straightened out on the road, we overtook General Ayres, who had not yet broken camp. Our division, therefore, was obliged to close up and halt again until he got in motion. We then moved on through Sussex Court-House to within three-fourths of a mile of Freeman's Bridge, where the troops were ordered to mass to allow the trains

to cross the Nottoway River. Disposition was also made of the brigade of Brevet Brigadier-General McAllister to cover the crossing of General Crawford's division, after which the entire command withdrew to the north side of the river and camped for the night about three miles up the Jerusalem plank road at 8.30 p. m. On the morning of December 12, pursuant to orders from corps headquarters, the division moved at 7 a. m. and continued its march up the plank road toward our old camps. On our arrival and reporting to headquarters Second Corps about 2 p. m., orders were received to encamp the command outside the fortifications, between the Halifax and Vaughan roads.

Respectfully submitted.

CHAS. F. MOORE,

First Lieutenant, Eighth New Jersey Volunteers, and Aide-de-Camp.

Captain J. P. FINKELMEIER,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

Numbers 79. Report of Captain Edwin B. Houghton, Seventeenth Maine Infantry, Acting Division Inspector, of operations December 7-12.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, SECOND CORPS, December 15, 1864.

CAPTAIN: In obedience to instructions from the brevet major-general commanding, I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by this division in the recent expedition to the Weldon railroad:

On the morning of Wednesday, the 7th instant, the division broke camp at daylight, pursuant to orders from headquarters Fifth Army Corps, and marched in the following order: First Brigade, Brigadier General R. de Trobriand commanding; Second Brigade, Brigadier General B. R. Pierce commanding; Third Brigade, Bvt. Brigadier General R. McAllister commanding. During the morning Battery B, Fourth U. S. Artillery (temporarily assigned to the division), joined the column and was assigned a position between the Second and Third Brigades. The troops were provided with four days' rations on the person, two days' in the wagons, and beeves on foot, with sixty rounds of ammunition per man on the person. Following the Fifth Corps, the division marched down the Jerusalem plank road a distance of about fifteen miles to Hawkinsville, or Freeman's Tavern, where a halt was made at 4.30 p. m. The column was delayed a short time by an accident to the pontoon bridge which had been laid across the Nottoway River near Freeman's Ford. At 7.30 p. m. crossed the river and bivouacked for the night in a field about three-quarters of a mile from the river. On the morning of Thursday, December 8, the division marched at daylight, and to the brevet major-general commanding was assigned the duty of protecting

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