picket and 100 for fatigue duty, at Cumming's Point. The picket 101 was duly sent out, under Major McDonald, but Colonel McKethan left only 36 men at Cumming's Point for the fatigue. There was some bungling about this, which deranged my plans to that extent.

The Twentieth South Carolina manned the sea face and left of land face. The Nineteenth Georgia manned right of land face. These two commands supplied the engineer, Lieutenant [R. M.] Stiles, with a detail of 150 men from dark till 2 p.m. Damages were repaired, and the traverse in parade worked upon.

Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard, commanding Charleston Battalion, kept one company at Cumming's Point, one company in the sand hills, and furnished three companies to Captain Harleston, to move the new 10-inch gun to its proper chamber and mount it. Captain Harleston got the gun mounted before 1 a.m. to-day, secured the gin and left. All seemed well with the two columbiads up, but the artillery officers found one defect after another in the ordnance, and kept at work until full daylight. This was very disheartening, as being a matter of frequent recurrence. The artillery got the old columbiad in order by daylight, but the new columbiad had truck handspikes which did not fit the axles, no pawl, and a wretched vent about half the size of a friction tube. In addition, the chassis could not be traversed. The handspikes were exchanged at Fort Sumter, a pawl taken from a disabled carriage, and the vent bored out with a gimlet. The carriage does not yet traverse, but that can probably be fixed by or before night-time. I have not been disturbed by the fire of the enemy, excepting the sharpshooters, since last evening. My columbiads are well masked. This morning the Nineteenth Georgia was stationed in the sand-hills, sending a fatigue party of 50 men to report to Captain [C. W.] Parker, First South Carolina Artillery, commanding at Cumming's Point.

The Charleston Battalion has been ordered into Battery Wagner, and will furnish the picket for to-night. Our sharpshooters knocked off a mounted man of the enemy this morning. I send you, by the first opportunity, a lot of various muskets and rifles picked up lying loose in this battery. All require cleaning and some repairs. Please send plenty of fresh water and no fresh meat.

Very respectfully,

LAWRENCE M. KEITT,

Colonel, Commanding.

Captain W. F. NANCE,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

[P. S.]-Captain Gregg's and Lieutenant Askew's artillery detachments expect relief.

HEADQUARTERS BATTERY WAGNER,
August 4, 1863-12 m.

SIR: I have the honor to report the progress of affairs at this point up to 7 p.m. yesterday.

The remainder of the Fifty-first North Carolina Regiment was sent off. The Twenty-first South Carolina, Lieutenant-Colonel Dargan commanding, reported for duty 9 p.m., and soon after, Major Pringle, assistant quartermaster, reported in person that the was prepared to move the Twentieth Regiment South Carolina