Major Kennon McElroy, and Captain Brooks, on whom the regimental commands devolved, all discharged their duties with signal ability; Captain Inge, assistant adjutant-general of this brigade, distinguished in every path where duty leads to peril, was most conspicuous on the field, where he won for himself the united commendation of the brigade and regimental commanders, to whose testimony I can add my own from personal observation; Colonel J. G. Hodges and Lieutenant Colonel M. F. T. Evans, of the Fourteenth Virginia; Colonel E. C. Edmonds and Major Jos. R. Cabell, Thirty-eighth Virginia, and Colonel H. B. Tomlin, of the Fifty-third Virginia-all deserved the commendation of their brigade commanders and my own.

Brigadier-General Armistead held the line of battle in the wood which skirted the field, and after bringing on the action in the most gallant manner by repulsing an attack of a heavy body of the enemy's skirmishers, skillfully lent support to the contending troops in front when it was required.

Brigadier-General Cobb, whose brigade was posted at three different stations, occupied a central position near General Lewis A. Armistead, and rendered gallant and useful service, not only by the promptness and skill with which he came forward and placed his troops in the front in support of General Armistead, but by the devotion with which he rallied, under an extremely heavy fire, bodies of troops which had suffered severely from the enemy.

Brigadier-General Jones, with his admirable division of gallant Georgians, the brigades commanded by General Toombs and Colonel Anderson, lent efficient support to the troops in front, enabling them to maintain their ground.

I regret to lose the services of my gallant and efficient assistant adjutant-general, Major Henry Bryan, who was twice severely wounded while accompanying Cobb's brigade to the attack on the batteries. My thanks are especially due to my aides-de-camp, Lieutenants Alston and Eustis; Lieutenant-Colonel Cary, inspector-general; Major Bloomfield, chief quartermaster; Major Brent, chief of ordnance; Major Hyllested, of the Zouave Battalion, acting aide-de-camp; Captain Dickinson, assistant adjutant-general; Lieutenant Phillips, of the Confederate Cavalry; Mr. H. M. Stanard, acting aide-de-camp, and Mr. J. Randolph Bryan, acting aide-de-camp, for distinguished and gallant services on the field. Major A. B. Magruder discharged all his duties to my entire satisfaction. I am also indebted to Captain Coward, of General Jones' staff, for gallant and valuable services. Captain Norris, of the Signal Corps, and Messrs. D. F. Brashear and A. C. Dickinson carried my orders on the field and rendered good service. The brave and devoted troopers of the Charles City Cavalry were on this, as on all other occasions, distinguished for the promptness, intrepidity, and intelligence with which they discharged their important duties. To their chivalric and enterprising lieutenant, Hill Carter, jr., I owe a public acknowledgment of the great services he has rendered the country on every occasion which presented itself within the last fifteen months.

I beg leave to bear testimony to the gallantry, skill, and ability of Lieutenant Colonel Stephen D. Lee, my chief of artillery.

It is proper to add that, though the general orders of battle directing the week's operations required the chief engineer, Major Stevens, to assign engineer officers to each division, whose duty it should be "to make provision for overcoming all difficulties to the progress of the troops," no engineer officer was sent to me. Lieutenant Douglas, of

43 R R-VOL XI, PT II