While this skirmishing was going on, General Gilbert—­the corps commander—­whose headquarters were located on a hill about a mile distant to the rear, kept sending me messages by signal not to bring on an engagement.  I replied to each message that I was not bringing on an engagement, but that the enemy evidently intended to do so, and that I believed I should shortly be attacked.  Soon after returning to the crest and getting snugly fixed in the rifle-pits, my attention was called to our left, the high ground we occupied affording me in that direction an unobstructed view.  I then saw General A. McD.  McCook’s corps—­the First-advancing toward Chaplin River by the Mackville road, apparently unconscious that the Confederates were present in force behind the stream.  I tried by the use of signal flags to get information of the situation to these troops, but my efforts failed, and the leading regiments seemed to approach the river indifferently prepared to meet the sudden attack that speedily followed, delivered as it was from the chosen position of the enemy.  The fury of the Confederate assault soon halted this advance force, and in a short time threw it into confusion, pushed it back a considerable distance, and ultimately inflicted upon it such loss of men and guns as to seriously cripple McCook’s corps, and prevent for the whole day further offensive movement on his part, though he stoutly resisted the enemy’s assaults until 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

Seeing McCook so fiercely attacked, in order to aid him I advanced Hescock’s battery, supported by six regiments, to a very good position in front of a belt of timber on my extreme left, where an enfilading fire could be opened on that portion of the enemy attacking the right of the First Corps, and also on his batteries across Chaplin River.  But at this juncture he placed two batteries on my right and began to mass troops behind them, and General Gilbert, fearing that my intrenched position on the heights might be carried, directed me to withdraw Hescock and his supports and return them to the pits.  My recall was opportune, for I had no sooner got back to my original line than the Confederates attacked me furiously, advancing almost to my intrenchments, notwithstanding that a large part of the ground over which they had to move was swept by a heavy fire of canister from both my batteries.  Before they had quite reached us, however, our telling fire made them recoil, and as they fell back, I directed an advance of my whole division, bringing up my reserve regiments to occupy the crest of the hills; Colonel William P. Carlin’s brigade of Mitchell’s division meanwhile moving forward on my right to cover that flank.  This advance pressed the enemy to Perryville, but he retired in such good order that we gained nothing but some favorable ground that enabled me to establish my batteries in positions where they could again turn their attention to the Confederates in front of McCook, whose critical condition was shortly after relieved, however, by a united pressure of Gilbert’s corps against the flank of McCook’s assailants, compelling them to retire behind Chaplin River.