General M. P. Loivrey. 373
I had to form in one rank and continue the line further to the right. The next day, the first of September, having been deprived of Lee's corps, we fought the enemy five or six to one and held him in check all day. I, with Cleburne's division, occupied the extreme right. On the evening of that day the enemy moved in overwhelming force to turn our right flank. The movement was discovered by General Hardee, and he came to me in person, manifesting more excitement than I ever saw him at any other time, and told me that he had ordered additional forces to report to me, and for me to select a line and put them in position at once. I saw the necessity of retiring the right of the line, so as to form a crescent, so as to deceive the enemy by making them think they had found our skirmish line, and driving them back they would come upon the abatis and form for a desperate attack on our main line. Finding this but a skirmish line they would have to form again, and be thus detained until night, thus favoring us with an opportunity to retire. The plan worked well, and the result was that they did not find our right flank at all. This plan saved us that day. We retired that night to Lovejoy station, and I continued in command of the division about a week. The evening of the 2d, at Lovejoy, the enemy assaulted the position of the line occupied by my old brigade and were handsomely repulsed with considerable loss.
There is nothing else worthy of notice in my military history until the beginning of active service in the campaign into Middle Ten- nessee. When the enemy began the retreat from the vicinity of Columbia, Tennessee, a large portion of our army crossed Duck river, at Davis* ford, five miles above Columbia. My brigade crossed first early on the morning of the 2Qth of November, and moved in ad- vance all day. We moved to intercept the enemy at Spring Hill, but were compelled to move cautiously, for we were expecting con- tinually to meet the enemy. The enemy made one bold demonstra- tion on our moving columns in the evening, I suppose for the purpose of detaining us. General Hood was with me in person a good part of the day, and directed me to attack the enemy wherever I found him, without regard to his numbers or position. Late in the even- ing General Forrest attacked the enemy at Spring Hill, and I moved rapidly to his assistance. The enemy had moved out one mile from the village, and had made strong breastworks of fence rails, and occupied a strong position, from which the cavalry had failed to move him. The moment I arrived on the ground I formed line and moved
