the enemy was at its height, we heard a sharp volley of musketry in front, which sent a pretty good shower of balls whizzing over our heads. There was a little opening here, on the left of the road. Across this we now saw Thomas's brigade advancing in line. The skirmishers in front cheered and fired freely, and the battle seemed to be right at hand. What they had encountered I do not knowdismounted cavalry, I suppose. Thomas's brigade advanced into the woods beyond, and the firing became more rapid; but whether the main line ever became engaged, I cannot tell. We were ordered to lie down in the road, fronting almost at right-angles with the line of Thomas's brigade. The balls of the enemy came over us by spells, sometimes quite thickly; but they were very high. We lay still until dark. Now, it appeared that we had about reached the limit assigned Gen. Wilcox for his movement -the Jerusalem plank-road. At dark, we faced about and returned to our place on the lines near Petersburg. There were no casualties reported in the brigade.

On Wednesday, the 22d, Gen. Mahone, commanding Anderson's old division, made one of the most brilliant strokes of the campaign. Our division was sent to assist him. They pursued almost exactly the same course that we had the day before, only advancing farther, and attacking the enemy. I was on picket that day, in front of the works of the brigade left, so that I could never know the details of the affair. But I may say, generally, that Mahone's division struck the enemy unexpectedly on their left flank, captured a line of works there, and, with them, a goodly number of prisoners-seventeen hundred the accounts stated besides inflicting a considerable loss upon them in killing and wounding. A portion of the Light division was actively engaged, but our brigade remained in support throughout, lying down when there was firing in front, and making the best of it. From the picket line I could see, across a wide extent of open ground, troops moving and artillery firing. There was a rapid fight, reminding me not a little of some of Jackson's attacks in days gone by. Late in the evening the troops returned.

According to the accounts our sharpshooters gave of the close of this affair, there must have occurred a decidedly

exciting and amusing race for them. They were left behind (in the captured works of the enemy, if I mistake not) to cover the retirement of our main line. The enemy, upon ascertaining their insufficiency, pressed upon them and forced them back; but not being satisfied to have done this, they concluded to cut off and capture the little force. It seems that a road ran near the position of the sharpshooters, into which they must get, in order to make their way back. The enemy knew this, and therefore made a dash to cut them off from this road. Fighting was, of course, not in the rôle of the sharpshooters--they were only left to delay the Federals and keep up appearances. So they set off at a run for the road. It was a furious race, and for some time they were quite doubtful which party would reach the goal first. There was almost a collision at the road. There was no firing, necessarily. They told me they could hear the Federals calling to each other to hurry up and cut off the rebels. Some men said they could hear the former panting as they rushed at them. But the rebels' heels were good, and they carried no weight in the way of baggage. They outran their enemies, and effected a safe retreat. Most of the troops returned across our skirmish line, to the left of us. One little sharpshooter straggled into my line just after dark. He was still panting and laughing. "L-d G-d!" said he, “you ought to see them fat Yankees run. They run arter me, a-hollin' Stop, you d-d rebel! -d rebel! Cut off the d- -d rebels!' I heerd 'em blow. Says I to myself, 'You too fat, Yankee! You get too much to eat over your side. You don't catch me!' And you ought to 'a seed me as I slid past 'em!"

I find, on second examination of this list, 1 casualty was on the 21st, 3 on the 23d, 4 on the 24th, and 3 on the 25th.

Officers' casualties; Lieut. N. R. Bookter, Twelfth regiment, killed; Lieut. J. W. Harrell, Lieut. W. H. Bronson, Fourteenth regiment, wounded.

The Federal line was more than a mile from the works we had heretofore occupied, and by this expedition of Mahone's it was moved still farther. We were the next day carried some distance to the left-a mile at least and placed where the hostile lines approached more nearly. The change was made in daylight, of which the enemy, very naturally took advantage. They opened some guns at a distance, on the left, which completely enfiladed this portion of the line. A rapid plunge, however, into the works behind the strong traverses, saved us from any casualties.

We were now somewhat upwards of a mile from Petersburg. We were not on a very dangerous part of the line. The division on our left (Bushrod Johnson's) was much nearer the enemy, and under such a constant fire of sharpshooters, that no one could with safety expose himself above the works. Where we were, the enemy's line of battle must have been near a mile distant. Our skirmishline was about four hundred yards in our front. The Federal skirmishers were three or four hundred yards from them. There was sharp firing between the skirmishers for several days, and some of our men were killed; and once we were subjected to a shelling from the front and the left flank, which threatened to do considerable damage. But we suffered less from the enemy than from the heat, filth, and bad fare. Coffee was, happily, issued to us quite regularly, and in sufficient quantity to allow us two good cups a day. It was of immense service to us.

CHAPTER XIV.

BATTLES OF DEEP

RETURN TO NORTH SIDE OF THE JAMES.
BOTTOM AND FUSSEL'S MILLS. JULY 1 TO AUGUST 16.

HETH's division, or a portion of it, had been left on the north side of the James, holding the defences below Chaffin's Bluff. McGowan's brigade and Lane's brigade received orders, on the evening of Wednesday, the 29th of June, or Thursday, the 30th, to march thither and relieve them. Gen. Connor was placed in command of the two brigades, Lieut. Col. J. F. Hunt commanded McGowan's brigade, and Col. J. D. BARRY, of North Carolina, Lane's brigade.

We left the intrenchments just after dark, passed through Petersburg, crossed the Appomattox, and marched up the turnpike towards Richmond. We had, it is true, the advantage of the cooler air of night, but, in all other respects, this march proved fully as uncomfortable as the one we made when first going to Petersburg. It was a dark night, and the road as dusty as possible. Water could scarcely be obtained at all. We were marched as if the salvation of the Confederacy depended on our speedy arrival somewhere north of James river. It was more than men, already exhausted by fatigue and sickness, could stand. The straggling commenced before we were well out of Petersburg, and every mile received a contribution. When we halted, every one stretched himself where he stopped, and sank to sleep. Many would have to be almost lifted upon their feet, to be put on the move again. We even slept walking. Thus we spent the night; and when day dawned, it found a dusty, blear-eyed, straggling column bearing in from the main road, towards Chaffin's Bluff. Here we crossed on the pontoon, and proceeded eastward, towards the works. These we reached, after some three miles' walk. It was now ten or eleven o'clock.

We had marched fourteen or fifteen hours, and must have made thirty miles. Three hundred would be not an unfair estimate of the number of men we carried into the lines. I know that I had seven men, in the company I commanded, and this was about the largest company in my regiment. I noticed one company represented by two men. The whole brigade collected by night!

We occupied the line of breast works which commenced almost in front of Fort Harrison, and extended in a northerly direction, approaching pretty closely to Malvern Hill. Heth's division set out for Petersburg immediately on our arrival. We were now in General Ewell's department. There was a brigade or two of cavalry on our left, on our right was artillery, manning Fort Harrison, Fort Gilmer, Chaffin's Bluff, and other fortifications about the river; but the only infantry troops on this line, besides our brigade and Lane's, were the Richmond City Battalion. and, perhaps, a scattering of valiant Reserves. We kept up a good picket a quarter of a mile or more in front, and occasionally added to the works or to the abatis; but the enemy were at a considerable distance, and gave us no cause of offence for some time. We therefore unbuckled our armor and rested.

The contentment of the troops here was a sad commentary on their previous existence. We had no tents, except the scraps of Yankee flies; we were fed on wretched bacon, wormy peas, and corn-meal, with a small sprinkling of coffee; we lacked shoes and clothing; we were exposed to great heat and kept constantly on some sort of duty; yet we constructed arbors of branches, picked blackberries, smoked pipes, (when we had tobacco,) and felt very comfortable indeed. We did not envy the City Battalion their fine clothes; we did not envy the heavy artillery their vegetable gardens or their pig-pens; we did not even envy the boat-hands on the river, who fattened on government bacon; we were perfectly satisfied to be left in the shade for a little while.

In a few days after our arrival here, the First regiment was removed to Fort Harrison, and established as a garrison there. They now felt themselves "fixed." There were houses to live in, and there was no picket to perform.