ward advanced them with some of my own men under Captain Randall against the enemy, covering the retreat of the brigade.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. M. RICHARDSON,

Lieutenant Colonel, Twelfth New York Vols., Commanding.

Captain THOMAS J. HOYT,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. TWELFTH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS,
Camp near Harrison's Landing, Va., July 6, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to report that about 5 o'clock in the afternoon of June 30, in obedience to orders of General Butterfield, I moved this regiment (407 strong from the wheat field overlooking the James River, where the gunboat Galena lay, back about 1 mile to the Malvern Hills. We lay upon our arms during the night in support of our advanced forces. On the morning of July 1 our whole bridge was moved farther to the left, and, as I understood, to the extreme left of our forces. We lay upon our arms during the entire day, taking no active part in the engagement until 6 o'clock in the afternoon, though 3 or 4 of our men were wounded by pieces of shell during the heavy cannonading that was going on at various intervals throughout the day.

At 6 o'clock this regiment, with the entire brigade, except the Seventeenth New York Volunteers, was ordered to the front, and, as

I suppose, to prevent the enemy from turning our left flank. Our front was at first toward the left of our general line, but no enemy being discovered in that direction, we changed front to our general front and moved forward. My regiment had to march through very dense woods, full of brambles, that impeded our progress and broke our line, and on reaching the road that led to the left in rear of Griffin's battery and General Martindale's brigade I halted and dressed my line and again moved forward, but finding two regiments in front in support of the batteries, and desiring to set the regiment to immediate work, I moved it by the left flank down a ravine in front of a house in view on the left, with the design of advancing upon a hill beyond the ravine and go into the engagement. In the ravine I found the Fourth Michigan Volunteers, under the command of Captain Randolph, Colonel Woodbury having been killed there. That regiment, having expended their ammunition, were holding that position and receiving the fire of the enemy crest of the hill in front without any ability to return the fire, and upon doubling their files we charged through them up the hill and drove the enemy back into his rifle pits at short musket-range beyond, Major Barnum leading the left wing and myself the right wing, the Fourth Michigan cheering our men on and some of them joining us.

For about an hour we continued our fire upon the enemy. Griffin's battery on our right came to our assistance, and by 7.30 o'clock the enemy was completely silenced, and at 8 o'clock I withdrew the regiment in rear of the battery, and at 10.30 o'clock I withdrew the regiment in rear of the battery, and at 10.30 o'clock returned to the position occupied during the early part of the day, having taken 27 prisoners, whom I sent to the provost guard. There I found other regiments of the brigade, and at 2 or 3 o'clock at night took up the line of march for this place.

In the early part of the engagement and on the summit of the hill the