rest having been captured, killed, wounded, or lost in the darkness, and he was completely surrounded by the enemy, who were, in fact, mixed up with his men, some one cried out that Colonel Godwin's order was for them to surrender, and he immediately called for the man who made the declaration, and threatened to blow his brains out if he could find him, declaring his purpose to fight to the last moment, and calling upon his men to stand by him. He was literally overpowered by mere force of numbers and was taken with his arms in his hands.

These facts I learned from Captain Adams, assistant adjutant-general of Hoke's brigade, who managed to make his escape, after having been captured, by slipping away from the enemy and swimming the river almost naked. They are in accordance with the character of Colonel Godwin, and the fate of this gallant officer (a prisoner in the hands of a barbarous enemy) is most deeply to be deplored, and I most respectfully, through the commanding general, call the attention of the Government to his case, and ask that if any special exchanges are made he may be embraced among them.

The Fight and Seventh Louisiana Regiments shared the fate of the three regiments of Hoke's brigade which were under Godwin. Some of all the regiments, taking advantage of the darkness and confusion, managed to escape after they were overpowered, but I call attention to the fact that there was no flight, no giving back of my men from the trenches upon the approach of the enemy, but they maintained their position until overpowered by numbers and mere brute force. This fact was fully shown by the circumstance that there was no rush upon the bridge and no crowd of fugitives to be seen anywhere, but the men who did escape did it quietly, taking advantage of such opportunities as were afforded.

After I was made aware of the disaster, and Pegram's and Gordon's brigades came up, steps were taken to guard the river and prevent a crossing by the enemy. A regiment was immediately sent to the south end of the bridge, and Pegram's brigade thrown in its rear, with orders to defend the passage at all hazards. After waiting for some time to give such of our men as might be able to do so an opportunity to slip over the bridge, and after it was ascertained definitely that Hoke's brigade and the Fifth and Seventh Louisiana Regiments were overpowered, and that the enemy had a guard immediately at the northern end of the bridge, it was fired at the south end by my order, and before we moved back it had burned so far as to prevent all crossing. After sending back Dance's and Graham's batteries in accordance with orders, i moved back at 3 o'clock next morning to the vicinity of my camp.

My loss in this affair was as follows:

Casualties. Killed. Wounded. Missing.

Officers.. ... 3 117

Enlisted men.. 5 32 1,473

Total.. 5 35 1,590

Grand total.. ... ... 1,630

Those reported killed are those who were certainly known to be killed, and the wounded are those who were brought off; some of