enemy was steadily driven back until he sought refuge behind a breast-work, which was covered in front by a marsh. Here I was directed to halt my command for the night. My men threw up a temporary breastwork to cover their line from the fire of the enemy's artillery. The firing mostly ceased at dark, and the enemy withdrew during the night.

I regret the loss of 2 enlisted men killed and 32 wounded in this engagement. It is also with much sorrow that I mention the loss by wounding of 7 commissioned officers of my command. They all deserve the highest praise for their gallant conduct, and it affords me pleasure to report their names, which are as follows:

Lieutenant Colonel D. Thomson, Eighty-second Ohio Veteran Volunteers, severely wounded; Lieutenant Colonel H. Watkins, One hundred and forty-third New York Volunteers, contusion in right leg; Major John Higgins, One hundred and forty-third New York Volunteers, severely wounded; Captain George Heinzmann, Eighty-second Illinois Volunteers, severely wounded; First Lieutenant R. M. J. Hardenburgh, One hundred and forty-third New York Volunteers, mortally wounded, since dead; Lieutenant Edwin E. Cummings, Thirty-First Wisconsin Volunteers, thumb shot off; Second Lieutenant William Brant, Eighty-second Ohio Veteran Volunteers, severely wounded in arm.

To my entire brigade, including both the officers and men, I must award the credit of having behaved with great gallantry throughout this affair. Though the fighting was all done on the level field and without breast-works or fortifications of any kind, yet there was no discoverable straggling, and each officer and man seemed to desire above all things to acquit himself well and nobly.

My brigade marched again at 3 p.m. on the 17th and reached Black River at nightfall. On the following morning its March was resumed at 6 o'clock. The Black River was crossed by fording, and my brigade pushed forward toward Bentonville. The troops corduroyed the bad places in the roads and assisted the trains when necessary. At 3 p.m. I was directed to move my brigade out a side road and cover the left flank. My regiments were placed in position and remained until 5 o'clock, when my brigade was relieved by troops from the Third Division and its March was resumed. My command kept moving until 11 o'clock at night, when it encamped. The March was continued at 6 o'clock on the following morning. The road was very bad and much of it had to be corduroyed. My command alternated in this work with the Second Brigade. At noon I crossed Ming Creek, and halted my brigade for dinner at the crossing of the Smithfield and Goldsborough roads. At this point lively cannonading was heard, apparently about five miles to the front. I was directed to leave a regiment to relieve the One hundred and fiftieth New York Volunteers in covering the Smithfield road. Detailing the One hundred and first Illinois Volunteers for this purpose, I pushed forward with the remainder of my command at 2 p.m. In about an hour my brigade arrived at the scene of the fighting. The Fourteenth Corps had become considerably engaged. I was directed to move my command immediately to the front and fill up a gap in the line of Carlin's division. I complied with this order at once, and formed my regiments in two lines, three being on the front and two in reserve. The former were the Sixty-First and Eighty-second Ohio Veteran and the Thirty-First Wisconsin Volunteers, and the latter were the Eighty-second Illinois and One hundred and forty-third New York Volunteers. As soon as my line was formed it began the construction of a breast-work covering its front. This work was just fairly commenced when I was directed to send my two rear regiments, the Eighty-second