point I had stationed the Eighth Tennessee Regiment. The troops of Colonel Jones, without halting, passed to his camp.

Here, after making the acquaintance of Colonel Jones, I ordered the whole force to halt. I found at once the enemy's shells could do us much injury without any ability on our part to return the enemy's fire; they, the enemy in the field, having previously retired, under cover of their gunboats, out of sight.

It being now near sundown, I ordered the entire command to fall back to a point out of the range of the enemy's gunboats. During all this time, both at the camp of Colonel Jones and on the march to the rear to take position, there was a quick and constant firing by the enemy. No casualty happened, the shells falling to our right. They ceased firing just at dark.

I have omitted to say that before getting to Colonel Jones' camp, Colonel Martin, commanding regiment of cavalry, rode up, introduced himself, and gave me the direction of lead my Eighth Regiment Tennessee Volunteers to the point occupied by them until he and myself could survey the open field through which Colonel Jones' regiment was then retiring. We thus remained until they passed into the Kean's Neck road, near the point of location of the Eighth Tennessee Regiment.

At this moment, in the preparation of this report, I received the inclosed official report of Lieutenant-Colonel Barnes, of the Twelfth Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, who commanded a detachment of four companies of said regiment in the action with the enemy on the 1st instant at Port Royal Ferry.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

I am, with high respect, your obedient servant,

D. S. DONELSON,

Brigadier-General First Brigade, Fourth Mil. Dist. of S. C.

Brigadier-General PEMBERTON,

Commanding Fourth Military District South Carolina.

No. 18. Report of Colonel James Jones, Fourteenth South Carolina Infantry.

HEADQUARTERS FOURTEENTH Regiment S. C. VOLS.,
Tomotley, S. C., January 4, 1862.

GENERAL: In obedience to instructions I have the honor to report the following occurrences of the 1st instant:

My camp was pitched on the road from Garden's Corner to Port Royal Ferry, 1 mile from the latter place, and where a road diverges eastward at nearly a right angle with the Port Royal Ferry road leading into Kean's Neck, and nearly parallel with and about a mile distant from Coosaw River. At the termination of the causeway of the ferry, on the northern bank of the Coosaw River, an earthwork was thrown up to prevent a crossing at that point, armed with two siege guns (a howitzer and 12-pounder gun), under the command of Lieutenant Webb, the 12-pounder being manned by an inexperienced detail from my regiment, and supported by a section of Captain Leake's field battery.

Two of my companies were sent out on picket duty-one (Company B) commanded by Captain [A. P.] West, at Adams' place, two and a half miles distant, on the Kean's Neck road; and the other (Company