our forces. After a short rest, ordered to return to the city and await orders.

At 3.30 p.m. ordered to recross the river and support a battery which was placed in position to protect the upper pontoon bridge. My command has remained in this position until date, awaiting further orders.

The loss sustained by my regiment was very slight, being but 2 men slightly wounded. Some prisoners were captured by my men and sent to headquarters. No property was lost save that belonging to the wounded men, and nothing captured from the enemy.

The officers and men of my command behaved well, both on the march and under fire, and at the close of the day no men were absent or unaccounted for.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

GEO. C. JOSLIN,

Major, Commanding Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteers.

Lieutenant ANDREW LEVERING,

Actg. Asst. Adjt. General

No. 87. Report of Lieutenant Colonel William Colvill, jr., First Minnesota Infantry.

HDQRS. FIRST MINNESOTA VOLUNTEERS, May 8, 1863.

LIEUTENANT: I have the honor to forward the following report of the part taken by this command in the late action at Fredericksburg, commencing on the 3rd instant:

At 2 a.m. of that day, in obedience to orders, I marched the regiment from its old camp to the Lacy house, opposite Fredericksburg, where it remained under arms until the completion of the bridge at that point shortly after daylight, and then marched with the rest of the brigade across the river and occupied the town. A heavy action at that time being in progress between the corps of General Sedgwick and the enemy, on our left, we were moved, with three other regiments of the brigade, along the base of the hills in the rear of the town to the river, where the enemy's left was posted, marching the whole distance (over 1 mile) under a heavy artillery fire at short range, from which we were entirely unprotected, and were wholly unable to return. Upon arriving at the river bank we were halted, and, seeing the enemy placing a battery in position to enfilade my whole command, as well as the regiment in the rear, with the permission of the colonel commanding the brigade, I placed it under cover of the intrenchments abandoned by the enemy, running along the parallel with the river, upon which they then opened a heavy fire, which, proving wholly ineffective, was soon discontinued. Here we remained until the object of the movement was accomplished, viz, the withdrawal of a large force of the enemy from General Sedgwick's front and the subsequent capture of the heights by him, when we marched down the river, by the flank, and joined his command in the rear of the town, and then marched with it about 3 miles out on the Plank road, when, after remaining about one hour and no enemy being reported in front, we marched back into the town, where we arrived at 3 p.m., and, after resting, recrossed the river and took position, covering the lower bridge, supporting Captain Adams' battery (G, First Rhode Island Artillery). There we remained that night the next day, strongly intrenching ourselves