ering their work. Commenced work on said gallery, running northwest from covered gallery in crater.

June 29 to July 2. -Sick and confined to tent.

July 1. -The mine under left curtain of Fort Hill was fired to day at 1 o'clock. Perfect success, blowing some 7 or 8 rebels, who were engaged in countermining, within our lines.

July 3. -Flag of truce in; no work done.

July 4. -Vicksburg surrendered at 10 o'clock. For more full and complete understanding of engineering operations of corps I will most respectfully refer to reports and plat of survey of out front by Mr. Tresilian, engineer of THIRD DIVISION, SEVENTEENTH Army Corps, and which have been forwarded directed to chief engineer of the department. The accompanying sketch* will more fully illustrate the operations upon main or central approach.

Very respectfully,

A. Hickenloper,

Captain, and Chief Engineer SEVENTEENTH Army Corps.

Lieutenant Colonel JAMES H. WILSON, Insp. General, DEPT. of the Tenn.

Number 11. Reports of Cap. Stewart R. Tresilian, engineer Officer THIRD DIVISION, including operations since April 25. HDQRS. THIRD DIVISION, SEVENTEENTH ARMY CORPS, Camp in rear of Vicksburg MISS. June 1, 1863.

COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of work assigned to me as assistant engineer to the THIRD DIVISION, SEVENTEENTH Army Corps, and performed by me since April 25. I left Milliken's Bend on the Mississippi River, on the morning of April 25 last, with 2 sergeants of the pioneer corps and 30 Negroes, and traversed the margin of Bayous Walnut at the town of Richmond, roundaway at its junction with Bayou Walnut at the town of Richmond, in the parish of Carroll, Louisiana. Crossing bayou Vidal with the Mississippi, at 8 o'clock at night of the 28th, we replenished or rations. During this part of the march, up to the first crossing of Bayou Vidal, the roads having been newly opened through cultivated fields, and scarcely any material to be found adjacent enough to repair them, we had to work night any day reconstructing almost every drain crossing from Richmond to this point. Here we had to corduroy on both sides of the bayou three=fourths of a mile, and open a new road through the skirt of woodland to the pontoon bridge at the south crossing of Bayou Vidal. The first 24-pounder howitzer of the McAllister Battery, attached to the THIRD DIVISION, submerging the THIRD pontoon on the south end of the bridge, I had to stop the travel, and lashing two long beams longitudinally to the ends of the two boats next the weak point, parallel to the roadway, I forces two skiffs under the beams, and, lashing them securely, gave sufficient buoyancy to the bridge to sustain not only the remaining part of the batteries attached to the DIVISION, by also the 30-pounder Parrot battery, manned by the First U. S. Infantry. Leaving Hard Times Landing at 12 o'clock, after four hours' rest, we

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*See p. 201.

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