land face (except one 8-inch columbiad) dismounted. Our mortars, with this gun, however, kept up a steady fire upon the enemy's line of infantry, whilst our sea-face batteries replied with steadiness and coolness to the fire of the fleet, but as I was engaged entirely on the land face, for want of data not now to be had, I am unable to report with what effect. The exhausted condition of our men, now greatly decimated by fifty-six hours of hard fighting, the major-general commanding being unable to relieve them without, in effect, evacuating his works at the mouth of the river, from which he had drawn as heavily (in re-enforcing Colonel Lamb) as he could, rendered it necessary to fire at the fleet seldom and at long intervals. This may in some measure account for their being able to keep up their heavy fire, as none of their ships were withdrawn from action. Under cover of the smoke of this terrific fire the enemy threw forward a column (supposed to be a brigade) from the left of their line along the sea beach (the tide being low), who succeed in gaining the right of our palisade line before they were discovered. This advance was quickly and gallantly repulsed by our troops with heavy loss. The attack on the flank of the work would now seem to have been only a feint, to be converted into a real attack as circumstances might determine, since a heavier column had approached under cover of the hill and woods on the river side (our left) and succeeded in gaining an foothold on our works.

It was whilst this attack was going on on our sea front that Colonel Lamb (as I was confidently informed) reported to Major-General Whiting the fact of the repulse of the enemy at all point. The enemy, in his hurried retreat, were destroyed in large numbers. Such guns on the sea face as would bear, together with our only remaining gun (an 8-inch columbiad), opened on them with canister at short range. It was while engaged in bringing this last gun to bear on them that I discovered that their assaulting column had gained a position on the left of our works, when I immediately ordered the officer in charge (Lieutenant Swain) to traverse his gun and open on them, the gun having a flanking fire, and at once led in person the troops collected at this point (as the only field officer present) to attack them down the parapet of the work. The fire of the heavy force of sharpshooters on the enemy's right, together with the torn up condition of the work, rendered it necessary to take them down within the work, where I joined Major-General Whiting, who was leading his men i person with the entire disposable force, hurrying on the drive the enemy from his position. I had been previously wounded in the attack on the right; I fell at the foot of the fifth traverse from the left of the work, the enemy having possession of and firing from the left of the work, the enemy having possession of and firing from the left of the work, the enemy having possession of and firing from the third, when I was taken up and carried into a magazine. As soon as I recovered sufficiently I rejoined Major-General Whiting, whom, I was informed, was wounded in the bombproof.

At this juncture Colonel Lamb, entered, wounded, and told the general that his men, whom he had endeavored to lead from the works on the seafront to drive the enemy from his lodgment on our left, would not follow him. General Whiting, although wounded, was still directing as far as possible the movements of his small force, when Major Reilly rushed in and reported the astounding fact that an officer, having put his hand-kerchief on a ramrod whilst he was temporarily in another portion of his command, had surrendered 300 of his men and admitted a regiment of the enemy into the galleries of the sally-port on the land face. The general, who had repeatedly ordered Colonel Grathe land face. The general, who had repeatedly ordered Colonel Graham, with the remainder of Hagood's brigade, whom he supposed at the Mound Battery, directed me to bring him up without delay. I need