our lines with both divisions. Mahone attacked Bragg's Brigade of Crawford's Division, on our right, with great fury, overwhelming the Nineteenth Indiana, and pressing through the gap like a torrent, thus separating Wilcox and Crawford. The latter was strongly intrenched in a thick wood opposite Davis Farm. Mahone, therefore, while fiercely engaging him in front with his own troops and the brigade of Clingman, sent Colquitt's Georgians upon his flank, which was so effectually turned that nearly a thousand of Crawford's Division were made prisoners. Meanwhile, on the left, the impetuous advance of Heth ́had carried the intrenchments erected since the morning, besides driving back the line, and enveloping the regular brigade of Hayes. But the First and Second Divisions of the Ninth Corps now arrived to re-enforce the Federals, after an exhausting forced march. They formed quickly, and charged, capturing several hundred prisoners. This charge enabled the hard-pressed troops of the Fifth Corps to rally; and the rebels, being in turn overlapped, were driven back with loss, and the disaster of the earlier part of the day retrieved. The approach of night stopped the conflict. The Federal loss was one thousand five hundred killed and wounded, and about two thousand prisoners. The loss of the enemy was probably equally severe in killed and wounded. The result of this fight was to give the enemy possession of the Weldon road as far as Yellow Tavern, while our forces still held the position first taken by Warren.

On Sunday, the 21st, the Federal line held nearly the same position, and at nine o'clock the enemy again attacked with his usual impetuosity, and, after a conflict of two hours, was repulsed with the loss of over two thousand men, including Generals Saunders and Lamar killed, and Barton, Finnegan, and Andrews wounded. During the night of Sunday the cannonade was heavy in front of the Fifth Corps. But on Monday it was discovered that the enemy had retired, and intrenched himself three miles from Petersburg.

While these events took place, one division of the Second Corps had been withdrawn from Deep Bottom and hurried across to Petersburg in season to take possession of the intrenchments vacated by the Fifth Corps in their march to the Weldon Railroad. The other two divisions, Gregg's Cavalry and the Tenth Corps, commenced a similar movement on Saturday night, and soon Foster remained, as before, in sole possession of Deep Bottom. In a single night, by a forced march, in which the infantry out marched the cavalry, the Second Corps crossed the two rivers, and reached the lines of the Ninth Corps on Sunday morning. On Monday, Barlow's Division (temporarily under Miles) was occupied in tearing up the railroad track from the line of the Fifth Corps down towards Reams's Station. On Monday night, Gibbon's Division marched towards Reams', and on Tuesday continued the destruction of the track in the region of that station. The weather continued wet, and the roads very bad.

On Tuesday, Warren again pushed his line towards Petersburg, and busily intrenched, skirmishing going on between the pickets as on Monday. The Second Corps was equally busy in tearing up the track in his rear.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday night the heavy cannon

ading was repeated by the enemy, the greater part being directed against the Eighteenth Corps. On Wednesday the destruction of the railroad was continued, so that by night it was complete from a point four miles from Petersburg down to two miles below Reams's, towards Weldon. Our line of battle in the Fifth Corps, meanwhile, extended clear across the Weldon road, and our skirmishers lay near the Vaughan road, three and a half miles from Petersburg.

On Thursday morning, the 25th, Gibbon's Division of the Second Corps moved down the railroad from Reams's Station, to prosecute the destruction of the road. When about a mile below the station, the cavalry advance, which had been skirmishing all the morning, was suddenly checked and driven back by the enemy's picket line. The old intrenchments erected by the Sixth Corps still surrounded the station in semicircular form, covering the railroad both above and below it. Miles (now in command of Barlow's Division) had posted his men as follows: Colonel Lynch's (First) Brigade on the right; next, the Second and Third Brigades, under Major Byron; next, the Fourth Brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Brodie; finally, on the left, Alcock's Fourth New York heavy artillery regiment. The enemy appeared, soon after noon, in front of Miles, and Hancock at once ordered Gibbon to fall back and form junction with Miles's left, to cover and protect that flank. The cavalry followed, and covered the left flank and rear. Gibbon disposed his troops so as to face down the railroad in a southerly and southeasterly direction, his right joining Miles's left at the railroad, and Miles facing west. Thus the line was somewhat in the form of a horseshoe. In Gibbon's line, the Third Brigade was on the left, the First in the centre, and the Second on the right, joining Miles. About two o'clock the enemy's demonstrations culminated in a grand advance of his skirmish line.

The rebel column of attack, under General A. P. Hill, was composed of three brigades, commanded by Heth and Connor, with Pegram's Artillery. At half-past three o'clock this column emerged from the woods with fixed bayonets, and advanced at a rapid pace with loud cheers. The column was smitten with a concentrated fire from four batteries and musketry, but penetrated to within twenty paces of the line, when it recoiled. The Federals had suffered severely from a musketry fire from the enemy's right to cover this charge. The charge was repeated an hour later, with similar results. The enemy then brought up his batteries, which soon opened a very severe concentric fire upon the circular position of the Federals. The shot that passed the troops of Miles did considerable execution upon those of Gibbon. This was sustained for twenty minutes, when the fire suddenly ceased, and with loud yells. the enemy sprang forward to a fourth assault, charging furiously with fixed bayonets, and without firing a shot. The distance he had to pass over from the woods to the line was not great, and the efficiency of our fire being destroyed by the previous cannonade, he gained the breast works, and in a hand-to-hand fight broke the line, forcing Miles back, and capturing several guns. To stop this irruption a portion of Gibbon's men were hurried to support Miles across a distance of half a mile, exposed to heavy fire. This had the effect of checking the

enemy for a short space, but the dismounted rebel cavalry, under Wade Hampton, seized the moment to charge the defeated line of Gibbon, and carried the works, and once more Gibbon was hurried back to restore the fight in that direction; but this time in vain. The enemy crowded forward on all sides, inflicting severe losses on the overpowered Unionists. Some regiments were reduced to mere skeletons; of the Massachusetts Twentieth, one of the best in the army, very few remained. As the night approached, Hancock withdrew his troops, leaving Reams's Station in possession of the enemy. The Federal loss was very heavy, including two thousand five hundred prisoners, one thousand killed and wounded, seven colors, and nine guns. That the enemy did not accomplish this feat without receiving severe punishment, is apparent from the following dispatches from General Meade:

"SECOND CORPS-12.30 P. M.-August 26, 1864.

"A safeguard that was left on the battle-field remained there after daylight this morning.

"At that time the enemy had all disappeared, leaving their dead on the field unburied. This shows how severely they were punished, and, doubtless hearing of the arrival of re-enforcements, they feared the results to-day if they remained.

(Signed)

"To Lieutenant-General GRANT:

"G. G. MEADE, Major-General”

"SECOND ARMY CORPS, August 26, 1864-1 P. V.

"Since sending my last dispatch, I have conversed with the safeguard referred to. He did not leave the field until after sunrise. At that time nearly all the enemy had left, moving towards Petersburg. He says they abandoned not only their dead, but their wounded also. He conversed with an officer, who said their losses were greater than ever before during the war.

"The safeguard says he was over the field, and it was covered with the enemy's dead and wounded. He has seen a great many battle-fields, but never such a sight Nearly all the enemy's and all our wounded were brought off, but our dead were unburied. I have instructed General Gregg to make an effort to send a party to the field and bury our dead. G. G. MEADE, Major-General"

The results of this battle put the enemy in possession of the Weldon Railroad as far as Yellow Tavern. Reams is ten miles from Peters burg. The Federal troops still held three or four miles of railroad. On the same day, Butler's picket lines were driven in, with some loss, but were soon restored.

The Army of the Potomac now maintained its position for several weeks without attempting any important enterprise, although each day was marked by some of those events which are unavoidable where two armies are in such close proximity to each other. A persistent shelling was kept up by General Grant. The operations in the valley continued to attract attention, but the movements of Sherman in Georgia were watched with the utmost anxiety. He had operated against Johnston and Hood with more or less success, until, on the 4th of September, the capture of Atlanta was announced to the Army of the Potomac, and a salute of one hundred shotted guns was ordered, to which the enemy briskly responded. On the 14th of September a remarkable raid was successfully performed by the enemy. A herd of two thousand five hundred head of cattle, destined for the consumption of the Army of the Potomac, was grazing near Coggin's Point, on the

James River, guarded by two regiments of Kautz's Cavalry. Wade Hampton, with W. F. H. Lee's Cavalry Division and Rosser's and Dearing's Brigades, moved from Reams's Station entirely around our extreme left, broke Kautz's picket line, overpowered the Union Cavalry, and captured and carried off a number of prisoners and the whole of the cattle. Gregg's and Kautz's Cavalry Divisions pursued, but without effect.

In the last week of September preparations were made by General Grant to renew the attack upon Richmond, and he seems to have drawn inspiration from the success of Sherman, in obtaining possession of Atlanta by strategy, where force was unavailing. To this end, a simultaneous attack at both extremities of the line was organized. That on the right, by the Eighteenth and Tenth Corps, with the cavalry of Kautz, was undertaken in the hope of compelling the enemy to send his troops from the defence of Petersburg to his left. The idea of compelling the enemy to weaken one point for the defence of another, seems, however, not to have been fruitful of success. The celerity with which troops appeared at the assailed points indicated great facilities for their transportation and rare energy in their movements.

On the night of Wednesday, September 28th, the two corps of Butler passed the James on muffled pontoons, the Tenth to Deep Bottom, four miles from Dutch Gap, and the Eighteenth to Aiken's Landing, which is half-way between Dutch Gap and Deep Bottom. The Eighteenth Corps, General Ord, at daylight of the 29th, proceeded by the Varina road towards its junction with the Newmarket road, driving in the enemy's skirmishers, as it advanced towards Chapin's Farm, where a long line of intrenchments runs in a westerly direction to the river, terminating in a strong work known as Battery Harrison. These works did not form part of the defences proper of Richmond, but were covered by the fire from works on the other side of the river, and by that of the enemy's gunboats. The line of advance was formed left to right of the brigades of Stannard, Burnham, Roberts, and Heckman. The line advanced under a terrible fire of artillery, and the enemy precipitately fled to other works in the rear. The result was the capture of sixteen guns and one hundred and fifty prisoners; but the fire from the enemy's guns was so intense that it was found impossible to hold the works; and General Weitzel abandoned them, concentrating his troops on the left.

Meanwhile the Tenth Corps, now commanded by Birney, proceeded from Deep Bottom towards Newmarket, encountering the skirmishers of the enemy, but no serious opposition until it reached the point where the Kingsland road crosses the Newmarket road. Here a small force held Newmarket Heights, which were readily carried, though with some loss. The enemy, with the loss of some five hundred, then retired upon Laurel Hill, six miles from Richmond, at the junction of the Varina and Newmarket roads, where was a line of strong earthworks, with a wide and deep ditch in front. The place was at once assaulted, but proved too powerful to be carried with the limited force at Birney's disposal, and at night he withdrew his troops to the intrenchments in his rear, where he remained until two o'clock on the

30th. The Union line was now formed of the Eighteenth and Tenth Corps, and the enemy, having been re-enforced from Richmond under Hoke, fell with great fury on the division of Stannard. Deploying in three strong lines at the edge of the wood, he charged with great promptitude, under cover of a hot shelling from his iron-clads in the river, and an annoying enfilading fire from the batteries on the bank. A well-directed, rolling musketry fire sent the rebels reeling back to the wood, before they could reach the intrenchments. Again and still a third time they rallied, were re-formed, and made the charge. But, though they got near the works, it was only to be repulsed with great slaughter. Our men had been instructed to lower their pieces, and the musketry fire was at once incessant and murderous. On the breaking of the enemy, General Weitzel succeeded in cutting off over two hundred prisoners, including twenty officers. The enemy's total loss was probably a thousand men, and ours probably less than five hundred. Among the wounded officers was General Stannard, who lost an arm. After this movement, little of importance took place until Friday, October 7th. The Federal line was formed of the Eighteenth Corps, on the left, the Tenth on the centre and right, and the cavalry on the extreme right, on the Darbytown road. The left was intrenched at Battery Harrison, about ten miles from Richmond, and the right about five miles from Richmond, in an air line on the Charles City road. At early dawn on the 7th, Anderson, with Hoke's and Field's Divisions, advanced down the Darbytown and Charles City roads, and attacked Kautz's Division with such suddenness and fury, that the whole broke and fled. This disaster gave the enemy possession of the Darbytown road, and pressing on in pursuit, they soon encountered our right centre, the right of the Tenth Corps. Meanwhile, the cavalry had gained in their flight Signal Hill and Newmarket Heights. Birney held a strongly intrenched line, with the right flank refused. On the right was Terry's First Division, lying along the refused flank, and covering the Newmarket road. His troops were in rifle-pits, in heavy woods. The ground on the left of the line was open, and here the artillery was posted-four six-gun batteries-which swept not only its own front, but shelled the ground by which the right could be reached. Proper and skilful dispositions were briskly made on the stampede of the cavalry, and, before the enemy was on him, Terry was ready. As the enemy approached, he was greeted with a heavy cross-fire of artillery from our left, in answer to which he got two batteries into position. These, however, were soon overmatched. Meanwhile, Field's Division moved up in excellent order to the assault, dashing over the open at double-quick, and succeeded in gaining the woods on our right. Not only, however, was the open made dangerous by artillery, but the partially felled woods were difficult of penetration. Our infantry remained quiet until the enemy was very close, when all four brigades, rising from their half-ambush, poured into him a sudden and destructive fire.

After a protracted engagement, the enemy, finding his efforts vain, withdrew in great confusion along the central road, followed closely by Terry. He finally retired upon the Charles City road, thus leaving