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General HUMPHREYS:

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,
July 9, 1864. (Received 1.40 p. m.)

We are very much in need of sand-bags; where shall I apply for them? It is of the utmost importance that we have more heavy artillery if we remain in our present line.

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HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
July 9, 1864-2.15 p. m.

Major-General BURNSIDE,

Commanding Ninth Corps:

GENERAL: The major-general commanding directs me to reply to your dispatch that sand-bags are furnished upon requisition of the engineer officer on Brigadier-General Benham, at City Point, approved by the acting chief engineer of the army, and that siege artillery is sup plied upon the recommendation of the chief of artillery, approved by the commanding general of the army; that at present the additional heavy artillery you have asked for cannot be furnished.

A. A. HUMPHREYS, Major-General and Chief of Staff.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
July 9, 1864-2.45 p. m.

Major-General BURNSIDE,

Commanding Ninth Corps:

GENERAL: My dispatch of 2.15 p. m. should have explained further that since it is intended that the operations against the enemy's intrenchments shall be by regular approaches, the batteries and other works of the adjoining fronts must be determined by the wants of both, and that under the existing circumstances it is considered best by the commanding general that no more siege batteries should be established unless in conformity to the approved plans of the whole siege works. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Major-General and Chief of Staff.

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,
July 9, 1861-2.45 p. m.

Major-General HUMPHREYS,

Chief of Staff:

Your dispatch received. I have no engineer officer. The one I had Captain Harwood, has been relieved upon my own request, because of his indisposition to personally superintend his work upon my line, in trusting it to enlisted men. Will the sand-bags be furnished upon my personal requisition? My men are being killed and wounded hour for the want of them.

A. E. BURNSIDE,
Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
July 9, 1864-3.30 p. m.

Major-General BURNSIDE,

Commanding Ninth Corps:

Please have the requisition for sand-bags made through Lieutenant Benyaurd, engineer, who is on duty with the engineer company on your front. The commanding general considers it better to have the requisitions go through the regular channel. An engineer officer will be at once ordered to your staff in place of the officer relieved.

A. A. HUMPHREYS,
Major-General and Chief of Staff.,

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
July 9, 1864-5 p. m.

Major-General BURNSIDE:

The order for siege operations will be out in an hour or two, and the chiefs of engineers and artillery will at once arrange for the batteries, &c.*

A. A. HUMPHREYS, Major General and Chief of Staff.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

July 9, 1864-8.50 p. m.

Major-General BURNSIDE,

Commanding Ninth Corps:

General Ingalls was directed to send you all the empty grain sacks he had on hand. He reported at 6 p. m. that he had 8,000 which he would send you.

A. A. HUMPHREYS, Major-General and Chief of Staff.

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,

July 9, 1864-9 p. m.

Major-General HUMPHREYS,

Chief of Staff:

I have the honor to report that no change of importance has occurred on my lines since my morning report.

A. E. BURNSIDE,
Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,

Hon. CHARLES A. DANA:

Will you please send any news you have of interest.

July 9, 1864.

A. E. BURNSIDE,
Major-General.

* For order referred to, see Part I, p. 159.

Major-General BURNSIDE:

CITY POINT, July 9, 1864.

Wallace reports Early at Urbana with 20,000 men threatening com munication between Baltimore and Washington. Truth of report very doubtful. I am about to start for Washington.

C. A. DANA.

CITY POINT, July 9, 1864.

Major-General BURNSIDE:

General Williams informs me I have been assigned to your corps. I have horses and other equipment to get, and was authorized to return here before I was assigned. I will endeavor to be out to-morrow. JULIUS WHITE, Brigadier-General.

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, NINTH CORPS,
Near Petersburg, Va., July 9, 1864-8 a. m.

Lieut. Col. L. RICHMOND,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Ninth Army Corps:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report that everything was quiet along my lines last night. There was very little picket-firing during the night.

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES H. LEDLIE,
Brigadier-General, Commanding Division.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,
Before Petersburg, Va., July 9, 1861.

Lieutenant-Colonel RICHMOND,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Ninth Army Corps :

COLONEL: I have the honor to report that nothing worthy of mention has occurred on my front during the past twelve hours.

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT B. POTTER,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,
Before Petersburg, Va., July 9, 1861.

Lieut. Col. LEWIS RICHMOND,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Ninth Army Corps:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report that nothing of importance has occurred on my front since the morning's report.

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

ROBERT B. POTTER, Brigadier-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,
July 9, 1864-8 a. m.

Col. L. RICHMOND,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Ninth Corps:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report that all was quiet during the night, except a smart picket-firing on the working parties after 12 m. Very respectfully,

O. B. WILLCOX,

Brigadier-General.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,

Lieut. Col. LEWIS RICHMOND,

Assistant Adjutant-General:

July 9, 1864.

COLONEL: I did not see the engineer officer on his return to-day from the front, but, from investigation since made, I am satisfied that the rifle-pit spoken of in my dispatch of 11 this a. m. will, if continued, enfilade a part of the line of the First Brigade. At the time of writing, 8.15 p. m., everything is very quiet along the line and further than the above no change.

Very respectfully,

O. B. WILLCOX, Brigadier-General, Commanding.

HDQRS. CAVALRY CORPS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

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July 9, 1864.

GENERAL: In reply to your telegram of yesterday, I have the honor respectfully to state that my command is recuperating very rapidly, but is not yet fit for hard work. If required for active duty at once, I can turn out about 9,000 men.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

P. H. SHERIDAN, Major-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, CAVALRY CORPS,
July 9, 1864.

Col. J. B. MCINTOSH,

Commanding First Brigade:

COLONEL: I am directed by the brigadier-general commanding to say to you that you are authorized to send out three good scouts from your command to the Danville railroad for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of damage already repaired, and the general condition of the road at present; as also to gather all important information regarding the enemy's force, condition, and movements. The quartermaster is directed to furnish the men with fresh horses.

I remain, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
L. SIEBERT,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. CAVALRY DIVISION, Dept. of Va. AND N. C.,
Camp Jones' Neck, July 9, 1864.

Capt. L. SIEBERT, A. A. G., Third Division, Cavalry Corps:

CAPTAIN: Your letter, calling for a statement of alleged depredations, so far as my division is concerned, on the recent expedition against the enemy's communications, has been received. As your communication is not accompanied by any specific instances cited, my statement therefore must necessarily be general. Whatever depredations were committed or captures made, none were authorized except what was absolutely necessary for the service of the expedition. This authority is clearly set forth in the standing orders of this division, copies of which are submitted.* Every effort was made by me that could be, without neglecting the more important duties of the expedition, to prevent the depredations that I felt were going on, but it must be apparent even to the enemy how impossible it is to check entirely the evil dispositions of men that exist in every command, however few or many, on an expedition such as we were engaged in, where we were constantly on the move, marching over forty miles per day, with an enemy harassing our front and rear occupying the attention of the officers. I do not think that in any instance the outrages committed by our men exceed those committed by Morgan's command in his raid through Indiana and Ohio last year, of which I was personally cognizant, and what has occurred in this way on the expedition is not more than attend the invasions of a territory by whatever foe.

Whenever my attention was called to individual instances of plunder, steps were immediately taken to punish the depredators; but the failure to get any conclusive testimony of guilt only shows the difficulty of detection. At Dinwiddie Court-House a lady reported to me that her husband's watch had been stolen by a soldier whom she pointed out. The man was instantly arrested and closely searched in my presence, but no watch was found upon him. If the lady's testimony can be obtained, that soldier can still be punished by a court-martial or commission. Until we started on the return my division had the advance. General Wilson called my attention to the fact that there was much pillaging found to have taken place after my command had passed. On the return the Third Division had the advance, and my attention was repeatedly called to houses that had been robbed before my command came up. One instance was particularly noteworthy. Doctor Niblett's, on the 27th ultimo, was found to have been robbed of everything valuable; but the provost-marshal was unable to get any clue to the perpetrators, even with the doctor's assistance. I find, therefore, that these irregularities are not incident to any particular command.

Every effort will be made hereafter to correct this evil in my command, but I can only hope to be partially successful. The absolute necessity of detaching small parties to collect subsistence and forage, the giving-out of horses, dismounting of men, and seeking for remounts, gives opportunity for plundering, the entire correction for which there does not seem to be any means. Inspections immediately after former expeditions having failed in the desired results, such investigation after ten days would be useless, particularly in this instance, where everything was abandoned that could in any way hamper our retreat. AUGUST V. KAUTZ, Brigadier-General and Chief of Cavalry. *Sec Part II, p. 45.

SR R-VOL XL, PT III

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