September 14.

Sunday. Cannonading was heard in the direction of Harper’s Ferry and toward South Mountain. From Middletown we could see the firing on both sides, the enemy in the woods on the mountain and our artillery on the plains below.

The enemy had every advantage, their guns, posted on the hills, could pour down on us with good effect. But they kept gradually falling back until about noon. They then made a stand at a gap in the hills which they intended to hold, as they had placed sticks of wood against the fences to protect themselves from our bullets.

Immediately after, I saw Amos Cook. He looked first rate. Here we found the enemy had burned a bridge across a stream which we had to wade. Besides the bridge they burned a barn and dwelling-house. After crossing the river we were ordered to load. We went forward at a quick pace, every moment drawing nearing to the enemy.

We soon began to meet the wounded, some with one limb gone, and some with another. It was a horrid sight. We began to think our time had come for action. Pretty soon we came up with Cook’s 8th Battery from Boston17 stationed on a hill firing at the rebels in the woods opposite. We lay beside them for a few minutes when we were ordered forward ‘double quick.’ We could now hear the sharp rattle of the musketry.

We went forward at this rate about half a mile when the bullets began to whistle pretty thick. We formed in line in a corn-field close by. Afterwards we had the order to march by file right, around to a crossroad not much traveled. There we found the rebs entrenched in a deep cut of the road and behind walls and fences. We were ordered to drive them from their places and out of the woods, by a bayonet charge. We charged across the fields and drove them from the road, but when within two or three rods of a fence, they rose from behind it and poured a whole volley into us, and fled to the woods, we following as close as we could. We drove them until we lost sight of them, when we turned back to our brigade.