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Numbers 29.
Report of Brigadier  General  Jeremiah C. Sullivan, U. S. Army, commanding  Second Brigade. 

HDQRS. SECOND Brigadier , THIRD DIV., ARMY OF THE MISS.,
Iuka, Miss., September 20, 1862.

 I have the honor to submit this report of the part the Second Brigade took in the battle of Iuka:

On the evening of the 18th I received orders to move the next morning at 5 o'clock on Tuscumbia road toward Iuka, to join in an attack on Major-General Price, who was encamped with the rebel army at that place. Leaving camp punctually at the time appointed we arrived within 1 1\2 miles to Iuka by 4 p. m., our advance brigade having been skirmishing with the enemy's pickets for over 6 miles. Halting at this point he First Brigade was formed in line of battle by General Hamilton, who was in advance, while the Second Brigade was halted on the road until a reconnaissance could be made of the ground to the left and a position obtained for the battery. Before a position could be selected the rebels opened a terrific fire along the entire front of our line, having approached us entirely unperceived, owing to the dense underbrush and broken character of the ground, and at the same time attempting to turn our position by an attack on both flanks.

I ordered Colonel Holmes, of the Tenth Missouri, to take position guarding our right flank, while Colonel Perczel, of the Tenth Iowa, with a section of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, was ordered to hold a road leading to our left and rear. (Their reports are herewith inclosed.) The position occupied by Colonel Holmes was so important and so effectually checked the enemy's advance on our right that their artillery fire was directed especially to that point. Although the enemy's fire enfiladed his line, the movements of his regiments in taking position were performed with as much precision as if on the drill ground. His officers and men are entitled to praise. Colonel Perczel with his command held the position assigned them and drove back a brigade of the rebels which was advancing to take possession of the road. He gallantly held his position and by his determined stand led the enemy to believe we were in strong force at that point and to desist from their attack.

Before the disposition of the regiments above mentioned could be made the rebels, by bringing a vastly superior force against the left wing of the First Brigade, had driven in the regiments, flanking Sands' battery and occupied a position commanding the battery, and were moving down the road with the intention of attacking the First Brigade in the rear. Forming a portion of the Eightieth Ohio and Seventeenth Iowa, which had been halted in the road, two volleys, rapidly delivered, checked the enemy's advance and drove them back to the brow of the hill. By this time portions of the Twenty-sixth Missouri Volunteers, Forty-eighth Indiana Volunteers, and Sixteenth Iowa Volunteers, whose colonels had all been seriously wounded, with a few of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteers, joined my command and fought bravely though the remainder of the action.

 General Hamilton at this time desired me to save Sands' battery, which was entirely disabled, every officer and cannoneer being either killed or wounded and all the horses killed. At the order to advance the men gave three cheers, and with a rush drove the enemy back out of the enemy back out of the battery down the hill and were yet advancing, when a murderous fire was opened on my flank by a regiment of sharpshooters, which lay concealed on my left in the woods. Ordering my men to fall back I reformed my line, which had become somewhat disorder. The rebels, taking heart at our supposed retreat, advanced with loud cheers, but were soon undeceived by a volley, followed by an order to charge, which again drove them below the brow of the hill. Receiving re-enforcements the rebels again advanced, but were held in check, when the Thirty-ninth Ohio, through a mistake, and without orders, fired a volley into the rear of my line, killing and wounding more than my whole loss prior to that time. By this time it was so dark that friends could not be distinguished from foes. The enemy improved this occasion to remove the guns from their position, but were not able to take them entirely off, and were compelled to leave the caissons in their original position. At 8 o'clock the firing ceased and the field of battle was ours. The position in which the battery was planted and which was so hotly contested was held by our troops.

 Lieutenant-Colonel Bartilson, of the Eightieth Ohio, together with his Adjutant, Joseph E. Philpott, were wounded early in the fight, when Major Lanning took command. The Seventeenth Iowa Regiment was without a field officer, and Captain Archer, the senior captain, soon fell, severely wounded, when Captain Young assumed command and did his duty nobly.

 Our troops labored under a great disadvantage, from want of knowledge of the ground, by being compelled to fight in the dense underbrush and in a position chosen by the enemy. The enemy attacked my position in vastly superior force, a fresh brigade of the rebels having been sent to relieve the troops first repulsed.

Lieutenant Immell, of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, is especially mentioned by Colonel Perczel, and I desire to recommend him to the favorable notice of the general commanding. I am also indebted to Captain  T. H. Harris, assistant adjutant-general; Lieutenant Jacobson, acting assistant commissary of subsistence, and Lieutenants Delahoyde and Buchanan, of my staff, for efficient service rendered on the field. They displayed a coolness under fire worthy of older soldiers. Lieutenant White, of the Forty-eighth Indiana and the assistant adjutant-general White, of the Forty-eighth Indiana and the assistant adjutant-general of Colonel Mower's brigade, who joined me, rendered valuable assistance.

The victory gained is sufficient evidence of the bravery of the men. The number of the dead and wounded is sufficient evidence of their devotion to our glorious cause. They are justly entitled to the highest praise, for a battle against such superior numbers and on such ground has not been fought in this war.

I inclose reports received from commanding officers of regiments, together with a list* of the killed, wounded, and missing of my brigade. The regiments of my brigade engaged were: Tenth Iowa, Colonel Perczel; Seventeenth Iowa, Captain Archer; Eightieth Ohio, Colonel bartilson, and one section of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, commanded by Lieutenant Immell.

I have the honor, captain, to be, yours, respectfully,

JER. C. SULLIVAN,
Brigadier-General.