Numbers 8. Report of Major John C. Haskell, C. S. Army, commanding Artillery.

HEADQUARTERS ARTILLERY,
March 16, 1863.

CAPTAIN: I have the honor most respectfully to submit the following report of the artillery under my command:

1st. Having on March 8, in obedience to orders from Major General D. H. Hill, marched from Goldsborough with a portion of the reserve artillery, I bivouacked at Falling Creek, 26 miles from Goldsborough, 8 from Kinston.

2nd. On the night of the 8th at this place I received orders to report to Brigadier General J. J. Pettigrew, and from him orders to move on to Kinston with the rifle guns of my command, which consisted of four 20-pounder Parrott guns of the Macon Light Artillery, under command of Lieutenant [C. W.] Slaten, and one 3-inch rifle of the Montgomery Light Artillery, under command of Lieutenant Davis. Having reported there with the above-mentioned guns, I was joined by the following batteries: Captain Wyatt's, with two 12-pounder Napoleons (bronze), one heavy 12-pounder (bronze), and one 10-pounder Parrott; Captain [J.] Graham's, of one 3-inch rifle, one 12-pounder howitzer, and two 6-pounders (bronze), and a section of Captain Graham's battery (attached to Daniel's brigade), of two 3-inch rifles. With this artillery I marched in rear of the brigade and trains about 21 miles from Kinston and halted for the night. About a mile from the camping ground I was delayed for over three hours by a portion of the brigades wagon train, and when they moved out, one of my guns, a 3-inch rifle, broke through a corduroy bridge, letting the pieces down into the water; all the other guns of the command escaped. Two being behind this were delayed until this gun could be pried out and the bridge repaired. All the guns then crossed except the last two. The horses of the first of these took fright and pulled one side of the gun-carriage over the edge of the bridge. The water underneath being some 4 feet deep, with great difficulty the wheels were taken off the carriage and the gun dismounted. To do this, however, it was found necessary to cut away part of the bridge, and before it could be repaired and the guns gotten to camp it was near daylight and the men and horses were much jaded.

At 7 a.m. on the 10th the artillery resumed the march in the same position as the day before and marched as far as Palmetto Creek, which was crossed by all the artillery except the 20-pounder battery, the first gun of which crushed in the bridge and was drawn out by hand with great difficulty. The bridge was then repaired in about three hours and the rest of the train passed over and moved on, allowing the brigade commissary wagons to pass in front. In this order the march was continued until within about 3 miles of the camping place for the night, when the artillery was stopped by the brigade wagon train, which had stalled in the middle of a stream. The wagons were removed by about 10 o'clock that night, when all the light guns and one 20-pounder crossed, I getting over about 11.30 o'clock. The rest of the 20-pounders were behind the commissary wagons, which did not cross until about 2 the next evening, as the stream was impassable and had to be bridged. If this battery had crossed the night before I do not think they could have advanced farther, as the horses were broken down. After crossing, the artillery again moved forward and arrived within about 2 miles