Command. Return of casualties in Bratton's, Law's, Anderson's, and Benning's brigades, &c.—Cont'd. Report of Col. George K. Griggs, Thirty-eighth Virginia Infantry, Barton's brigade, including operations June 17-November 17. HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-EIGHTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT, COLONEL: * , On June 17 it took part in driving the enemy from our lines near Bermuda Hundred, which was accomplished with the loss of 1 killed and 1 wounded. Since that time my regiment has been holding one of the most exposed positions on this most important line, and has been engaged in several skirmishes with the enemy since occupying its present position. August 25, the enemy's picket-line in front was captured, with some prisoners, but my loss here was not repaid by the advantages gained, having lost two very valuable officers-Captain Joyce, Company A, killed, and Capt. W. G. Cabaniss, Company K, shot through the face so as to disable him from service, besides some good men. November 17, it being desirable to advance our picket-line, and all necessary arrangements having been made, the picket-line, being slightly re-enforced, moved forward, and before the enemy well knew what was going on the larger number were prisoners. * For portion of report (here omitted) covering operations from May 3 to 27, 1864, see Vol. XXXVI, Part II, p. 235. Officers. Men. Aggregate. I lost 1 man wounded in this charge; established my picket-line as far as was wished; captured 37 privates and non-commissioned officers, 1 captain and 1 lieutenant. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Commanding Thirty-eighth Virginia Regiment. Col. W. H. TAYLOR. No. 298. Report of Capt. Benjamin L. Farinholt, Fifty-third Virginia Infantry, of operations June 25. [JUNE, 1864.] GENERAL: I have the honor to make the following report of the engagement which took place on Saturday, 25th of June: I have regularly assigned to duty at this post [Staunton River bridge] six companies of reserves, numbering in all 296 men. On Thursday, the 23d instant, 10 p. m., I received a dispatch from General Lee, through you, that a large body of the enemy's cavalry were moving in this direction; to make every possible preparation immediately. By the trains at 12 o'clock that night I sent off orderlies with circulars, urging the citizens of Halifax, Charlotte, and Mecklen burg to assemble for the defense of this bridge, and ordering all local companies to report immediately. On Friday, 24th, I had, in addition to my usual details for fatigue, nearly my entire battalion, together with what citizens and negroes I could collect and impress, busily at work on the intrenchments, and on Saturday morning, 25th, about 10 o'clock I had received, citizens and soldiers inclusive, 642 re-enforcements. Of these about 150 were regulars, organized from different commands, my whole command numbering, from the above statement, 938 men. My scouts and pickets, citi zens mounted as cavalry, reported the enemy close in this vicinity at 12 m., and I was at this time and up to the hour of their arrival busily engaged in constructing rifle-pits on the north side of the river. My cavalry, numbering seventy-five, I had thrown out at the fords above and below, guarding against and to warn me of a flank movement. The enemy appeared in my front at 3.45 p. m., and immediately on their approaching to place their artillery in position I opened on them with a 3-inch rifled gun (my artillery consisting of this gun, together with two smooth-bore 12-pounders and three iron 6-pounders), but the shot, from some inexplicable defect in the gun, fell far short of the mark. The enemy, then approaching to within a mile of my main redoubt and taking possession of a very commanding hill, immediately opened with rifled Parrotts and 12-pounder Napoleons, and very soon getting exact range of my battery threw their shell and canister into my artillerymen and their supports with great precision. At the same time they formed two regiments of dismounted cavalry on each side of the railroad in line of battle, with a thick line of skirmishers in front, and advanced over the flat toward the mouth of the bridge, my artillery playing vigorously on them all the while. At this juncture I had but four small companies on the north side of the river (one each side of the bridge). I immediately threw across company after company of re-enforcements, notwithstanding the enemy were shelling the bridge furiously and a strong line of sharpshooters directing their fire on it, the difficulty of crossing being increased by not having been able to procure plank to floor it, and the only mode of crossing being upon the ties. I had in this manner crossed over in all 500, and placed them in position, when the enemy's skirmishers having fallen in with their line of battle, and the whole line arriving within close range of my rifle-pits (which I had almost entirely masked), were scattered before a withering fire from my infantry, which was totally unexpected. Falling back several hundred yards they reformed, and adding re-enforcements, which were rapidily sent forward, they again advanced to within about 100 yards of my rifle-pits and were again broken in confusion. This was repeated four times, each time with the same result, and the whole time my artillery firing on them with considerable precision and effect. At night-fall the enemy's skirmishers were within 150 yards of mine, and desultory skirmishing was kept up until 12 o'clock, when I discovered the enemy withdrawing from my front, and as soon as it was light I opened with my artillery on the rear of their line, then crossing Little Roanoke, causing them to retire from the road to the woods and to have great difficulty in getting off. At daylight I advanced my line of skirmishers half a mile, and discovered that the enemy had left quite a number of their dead on the field. In this advance 8 prisoners were captured. At 8 o'clock the enemy had entirely disappeared from my front, not, however, before they had replied quite briskly to my artillery for half an hour. I afterward ascertained the enemy's loss was at least 250, most probably 300, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Of the dead left on the field I buried 42, among them several officers. My loss, 10 killed and 24 wounded. The inexperienced troops to whom we are indebted for this remarkable victory over the enemy deserve the gratitude of both the army and the people for the gallantry and coolness displayed by them in meeting, with the resolution and unshaken firmness of veterans, the repeated charges of the enemy, so superior in numbers, equipage, and artillery. I desire to make special mention of Col. Henry E. Coleman, Twelfth North Carolina Regiment; Capt. William W. Fraser, commanding artillery; Capt. R. H. Fitzhugh, Corps of Engineers; Capt. William C. Marshall, Stribling Artillery, whom I assigned to duty in the most exposed places, and who proved to me by their chivalrous conduct my confidence in their ability was not misplaced. Col. H. E. Coleman was at home wounded, but came forward and offered to take any position. I assigned him to one of the most important and responsible positions, which he held, though hotly engaged and severely pressed for four hours, when he was painfully wounded in the knee, and refused to leave even then, until assured of the confidence of his men in their ability to defend the position. Hoping, general, my report may merit your approval and my command receive due credit for defending against such superior numbers so important a line of communication, I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. JAMES L. KEMPER. B. L. FARINHOLT, Captain, Commanding Post. No. 299. Report of Brig. Gen. John Bratton, C. S. Army, commanding Bratton's brigade, Field's division. BRATTON'S BRIGADE, Camp near Williamsburg Road, January 1, 1865.* On the morning of the 13th [June] we moved to the right, crossed Chickahominy on the McClellan cavalry bridge, marched through Seven Pines battle-fields, where we bivouacked for two days. On the evening of the 15th I received orders to move up the Kingsland road to the Varina road and picket toward the river from Deep Bottom up. We arrived at the place designated about 10 p. m. We found no enemy in this vicinity, except squads from gun-boats lying in the river. I received orders about midday on the next day to move across the river at Drewry's Bluff and rejoin the division, which was moving down the Telegraph road toward Petersburg. I moved in accordance with orders and found the division in line on the left of aud parallel with the road preparing to drive the enemy out of our works, which had been abandoned by Beauregard to re-enforce Petersburg. I was put in position on the right of the division near Kingsland Creek, but night coming on and the woods being dense only a line of skirmishers was advanced. My skirmishers occupied a line of works that night, and it was not discovered until next morning that the enemy were still in partial possession of Beauregard's line. About the middle of the day the division made a sort of spontaneous charge, in which my skirmish line participated, and recovered and reoccupied the line that had been abandoned on the morning before. On the next morning (18th) we were relieved by troops from Pickett's division and moved across the Appomattox to Petersburg, and were put in position on the line about Battery No. 34. At dark we moved to the left and relieved troops on the new line covering the Baxter road, my left resting on the battery under which the enemy afterward sprung a mine. The works here were very imperfect, and the sharpshooting was incessant and active. The enemy was found next morning well intrenched close to our front, and could sharpshoot us from two lines. We suffered for the first two days from this advantage over us, losing heavily. The fire upon us here was incessant night and day, and the labor of completing the works, added to the heavy guard-duty necessi tated by the close proximity of the lines at this point, rendered this probably the severest tour of duty that my men have been subjected to during the war. We made the position comparatively secure, and thought that we inflicted more damage than we received by sharpshooting before we were relieved. We were relieved by Elliott's brigade about daybreak on the morning of the 24th, and moved down to the iron bridge on City Point road. We remained there in a ravine for four days, during which time one of my regiments-the Palmetto Sharpshooters, Colonel Walker-was ordered to report to General Hoke as a support to some point on his line against which attack was threatened. The attack, however, was not made and the regiment was not engaged." I moved it with the rest of the brigade back to the old position on the Baxter road on the 28th, relieving Elliott's brigade. A portion of the line was now assigned to the division to hold, and a system of reliefs established by which each brigade of the division got forty-eight hours' *For portion of report (here omitted) covering operations from May 7 to June 12, 1864, see Vol. XXXVI, Part I, p. 1065. rest in every eight days. Thus we wore through a weary month of guard duty, mortar shelling, and sharpshooting, watching and waiting for the affray, but no assault was made. Our daily loss was small, but the sum total for the month, particularly when the nature of the wounds is considered (unusual proportion fatal), loomed up heavily, ay, and sadly. Many of my noblest veterans, whose kindling eyes had flashed out their staunch hearts' enthusiasm on so many glorious fields of battle, were stricken from our rolls, as it were, by the stealthy hand of the assassin. There is the chill of murder about the casualties of this month, and sad, sad is the regret when death thus strikes the brave. We lost on this line 53 killed and 72 wounded, many of them mortally. On the night of the 28th [July] we were relieved, and took cars on the morning of the 29th on the Petersburg and Richmond Railroad for Rice's Station. From thence we marched across James River at Drewry's Bluff to the vicinity of Fussell's Mill, and were put in position on the morning of the 30th to meet the enemy, who had made demonstration on that point, but found that he had retired on the night previous. My brigade was moved up during the day along the line of works over New Market Heights and put in position on that line, with its right resting on Four-Mile Creek.* Respectfully submitted. JOHN BRATTON, Brigadier-General. No. 300. Report of Col. James R. Hagood, First South Carolina Infantry. HEADQUARTERS FIRST SOUTH CAROLINA INFANTRY, CAPTAIN:† On the 14th [June] we crossed to the south side, and on the 15th engaged the enemy at Bermuda Hundred, driving him from a position he occupied on Walthall Creek. On June 18 we arrived at Petersburg, and were put in trenches on the Baxter road. From this time until July 21 we were constantly on duty and under fire. My loss from the enemy's sharpshooters amounted to 2 officers killed and 1 wounded and 4 men killed and 10 wounded. July 21 [29], we were transferred back to the north side to the neighborhood of Deep Bottom. We occupied a line the left extremity of which rested on New Market Heights.* Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Capt. A. C. SORREL, Assistant Adjutant-General. JAMES R. HAGOOD, Colonel, Commanding. *For continuation of report, see Vol. XLII, Part I. t For portion of report (here omitted) covering operations from May 6 to June 13, 1864, see Vol. XXXVI, Part I, p. 1068. |