Hoping, colonel, in your report my regiment will be favorably mentioned for their gallantry and courage, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WM. B. KEELER,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Thirty-fifth Iowa Infty. Regiment

Colonel S. G. HILL,

Commanding Third Brigade.

Numbers 36. Reports of Lieutenant Colonel William H. Heath, Thirty-third Missouri Infantry, of affair at Henderson's Hill.

HDQRS. THIRTY-THIRD MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS, Alexandria, La., March 23, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to report that, in obedience to orders from brigade headquarters, this regiment moved with other troops of the First Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, from Alexandria, La., at 6.30 a. m., on Monday, March 21, 1864, arriving in front of the enemy's position at Henderson's Hill, La., at about 12 m. of the same day. After a short rest we crossed, with other troops of the command, to the lower side of Bayou Rapides, and after a march of about 5 miles through marshy lands and pine forests, were halted and ordered to support a section of Battery G, Fifth U. S. Artillery. We moved in rear of that section for about 1 mile, when a halt was ordered for rest. The men had suffered very severely from hard marching and bad roads. The rain had fallen from 1 to 6 p. m., making the ground very soft and slippery, and compelling some of them from sheer exhaustion to leave the ranks. In addition to this, it had hailed severely, and was very cold. After quite a long halt, it being ascertained that we were in the rear of the enemy's camp at Henderson's Hill, and between him and the camp of the rebel General Walker, arrangements were made for an immediate attack. The Thirty-fifth Iowa Infantry, being in advance, was ordered to move on the former camp, and the Second Brigade having come up I was ordered to leave the artillery with them, and move immediately forward to support the Thirty-fifth Iowa, which I did at once, moving rapidly up. The enemy's pickets were relieved by the advance and placed under guard, a section of his battery, with caissons and horses, captured, and the center of his camp gained without raising any alarm or meeting any opposition, the enemy mistaking us for re-enforcements which had been requested from General Walker. Moving rapidly now, with fixed bayonets, through his camp, we succeeded, without resistance, except a few pistol-shots, in capturing a gun and limber and two caissons, all with horses complete, besides a number of prisoners, cavalry horses and equipments, and a few small-arms. The Thirty-fifth Iowa being already burdened with prisoners, we were ordered to turn over all our captures to them, and move to the front, which was done at once, and we passed out of the enemy's main camp to the Bayou Rapides. Finding the bridge over this bayou in our front destroyed by fire, we moved to our left along the bayou, under orders of the brigade commander, throwing out Companies D and H as skirmishers. Passing through an open field, our skirmishers picked