by Charles Johnston

“ He then goes into an account of the fight, but from his account it would appear that the affair was a very slight one indeed, whereas the truth was that upon that same 29th September, Richmond came nearer being captured, and that, too, by negro troops, than it ever did during the whole war, and but for the devotion and bravery of two decimated brigades, Bushrod Johnson's old Tennessee brigade and the Texas brigade, consisting of about three hundred (300) men each, the Yankees must have carried everything before them and captured Richmond. ”

“ This fort the Yankees captured and kept possession of. "Fort Harrison" was one of a series of forts running from "Chaffin's Bluff" almost entirely around Richmond, and connected by earthworks for infantry, with a redoubt for field artillery wherever the nature of the ground admitted. This line of earthworks was laid out by regular engineers, and (as far as I was a judge) showed that the men who built them understood their business.
After the capture of "Fort Harrison," our troops were formed upon the same line of works, but of course a new line had to be formed in front of "Fort Harrison." ”

“ The enemy came rather cautiously at first, but finally they came with a rush, our artillery firing shrapnel at first, but they soon begun to load with canister, and the way those negroes fell before it was very gratifying to the people on our side of the works. But the Yankees came on until they got to the ditch in front of "Fort Gilmer"—a dry ditch about ten (10) feet deep and twelve (12) feet wide. Into this ditch a great many of the negroes jumped, and endeavored to climb up on each other's shoulders, but were beaten back by our infantry, and almost all of them killed. ”