to obey the order I gave him to stop and cover the retreat. Lieutenant Morris, of the Navy, with two boat howitzers, was met after we had crossed New Market bridge. The noble conduct of Chaplain Winslow and the generous hearted men who remained behind to help the wounded deserve the highest praise, and the toilsome task which they accomplished of dragging the rude vehicles filled with their helpless comrades over a weary road of nine miles in their exhausted condition, with the prospect of an attack every minutes, bespeak a goodness of heart and bravery never excelled.

Besides the wounded and dead left behind there were a number of canteens and haversacks and a few muskets and bayonets, all of which, I think, was caused by a misunderstanding. our regiment did not think we were going back more than a few hundred yards to rest a little out of fire and then make another attack. There was no pursuing force or the least cause for pricipitancy. No shots were fired at the little party who carried away the limber of Lieuteant Greble's gun, and the long while which elapsed without any one appearing in front of the enemy's lines would indicate that he was very weak in numbers, or perhaps had begun to retire. The force which the enemy brought into action was not, I think, greater than 500 men. His great advantage over us was artillery, protected from our fire. I still am of the opinion that the position as we found it was not difficult to take with experienced troops, and could have been turned on our left. The trees protected our approach and sheltered us from their battery till we were quite close, and the march in front was practicable for footmen. We labored under great disadvantage in want of sleep, long marching, and hunger. The enemy had a rifled gun or two shooting bolts of about the caliber of 4-pounders and eight inches long, with soft metal base. Some of them were hollow, with a Bormann fuse at the point, and all did not burst. Some of their 12-pounder shells also failed to explode. There were probably three to five guns sheltered by a breast-work, and one or two that were moved around to different points. The breast-work was placed so that the guns enfilanded the little bridge. The gun placed to sweep the long reach of road before you came to the bridge was driven away by Lieutenant Grebe's fire, which prevented our loss from being far greater than it was. The skill and bravery displayed by Lieutenant Grebe could not have been surpassed, and the fortune which protected him from the enemy's fire only deserted him at the last moment. The discharge which killed him was one of the last made by the enemy's guns. His own guns were never silenced by the enemy's fire, and the occasional pauses were to husband his ammunition.

G. K. WARREN,

Lieutenant-General.

Major General B. F. BUTLER.

[2.]

Reports of Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry, U. S. Army, commanding First Division, Tenth Army Corps, of operations on south side of the James River, Va., May 9-10, May 20, and June 2, 1864.

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, TENTH ARMY CORPS,
In the field, May 11, 1864.

COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the troops of my commanding the operations of the 9th and 10th instant:

On the morning of the 9th, Howell's brigade, consisting of the Thirty-