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HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 21, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: The enemy did not shell Battery Harris, upon which fatigue parties have been at work for the last four or five days, as much as usual last night. The Yankees cheered last night along Gracie's front, and, when being asked the reason, said it was for Sheridan. Deserters report that the Sixth Corps and probably the Nineteenth were encamped in rear of the Second Corps three or four days since, but moved a day or two ago, either to the right or left.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Elliott's brigade, killed, 1; Ransom's brigade, wounded, 3.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 22, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: The enemy have been very quiet along our front during the past twenty-four hours. They did not fire upon our working parties last night. General Ransom reports that the enemy have thrown down most of their front line opposite his center, having left only posts for vedettes and sharpshooters. They seem to occupy their second line, which is now strongly stockaded. On his right and left they still appear to hold parts of the old line.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Ransom's brigade, wounded, 2. Elliott's brigade, killed, 2. Gracie's brigade, wounded, 1; killed, 1. Total, 3 killed, 3 wounded. Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

B. R. JOHNSON,
Major-General.

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 23, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: Nothing of importance has occurred on our line during the past twenty-four hours. The enemy did not shell our working party last night.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Ransom's brigade, killed, 1; Gracie's brigade, killed, 1; total, 2 killed.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION, Petersburg, Va., October 24, 1864. LIEUTENANT: Nothing worthy of reporting has transpired along the line of this division during the past twenty-four hours. There were on last night five deserters from Ransom's brigade. They were all men who had been brought in under the proclamation.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Gracie's brigade, killed, 1. Ransom's brigade, killed, 1; wounded, 1. Total, 2 killed, 1 wounded.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 25, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: Nothing of importance has transpired during the past twenty-four hours. The enemy have been very quiet. General Gracie reports that the enemy have leveled their line of works in front of their three-gun battery, and are destroying their abatis; probably the men are using the latter for fuel.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Elliott's brigade, wounded, 1.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieut. WILLIAM MOWILLIE,

B. R. JOHNSON,
Major-General.

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,

Petersburg, Va., October 26, 1864. LIEUTENANT: General Gracie reports that the movement of wagons in the enemy's lines was more perceptible than usual last night. General Ransom reports that strange noises were heard in our mine last evening, but regards the circumstances as trivial. The enemy kept up quite a brisk artillery fire yesterday. Their fire was drawn by one of our batteries opening on a working pafty.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Elliott's brigade, killed, 1.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,

Petersburg, Va., October 27, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: The men of this command were aroused at 4 a. m. this morning, expecting some demonstration from the enemy. They were, however, disappointed, as everything remained remarkably quiet.

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The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Ransom's brigade, wounded, 1. Elliott's brigade, killed, 1; wounded, 1. Total, 1 killed and 2 wounded.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

B. R. JOHNSON,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 28, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: About 10 a. m. on yesterday morning I moved Wallace's brigade to the right and relieved Sanders' and Harris' brigades in the trenches. Wise's brigade was moved from reserve into the position on the front line vacated by Wallace's brigade. My right now rests at Battery No. 30. About dark last evening a force from the One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, Fourth [First] Division, Second Corps, perhaps 100 strong, advanced without support upon the battery on our front line to the right of the Baxter road, known as Davidson's battery. It was the usual hour for posting and relieving pickets, and the division officer of the day, who happened to be passing at that point, mistook the force for pickets returning to the line, and gave orders to sentinels not to fire. By others this force was regarded as deserters coming to our lines. This impression was communicated by the orders on the infantry line to the gun in rear of the Crater which bore on the ground over which the force advanced. A light fire was, however, opened by our infantry to the right and left of Davidson's battery. With axes the little force opened a passage through our chevaux-de-frise and entered Davidson's battery and mingled with our men. Their hostile character having been ascertained, troops of Wise's brigade charged them and drove them out, capturing 1 lieutenant and 14 men, who report that a number of their men were wounded and killed in the advance; among the latter a lieutenant of the One hundred and fourteenth Pennsylvania Regiment.* About 10 p.m. the enemy advanced upon and drove our men from a portion of the picket-line on the right of Rives' house, occupied by troops of Wallace's brigade. General Wallace promptly threw out a force and reoccupied the line. During these events the mortar and cannon firing was very heavy, especially from Colquitt's salient to my right. Later in the night there was considerable artillery firing on my right. During the latter part of the night Brigadier-General Ransom, whose brigade is on my left and extends to the river, reported that the enemy's troops were seen to be moving to our left. It was thought they might be massing in his front. The following casualties are reported for the twenty-four hours ending at 8 a. m. to-day: Wise's brigade, missing, 4 officers and 10 enlisted men; killed, 2 enlisted men; wounded, 13 enlisted men. Elliott's brigade, killed, 1; wounded, 13; captured, 6; missing, 2. Ransom's brigade, wounded, 3.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

*Reference is probably to Lieut. Henry D. Price, One hundred and sixteenth Pennsylvania Infantry; see Miles' report, p. 255.

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LIEUTENANT: Yesterday was unusually quiet. No changes were noticed along our front. The troops were aroused at 4 a. m., and placed on the alert, but nothing occurred to test their vigilance.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Elliott's brigade, missing, 2; Wise's brigade, killed, 1.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 30, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: No change or movement of troops has been observed during past twenty-four hours; everything has been remarkably quiet along our front. Two deserters from the Second Corps came in last night; one reported that the enemy thought our line very weak, owing to the fact that they found no men in the fort which they took on the evening of the 27th. He also reported that their front line was very weak; did not think any other troops besides the Second Corps were in our front. The enemy are throwing up a work for a battery to bear upon Fort Harris, one of our batteries.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Gracie's brigade, wounded, 2; Ransom's brigade, wounded, 2; Wise's brigade, wounded, 2; total, 6 wounded.

Three regiments of Wallace's brigade relieved by Mahone and brought in reserve.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
Petersburg, Va., October 31, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: Quite a brisk musketry fire sprang up about 10 o'clock last night to the right of this division, and gradually extended to the left. The firing was exclusively from the picket-lines. General Gracie reports that trains stopped in front of his lines last night, and the enemy's camp-fires became brighter than usual, which would seem to indicate that fresh troops had arrived. Two deserters came in last night; they belong to the Second Corps, and said that corps was the only one in our front. They also state that their officers regarded the engagement on our right a few days since as very disastrous to them. The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Gracie's brigade, killed 1. Elliott's brigade, killed, 1, wounded, 1. Ransom's brigade, wounded, 1. Wise's brigade, killed, 1. Total, 3 killed, 2 wounded. Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,
Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION, Petersburg, Va., November 1, 1864. LIEUTENANT: A deserter who came in on Ransom's line reports the Fifth Army Corps on the City Point Railroad last night, about a mile in rear of the enemy's line in front of my left. Whether it is there to remain or to move farther last night he does not know. Previous to the last movement on our right troops were assembled at some point and moved to the point of attack. Among their soldiers there is some rumor of a purpose to break our line and enter Petersburg. The point at which this was spoken of was about four miles from the Appomattox toward the enemy's left. The forces on the enemy's front line have, some of them, been relieved by troops of the same army corps-the Second. The deserter was of the Second Corps and was in the fight at Burgess' Mill. He says they suffered heavily; that our troops would have completely whipped them had they pressed on. They withdrew because they were so roughly handled, and because they felt that they could not hold their position.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Elliott's brigade, wounded, 2 (1 mortally). Wise's brigade, wounded, 1. Gracie's brigade, wounded, 1; killed, 1.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

Lieutenant MCWILLIE, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,

Petersburg, Va., November 2, 1864. LIEUTENANT: General Gracie reports that the enemy's trains were running the greater portion of last night. Three deserters from the Second Corps came in last night. They think that the Fifth Corps is still on the extreme left of our lines and not on the railroad in front of this division as reported yesterday morning.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Wise's brigade, wounded, 1; Elliott's brigade, wounded, 1; Gracie's brigade, killed, 1; total, 1 killed and 2 wounded.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

Lieutenant McWILLIE, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON'S DIVISION,
November 3, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: I have nothing new to report this morning. General R. E. Lee inspected the line occupied by this division on yesterday. Three men deserted from Wişe's brigade last night. A deserter from the Second Corps came into our lines this morning.

The following casualties are respectfully submitted: Wise's brigade, wounded, 1; Gracie's brigade, killed, 1.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

Lieut. WILLIAM MCWILLIE,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

B. R. JOHNSON,

Major-General.

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