near Sharpsburg, Md. At about 10 o'clock a. m. the regiment received orders to advance. It drove back the enemy, taking three colors from him. Officers and men behaved bravely. The casualties were 1 commissioned officer and 14 men killed, 1 commissioned officer and 47 men wounded. Five men are missing. *

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHARLES BRESTEL,

Captain, Commanding Regiment.

Brigadier General J. C. CALDWELL,

Commanding.

Numbers 45. Report of Colonel Francis C. Barlow, commanding Sixty-first and Sixty fourth New York Infantry, of the battle of Antietam.

GENERAL HOSPITAL,

Keedysville, Md., September 22, 1862.

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to make the following report of the oper- ations of the Sixty-first and Sixty-fourth New York Volunteers in the battle of September 17 instant. Both these regiments were under my command on that day and had been for some time previous.

On going into action our brigade was formed on the left of the Irish Brigade, my regiments being the right of the brigade. We remained about fifteen minutes under the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, which my sharpshooters returned with effect. I lost then Captain Angell and one or two men killed. By order of the staff officer of General Richardson, we then moved to the right in front, and formed behind the crest of a hill on the left of the Sixty-third Regiment, Irish Brigade, who were there briskly engaging the enemy. My regiments at once advanced over the crest of the hill, and bravely engaged the enemy and fired destructively. With the assistance of the fire of the regiments on our right and left, we broke the enemy on our front, who fled in disorder through a corn-field, suffering severely from the fire of our and the Irish Brigade.

The portion of the enemy's line which was not broken then remained lying in a deep road, well protected from a fire in their front. Our position giving us peculiar advantages for attacking in flank this part of the enemy's line, my regiments advanced and obtained an enfilading fire upon the enemy in the aforesaid road. Seeing the uselessness of further resistance, the enemy, in accordance with our demands, threw down their arms, cam in in large numbers, and surrendered. Upward of 300 prisoners thus taken by my regiments were sent to the rear with a guard of my regiment, under charge of Lieutenant Alvord, of General Caldwell's staff.

On this occasion my own regiment, the Sixty-first New York, took two of the enemy's battle-flags, which have been forwarded to corps headquarters. A third flag was captured by the Sixty-forth New York Volunteers, which was lost by the subsequent shooting of the captor when away from his regiment.

* But see revised statement, p. 191.

19 R R - VOL XIX, PT I