell and Alexander, and General Lightburn, were to hold our hill as the key-point.  General Corse, with as much of his brigade as could operate along the narrow ridge, was to attack from our right centre.  General Lightburn was to dispatch a good regiment from his position to cooperate with General Corse; and General Morgan L. Smith was to move along the east base of Missionary Ridge, connecting with General Corse; and Colonel Loomis, in like manner, to move along the west bank, supported by the two reserve brigades of General John E. Smith.

The sun had hardly risen before General Corse had completed his preparations and his bugle sounded the “forward !” The Fortieth Illinois, supported by the Forty-sixth Ohio, on our right centre, with the Thirtieth Ohio (Colonel Jones), moved down the face of our hill, and up that held by the enemy.  The line advanced to within about eighty yards of the intrenched position, where General Corse found a secondary crest, which he gained and held.