report of the part taken by my battery in the action resulting in the capture of Petersburg, including the time between the 30th ultimo and the morning of the 3rd instant:

My battery occupied the small work in rear of Fort Sedgwick, and up to the morning of the 2nd my men had been constantly employed in repairing the embrasures, ramps, platforms, &c., the fort being almost useless when I entered it. At about 5 o'clock on the morning of the 2nd instant I received an order from Brevet Major ricketts to take my cannoneers into the rebel works, which had then just been captured, and man such rebel guns as I might find there. I immediately marched my four detachments of cannoneers at double-quick through one of the front embrasures of fort Sedgwick across the plain directly up the rebel fort, immediately in front of fort Sedqwick, and which was numbered by the enemy, Battery 27. I found in this work five 12-pounder rebel guns, three iron and two brass, one of the former, and one of the latter were partially disabled but in the course of the day both were put in working order. The remaining three were at once manned and worked with good effect on the enemy's line. There were between 200 and 300 rounds of ammunition in the fort, al of which the enemy's batteries.

The guns were much exposed to the enemy's fire, but the men behaved splendidly, working the guns with great accuracy and rapidity, and finally silencing the enemy's battery in fort virginia which consisted of two 8-inch siege guns. This battery was not more than 500 yards distant, and annoyed us severely with grape, during the early part of the day.

Soon after taking possession of the rebel guns the enemy brought seven pieces of light artillery into position on different parts of his rear line. These together with a rifle battery about 900 yards to the right opened on us to cover a rebel charge, which was partially successful. We were also under a heavy mortar fire all day. After expending nearly al the rebel ammunition in the fort I was supplied by the way of Fort Sedgwick and was at no time entirely out, although obliged several times to cease firing so as not to exhaust the supply. It was very difficult to get ammunition up to the work as the space intervening between Fort Sedgwick and the captured fort was covered by the enemy's sharpshooters and skirmishers, and was also swept by the enemy's artillery. Most of the ammunition had to be brought up one or two rounds at a time. In the course of the fight one of the guns was disabled by the guns was disabled by the breaking of the cap squares, another was burst open at the re-enforce, apparently from a defect in the manufacture. At no time during the fight were these less than three guns in working order, and most of the time there were five.

The fight was a most exhausting one, the men having been at their posts nearly all of the previous night and without anything to eat till near noon, when I had coffee brought up for them. It was necessary to maintain a constant fire, as the enemy proved every cessation to open on us with their batteries and musketry, yet the cannoneers labored at their pieces even after they were almost exhausted. The guns were only partially covered by a small traverse, which sheltered the men when not firing.

The casualties in my battery during the day amounted to but four, two killed and two wounded.

The general conduct of my officers and men was most praiseworthy. When ordered to cross the plain to the enemy's work in the morning not one faltered, even some of the infantry whom their officers were