on the part of the retreating rebels, who abandoned wagons, ambulances containing their wounded, and left a portion of their wounded on the field and in the adjoining houses without surgical attendance. On the 18th we marched about twelve miles with our train, over very muddy, miry roads, and reached camp about 5 a. m. the following morning, having marched all night, when we rested for about three hours. At 8 a. m. on the 19th we resumed the march in rear of the train, and about 1 p. m. we left the train and moved rapidly forward till about 3 p. m., when we reached a point near Bentonville, N. C., where the enemy had attacked a portion of the Fourteenth Corps, and the brigade was almost immediately formed on the right of the road leading toward Goldsborough, the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers occupying the left of the line of the brigade, with the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteers in column in our immediate rear. In this position we were ordered to advance and relieve a brigade of the Fourteenth Corps, supposed to be in our immediate front. The regiment advanced with the brigade line through the woods for twenty or thirty rods, then across a swamp, when we emerged into an open wood of heavy pine timber, and some twenty rods from the swamp was a thick growth of underbrush directly in our front. After advancing nearly to the edge of the heavy pine forest we received a tremendous volley from the enemy, whose lines were concealed not more than a dozen rods from us, behind the underbrush, which was immediately returned. Our line was established and held till after dark without assistance, although the enemy brought up another line of battle against us, and made the most determined efforts to drive us from the field, yet the men stood as firm as a rock, never flinching under the murderous fire, or giving an inch of ground. Soon after dark the enemy retired, leaving his dead and many of his wounded in our hands, when we threw up a temporary line of works and bivouacked on the battle-field, after assisting in removing our dead and wounded. The regiment in this engagement, remarkable both for the obstinacy, with which the rebels fought and for the terrible fire which they maintained, sustained its reputation for courage and valor, which it had already established on many a hard-fought battle-field. The officers and men composing it fight for no other honor than that of our common country; they seek no glory but that of maintaining the majesty of the law, and of sustaining and perpetuating the blood-bought privileges of human liberty, and hence they have never been known to turn their back on the foe.

The casualties for this day were as follows: *

On the morning of the 20th the rebels were found to have fallen back about a mile and a half, and this regiment, with the brigade, were withdrawn from its position and moved to the rear, and about 2 p. m. we moved over toward the left and advanced and extended our line in that direction, built intrenchments, remaining in this position over night and till the afternoon of the following day, when we again moved out of the line toward the right and rear of the corps, where we remained until the following morning (the 22nd), when the enemy was found to have fallen back still farther, abandoning a strong line of works, and we moved to the right, taking the road to Goldsborough, halting over night ten miles from the battle-field. 23rd, we resumed the march, passing through the camp of the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, crossed the Neuse River about noon, and encamped for the night four miles north of

---------------

*Nominal list (omitted) shows 4 men killed, 30 men wounded, and 2 men missing.

---------------