was fighting retiring, the right and left and front in this part of the report is we faced the enemy, but not so that the enemy did not succeed, as Colonel Brooke says:

In throwing a column of infantry across the road and cutting off the Fifty-seventh New York Volunteers, which was the of command. Lieutenant-Colonel Chapman, commanding the regiment, proved himself to the emergency, and by promptly moving to the right by a slight detour succeeded in rejoining the column with but slight loss. I held the enemy at bay on my left and front by fighting them sharply with my flankers and skirmishers, and finally drove him by my fire into the woods on my left. The attack consisted of a heavy line of skirmishers, followed by two lines of battle, the first showing regiments.

The narrow escape of my command from the position without a serious fight with a greatly superior force, is illustrated by the following quotation from the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Chapman, who was watching our front on the east side of Cedar Run:

I received orders to withdraw my men as soon as relived by the cavalry, which proceeded to deploy a line of skirmishers about 100 yards in my rear. I recalled the skirmishers as rapidly as possible for so long a line, but found that the cavalry had begun to retire before I reached the line on which had deployed, and that I was covering their retreat instead of their covering mine. I made every effort to keep up with them, but soon found myself cut off from the road on which the division had retired and compelled to strike off across the fields toward the woods on the right. I was at this time exposed to a severe fire from the enemy's skirmishers on the right as we marched back, and a section of artillery on the road; and, notwithstanding every effort was made to screen the men by taking advantage of every cover the ground afforded, I regret to report that 1 officer and men are supposed to have been wounded fallen into the hands of the enemy.

The ambulance officer, Lieutenant Anderson, of the First Division, showed great energy and bravery in carrying off the wounded at this time. He excited the admiration of all by carrying off a wounded soldier on his horse from the very grasp of the enemy, a tribute to which heroism they acknowledged by forbearing to fire upon him.

This creditable operation of my rear guard I witnessed from a commanding position on the road to Catlett's Station were General Caldwell's division was reformed to again check the enemy's advance, and exact from him a loss of time in reconnoitering our new position and planing an attack upon it.

The long lines of the enemy showed a heavy force of infantry which advance to the position we had abandoned, and, after watching us a little while, moved off to their left flank toward our right and rear. We took no prisoners here, but according to General Lee's report, this force was Ewell's corps, accompanied by the main body of the cavalry, and he says, "Ewell's advance forced back our rear guard and rapidly pursued;" but the extent of the pursuit I have now recorded.

General Gregg's cavalry was also reformed on the second position taken up by General Caldwell's division; one brigade under Colonel Gregg extending and covering well to our left the rear guard of which had crossed Cedar Run about 2 1/2 miles below Auburn. The rest of the division, under General Gregg, took post on my fight. During these operations General Gregg's cavalry had been constantly skirmishers with the enemy's advance, had sustained considerable loss in wounded, which had all been carried off, and nearly exhausted their ammunition. Finding the enemy designed no further pursuit directly after us I arranged with General Gregg to watch my flanks with the cavalry as I continued my movement toward the rest of the army, his ambulances and artillery joining my column.

General Caldwell's division then again to the rear, Colonel