Col. H. L. ABBOT: FORT MONROE, July 28, 1864. I have no Coehorn ammuni Your telegram of this date is received. tion on hand at present; will send you some as soon as it is received. Will send you to-day 2,870 8-inch mortar shells, 3,000 8-inch mortar fuses, 1,700 rounds for 30-pounder Parrotts, 406 rounds for 44-inch gun, and 1,000 percussion fuses for 30-pounder projectiles. The rest of the ammunition ordered to you as fast as it is received. T. EDSON, Captain of Ordnance. Colonel ABBOT: HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Have the 10-inch and 8-inch mortars for the front of the Fifth Corps put in position as soon as possible. It is desirable that they be put in to-night and ready for service by to-morrow noon, if possible. Acknowledge receipt and report progress. H. J. HUNT, BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864-12.50 p. m. Brigadier-General HUNT, Headquarters Army of the Potomac : Your dispatch about mortars received. Will start five 10-inch mortars in two hours, and the rest of the mortars during the night, if I can get transportation from General Ingalls, for which I have telegraphed. If he can supply transportation, as I do not doubt he will, 1 can send six siege guns or more, if you desire it, and have them all ready to fire by daylight of 30th. Please see Major Duane to be sure that I can get into the 8-inch mortar battery to-night. I will come to headquarters this evening as soon as I can get everything well started. HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery, Commanding. BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864—1 p. m. Captain BROOKER, Near General Warren's Headquarters: Five 10-inch mortars start with Company C in two hours. The rest with the 8-inch during the night. They will be ordered to report to you. See that they go into position and that the trains are returned as soon as possible. Acknowledge receipt of this. H. L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. Send dispatch to General Warren's headquarters. BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864–1.10 p. m. Captain BROOKER, Near General Warren's Headquarters: Lieutenant Patterson, with a lieutenant of Company C temporarily attached, will command the 8-inch mortar battery, with the platoon of Company A, now at Spring Hill. On reporting, Lieutenant O'Brien, of Company A, will join Captain Gillett, leaving his platoon in charge of Lieutenant Patterson, who will be at your headquarters for the purpose. Order him to this effect. Acknowledge the receipt of this telegram. HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864-12.30 p. m. Brig. Gen. RUFUS INGALLS, Chief Quartermaster, &c., City Point: I have received a sudden order to forward a large amount of ordnance to the lines. Please send me at once, if possible, sixty wagons and also five eight-mule teams for this duty. They will be returned to-morrow. Please acknowledge the receipt of this telegram and inform me if you can send the train. HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. Col. H. L. ABBOT: CITY POINT, VA., July 28, 1864. Your telegram requesting sixty wagons and five eight-mule teams is received. Please call on Capt. E. J. Strang, assistant quartermaster, depot of repairs, for the same. He has been instructed to furnish you with them. R. INGALLS, Brigadier-General and Chief Quartermaster. BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864-3 p. m. Brigadier-General INGALLS, Chief Quartermaster, &c., City Point: I have telegraphed to Captain Strang and received no reply. My men are waiting to load the wagons, and my orders to hurry them forward are peremptory. Will you please order him to send them immediately to report to Captain Hatfield, my ordnance officer, at Broadway Landing. Please acknowledge receipt of this telegram, and oblige, Yours, &c., HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. Captain STRANG, BROADWAY LANDING, VA., July 28, 1864-2 p. m. Assistant Quartermaster, Depot of Repairs, City Point, Va. : Please order the sixty wagons and five eight-mule teams to report at once at Broadway Landing to Captain Hatfield, ordnance officer of siege train. General Ingalls telegraphs that you have been ordered to furnish them. Please acknowledge receipt of this telegram. HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. Col. H. L. ABBOT: CITY POINT, July 28, 1864. The teams are on the road toward Broadway Landing as per your order. E. J. STRANG, Captain and Assistant Quartermaster. JULY 28, 1864. Col. H. L. ABBOT: DEAR COLONEL: The assault will take place about daylight on Saturday, 30th instant. The signal is to be the explosion of the mine. At that signal the batteries, including the mortars, are to open so as to keep down the fire of the enemy on the assaulting column. The batteries should be put in to-night if possible. I will have it done anyhow on Warren's front, so far as he can spare the guns. Brooker's battery will hardly be in the best position. I will try and get the wood at the corner cut down, so as to let him see more to his left, and, if advisable, he might clear out Roemer's place for a couple of his guns. He will be near enough to get ammunition for them from his magazine. I have telegraphed you for the mortars, 10-inch and 8-inch. They ought all to be put in battery. I trust much to them. If, in addition, a few heavy guns can be placed in Castle Hell, so as to sweep the crest as far down as the house in front of General Warren's headquarters, burnt the other day, it will be very well. All the force you can put on, so dividing the work and arranging the companies as to make the operation a success, will be well. Truly, yours, Colonel ABBOT, Broadway Landing: If you can have until daylight of the 30th (Saturday) to open can you get up, in addition to the mortars, some siege guns, and how many? Could you come up after setting the work going? H. J. HUNT, BROADWAY LANDING, VA, July 28, 1864-3 p. m. Brigadier-General HUNT, Headquarters Army of the Potomac : Your letter sent by my orderly is received. I shall be at your headquarters some time this evening. HENRY L. ABBOT, Colonel First Connecticut Artillery. Colonel ABBOT: HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Can you furnish the men to serve the Coehorns on General Warren's front? H. J. HUNT, General WEITZEL: HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS, July 28, 1864. (Received 9,55 a. m.) General Ferry's picket officer reports that nine trains of cars moved out of Petersburg toward Richmond from dark until 2 o'clock this morning. Cheering was heard along enemy's line as trains passed. D. B. BIRNEY. The signal officer at Spring Hill states that he reported all the trains that passed the Junction last night either way. L. B. NORTON, Captain and Chief Signal Officer. General WEITZEL: HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS, July 28, 1864. Dismounted cavalry and regiment heavy artillery have not reported yet. Foster is ready with his little force to demonstrate, but awaits the movements of Major-General Hancock, who in turn waits for the operations of cavalry. Enemy are reported as strongly intrenched. I would like Captain Graves, whom Major Davis promised to order to me, to report. [Indorsement.] D. B. BIRNEY, Will the assistant adjutant-general see that these troops, the artillery and dismounted cavalry, report to General Birney at once, as directed by orders issued from the adjutant-general's department yesterday. [G. WEITZEL.] Major-General BIRNEY: July 28, 1864. GENERAL BUTLER'S HEADQUARTERS, Your dispatch received. These troops have been ordered to report to you by written orders and have acknowledged receipt. The heavy artillery was at Bermuda last account. The dismounted men of Kautz's command at Gill's Landing, near Jones' Neck. General WEITZEL: G. WEITZEL, HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS, The commanding officer of dismounted cavalry reports to me, but says that all of the men in his command are without arms of any description. Unequipped men will be of no use to me. D. B. BIRNEY, HDQRS. DEPT. OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, Major-General BIRNEY, Tenth Corps: We will investigate at once why this to us unknown and culpable condition of the dismounted men exists, and will have them equipped as quickly as possible. Respectfully, G. WEITZEL, General WEITZEL: camp until armed. Brigadier-General and Acting Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS, Dispatch received. I will order dismounted cavalry to remain in D. B. BIRNEY, Major-General. HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS, The enemy have attacked Sheridan's cavalry on the Long Bridge. road. General Foster is making a demonstration on the left. I pre |