with it up to the support of General Reno until he sent me word that he required no more regiments. The commanding general then ordered me to proceed with the Fourth Rhode Island and Tenth Connecticut Regiments, with a boat howitzer, to take Pork Point Battery. A guide being furnished me, we left the main road, and following along a narrow cross-road about a mile, we entered the battery and found that it had been but a short time evacuated, the garrison having retreated up the beach to the northern end of the island. The armament consisted of eight 32-pounder smooth-bore and one 32-pounder rifled gun. They were all spiked and the carriages seriously damaged.

From papers found in the quarters the battery is called Fort Bartow, and commanded by Major G. H. Hill, formerly a lieutenant in the United States Artillery. A flag-staff, with the national colors made fast, was immediately raised, and the men had scarcely finished cheering when General Foster rode in to announce to the general commanding that the enemy had surrendered.

At the taking of the masked the officers and men,not only of the Fourth Rhode Island and Ninth New York Regiments but of other regiments that came under my observation, behaved with great gallantry, coolness, and bravery. All seemed imbued with determination to carry the day. Considering the length of time that they have been on board ship, that they bivouacked in the rain on the night of the 7th, and considering the great natural obstacles in front of the battery - a broad swamp surrounded by a dense tangle and thick growth of cypress, through which but a single narrow roadway or trail passed, and that completely raked by the battery - considering all this, it would seem that all engaged are worthy of much praise.

I would respectfully beg to call your attention to the adjutant of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, Lieutenant Curtis. He was very conspicuous in conducting and cheering on the men of his regiment while passing through the clearing.

I also with to pay a just tribute to the officers of my staff for their great gallantry throughout the battle and untiring zeal through the whole day. The staff is composed of the following officers: Captain Charles T. Gardner, assistant adjutant-general; Captain John N. King, brigade quartermaster and acting commissary; Lieutenant M. Asbury Hill and Philip M. Lydig, aides-de-camp. Lieutenant L. Bradley, of the Signal Corps, was with me, and acted as aide. All of these, including Captain J. N. King, who volunteered his services as aide early in the morning, were constantly occupied carrying orders, bringing up and conducting the troops into position, and were necessarily greatly exposed. Lieuts. J. W. Hopkins and Anthony Lang, of the Signal Corps, were also actively engaged bringing up the men during the fight. On the morning of the 9th a company of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment took possession of Fort Blanchard, a small work mounting four 32-pounders. The guns were spiked and the carriages damaged.

A detachment from the Ninth New York Regiment took possession of a two-gun battery on the east side of the island. They found the guns spiked and pointed inland. The battery is surrounded by a marsh and swamp, the only approach to it being by a causeway from the water side. One prisoner was taken in this work, he having been left by his comrades when they evacuated the place.

I regret to have to record the death of Lieutenant Colonel Viguer De Monteil, of the Fifty-third New York Regiment (D'Epineuil Zouaves). the colonel of the Ninth New York Regiment reports that "he was killed instantly, while urging my men to the charge. He dies greatly lamented