cupied by my skirmishers, and at the same time, a piece of artillery opened from the woods on the right of Dr.______'s house and another opened fire on my right from a position to the north of that house. I soon ascertained that the enemy had a much larger force than I at first supposed, including some cavalry, and that they were concealed in and behind every building, behind the fences, and some in trees, from which cover they kept up a brisk fire, and at the same time, were so concealed that allowed the skirmishers to fall back about 20 yards, in order that they might get under cover of the hill. As soon as the artillery got began to leave them rapidly, and soon after appeared to be retreating. i then moved the line of skirmishers up to the crest of the hill, and as I saw the Seventy-seventh New York Volunteers advancing on double quick I ordered on my men, arriving in the place simultaneously with that regiment, and found the place entirely vacated by the enemy. i immediately changed the front of the line of skirmishers to the left, and advanced them southerly to about half-way from the village to the Chickahominy and halted, where we remained until late in the day we were relieved by the picket guard.

The officers of the several companies discharged companies discharged their duty with much deliberation and bravery, and the men generally stood the severe fire to which they were for a time entirely exposed remarkably well. The casualties of my command on that day were 1 private killed, 1 sergeant and 2 privates wounded, of Company K, and 1 private of Company G wounded. Several others had their clothes perforated with balls, and some guns were damaged.

JOS. W. CORNING,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Thirty-third Regiment New York Vols.

Numbers 10. Reports of Colonel James B. McKean,

Seventy-seventh New york Infantry.

HDQRS. SEVENTY-SEVENTH Regiment N. Y. S. VOLS,
Near Mechanicsville, Va., May 26, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to report that on the afternoon of Friday, May 23 instant, this regiment and the rest of the Third Brigade, Smith's division, advanced toward Richmond by the road leading through Mechanicsville, and when we were between 2 and 3 miles from and in front of that village we were fired upon by the enemy's artillery, stationed in a field by the side of the road about half a mile in front of us. The position of the enemy commanded the bridge by which we were to cross a portion of the Chickahominy swamp. A deep ravine, swampy and miry, lay on our right, and entering the swamp mentioned above nearly at right angles.

In obedience to the commands of Brigadier-General Davidson i deployed my regiment as skirmishers and pushed through the miry ravine on our right into and through the field beyond. Then sweeping around to the left, we skirmished through the first-mentioned swamp about a mile to the right of the bridge-a swamp through which it was impossible to the right of the field and staff, and where I, my officers and men, sand deep in the mud and water. On ascending the