According to the best of my knowledge, the Sixty- fifth Regiment of the New York National Guard received orders to march to Harrisburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, on the 17th day of June, 1863, the occasion being the invasion of that State by the rebel General Lee. I was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the regiment on the 18th day of June, and reported on the same evening to Colonel Jacob Krettner, commander of the regiment. June 19, at 9 a. m., the regiment marched for Harrisburg, taking (at Buffalo) the cars of the Erie Railway Company . Upon our departure, the regiment contained 382 men . Arrived at Harrisburg on the 20th, in the afternoon, and was ordered to Camp. Curtin . Drew [rations] and pitched tends . Quartermaster R. Flack (Sixty-fifth New York National Guard) drew blankets for the men, which came handy, as a heavy rain-storm set in that night . Some of the tents blew down, an although the men generally were went, the maintained good spirits . On the 21st of June, the weather broke fine with the morning. The regiment drew their arms, clothing, and camp and garrison equipage, and regular camp guards were established . During the day, Lieutenant[William C.] Zimmermann arrived from Buffalo with 25 additional men who belonged to the regiment . On the 22nd day, of June, Colonel Krettner was furloughed on account of sickens, and returned to Buffalo, whereupon I assumed command of the regiment . June 23, the artillery company belonging to this regiment, Captain Philip Houck, was attached to the Fourth Regiment New York Artillery, and the day following sent to Fort Washington. The Sixty-fifth after such detachment, and Seventy-fourth Regiment New York National Guard, were then formed a brigade, called the Thirty-first Brigade, New York National Guard, of which Colonel Watson A. Fox, of the Seventy-fourth, took command . June 24, at 8 p. m., the brigade received orders from General Couch to proceed to Mount Union and report to Colonel Hawley At 9 a. m. the next day the brigade started from Camp Curtin, taking the cars of Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and arrived at Mount Union at 10 p. m. the sane day ; reported to Colonel Hawley . My regiment encamped in a stone yard near a large railroad bridge, over the Junigata River . I detailed two companies, A and B, with instructions to guard the bridge, and sent our pickets to several important points. On the 26th, at 3 p. m., I received orders from Colonel Hawley to go out on picket duty as a place called Bell's Mills, 9 miles distant, to guard a mountain pass leading to Black Log and Cumberland Valleys . Leaving Company A, Captain [Conrad] Seeber, and Company B, Captain L. Krettner, at Mount Union, in company with the Seventy-fourth Regiment, I then proceeded with the rest of my command to Bell's Mills, Huntington County, arriving there at about dark . I then proceeded to establish pickets at different passes, and points, extending 2 or 3 miles through the mountains and forests. A considerable portion of the night was consumed in this way . Upon my arrival at Bell's Mills, I found the inhabitants in greta excitement, if not alarm ; they were on the point of deserting their homes, and many of them were busily engaged removing their stock and other property. Here our troops received valuable assistance from Mr. David Bell, the proprietor, I believe, of the mills . I was also indebted to him for valuable information concerning the roads and passes . By this activity and influence, the farmers and people of that section were gotten out, and assisted in obstructing the roads and passes by piling logs and felling