The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-12
SKETCH OF SEMPLE'S BATTERY;
 ITS RECORD IN THE GREAT WAR

 1 twenty minutes when the enemy ceased firing.
 | Major Hotchkiss in charge of the | artillery who was present ordered CaPt.
 Semple to cease firing, and m tew
 minutes discovered the enemy 10 pc | lretreating when he gave us an order | to give them a few rounds of solid | shot. During the duel there was no other fighting between the two armies. The enemy's main force had retreateu
 and that battery was covering theT rear guard. After they were gone
 Major Hotchkiss sent forward de- | tachment to feel for the enemy ana observe results of the action. ser
 geant Blount. of SempIe's Battery. with a squad went forward. On their re- turn they reported the cnemys JOSS to be two caisons blown up. seventeen horses and several men dead on the ground. In a few minutes General Bragg and his staff, Generals Buckner and Cleburne came to the battery ana |complimented Captain Semple and men for their victory ever the enemy. Our loss in this engagement was one man wounded (Charles Pinckston). and one horse killed. We were then ordered back on the ridge at Lafayette. The next day General Braggs army engaged in the battle of Chickamauga Creek General Cleburne's Division moved up the creek by forced march through the woods all day, arriving
 near the extreme right Of the army
 about half an hour by sun and | Immediately went into the battle* The battery followed the infantry close up, crossing a field about three nun
 dred yards on the opposite side or which the enemy was in position. be- hind works built of rails and logs. Col. Lowery's regiment was in front
 and he displayed the greatest courage,
 riding up in line with his men. encour-
 a ing them with his hat in his hand. The men loaded and fired as they
 steadily advanced. and when in about
 one hundred yards of the enemy's | lines they raised the rebel yell and
 charged the works The enemy re-
 treated through heavy timber about
 dark. Semple's Battery was then
 brought on the firin line and shelled
 the retreating enemy few rounds. | The army bivouaced for the night
 with orders to advance at dawn Sun
 day morning. Our loss In this en- gagement was two men slightly
 wounded and two horses wounded. The | writer was one of the wounded. For some reason the army did not | move the next day until about 10 a.
 m.. Semple's Battery followed the 18th
 Alabama into the fight. and when In
 about three hundred yards of the ene-
 my, was halted in a dense thicket and
 put into action. The 18th Alabama de- ployed to the right just enough to
 clear a range for the battery, and then charged the enemys works. After the | battery had been firing about twenty minutes the order was given to cease firing. About that time one of the enemy's batteries t our range and | fired, solid rhot, shell and schrapnel | for half an hour wounding eight or fnf h ha4 h. CT. Pinckston, King and others), and
 several horses were killed and wound ed. Lieut.. Douds horse was killed The enemy's shot cut down trees and
 branches of trees all around us. We did not reply as our orders were to fire on infantry only. As the enemy could not see us for the underbrush they ceased firing. Captain Semple
 had no orders to move SO the battery
 remained in position with the battle
 raging to our right and left. We could not see the enemy but were in
 four hundred yards of their lines. After being in that position about an hour awaiting orders General Gle burne came to us alone without any escort. and had the battery to fall back to where the brigade of General Wood was reforming. When General Cle- burne came up he told us to move back quietly, as there was no troops be-
 
 got back to where the division was re-
 forming, the order was soon given to forward at double quick. In few minutes our infantry engaged the ene- my General Cleburne ca e up to Captain Semple and told him to move to the left a short distance and put the battery on a small knoll. General
 CIeburne dismounted from his horse and went to each of our gunners and directed them to fire on the retreat ing enemy in column across an open ing about half a mile from us in the direction of Chattanooga. Cleburne's Division routed the enemy from their works in our immediate front, and took possession of them. In few minutes all firing ceased, and for about two minutes there was complete silence. Then came the grandest Rebel yell heard during the war lasting ten min
 utes or more. The day had ended in complete victory for the Southern ar mics.
 The army then camped for the night. Monday and Tuesday was spent caring for the wounded and burying the dead. Wednesday General Bragg moved on
 Chattanooga and found the place
 strongly fortified. and did not make
 any attack, but drew his army up on Missionery Ridge and stayed there
 until December. The latter part or December or first part of January General Grant made an assault on the
 ridge and drove General Braggs army off Semple's Battery was placed at the bridge across Chickamauga Creek with orders to hold it against all odds until night, which we did, only leav- ing after the last of our forces had passed over on the retreat. Before leaving the bridge we burned both ends and the main structure fell into the creek, we retreated about mile and camped for the night. At day
 break Cleburne's Division formed a hollow square. with the battery in the center at Chickamaugo station and stayed there until night to cover the retreat of our wagon trains the last of which passed over the ridge in the di- rection of Ring Gold Gap, to which place General Cleburne now moved his division.
 Next morning after all the wagons had passed through the gap. General Cleburne placed two guns the left sec tion of Semples Battery, in the narrow
 defile of the gap. He had the men
 to cut bushes and mask the guns. and
 placed the horses behind the shelter
 ing rocks in the pass. and had the men
 to lie flat on the ground at the guns,
 while he and Captain Goldthwaite kept
 watch. In a short time the enemy ap-
 peared in about two hundred and fifty yards of the gap. and General Cleburne ordered us io give chem double charges
 of canister. which we did for about ten minutes, when he ordered us to cease
 firing. As the smoke cleared away we
 discovered that the enemy had fallen
 flat on the ground. General Cleburne