camps here, I ordered the withdrawal of the troops, which was done with the greatest regularity and in most admirable order, all of our dead and wounded, except, perhaps, a few of those who fell upon the parapet and in the ditch of the fort, having been previously sent to the rear.

Throughout the whole of this affair I have great pleasure in reporting that the gallantry and good conduct of General Wright and Colonel Williams, directly under my eye, as also that of the several regiments engaged on the left wing, was most admirable; while the careful arrangement and skillful disposition of the forces of General Stevens, guided as they were by his own cool courage in action, supported as he was by some of the best troops in the service, have mainly contributed to the success of this reconnaissance and the safe and orderly return of our forces.

The details of the action with the notices of the several officers and men deserving special praise I shall submit as early as the reports can be obtained from the respective commanders.

The casualties to the command I regret to say are quite serious as to number and character. From the reports so far as obtained they are in General Steven's command as follows: Seven officers and 46 men killed, 14 officers and 307 men wounded, and 2 officers and about 150 men missing (more than one-half of which last number it is expected will return to camp), the expected total loss being about 450. Of General (I have not been able to get the details as yet) about 150 inall, killed, wounded, and missing. Of these many - perhaps some 40 or 50 - were, I fear, duplicated, by the fact that many of the wounded of General Stevens' command are in the hospital of General Wright, so that I doubt not the entire casualties will be much within 600 as a total for killed, wounded, and missing.*

I have the honor to remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. W. BENHAM,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Major General D. HUNTER,

Commanding Department of the South, Hilton Head, S. C.

No. 4. Report of Brigadier General Horatio G. Wright, U. S. Army, commanding First Division.

HDQRS. FIRST DIVISION, NORTH. DIST., DEPT. SOUTH,
James Island, S. C., June 18, 1862.

MAJOR: I have the honor to present the following report of my division in the action of the 16th instant:

Before proceeding to describe the part taken by the troops under my immediate command it is important, and indeed indispensable, that the plan of operations as determined upon by General Benham, and distinctly laid down by him, regarding the entire force brought into the field should be explained. This is essential to a complete understanding of the part taken by and the disposition made of the various commands in the action.

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*See revised statement, p.51.

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