brigade had broken after receiving but a slight fire from the enemy. I requested him to form his brigade and advance to the woods in front and deploy so as to stop the men from falling back. I discovered many men from the Maryland brigade, rallied quite a number of them, and asked General Gwyn to take charge of them along with his own command. I then sent Captain Melcher with a dispatch to you informing you of this state of affairs (hour, 5.15 p.m.) Gwyn's brigade advanced just to the edge of the woods and halted. In the meantime several hundred men from the Second Brigade, First Division, had fallen back in great disorder, their officers having no control of them whatever. With the assistance of several officers, this mass of men was halted and faced to the front. Some straggling shots coming over, these men became frightened and commenced firing into our own troops who were in their immediate front. Very many of the men fired almost perpendicularly into the air. They then broke and ran panic-stricken to the rear. One brigade of General Wheaton's division of the Sixth Corps was on the ground at this time, but their presence availed nothing toward stopping the flight of the fugitives. The enemy having withdrawn from our left, Winthrop's brigade was ordered up about dusk and went into position on the left of the Second Corps, and remained there during the night. The troops of the First and Second Divisions were placed in the breast-works, and Crawford's division, which had retired in good order from the field, were massed in rear on the line near the Vaughan road.

On the morning of the 7th General Crawford was directed to relieve Winthrop's brigade and push out toward the enemy's works. This was done in a heavy storm of rain, which continued nearly all day. The enemy was driven from his advanced line of rifle-pits, and nearly the whole of the battle-field of the preceding day regained, affording an opportunity of getting in our wounded from the field and burying our dead. In this movement General Crawford was supported by two brigades of General Wheaton. These troops remained in this position all night, and on the morning of the 8th were withdrawn to the north bank of Hatcher's Run.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

FRED. T. LOCKE,

Brevet Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS,
March -, 1865.

Major General G. K. WARREN:

GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following statement of the operations of the Fifth Corps from February 5 to 8, 1865, as seen by me:

I left camp near Fort Stevenson on the 5th instant at 6 a.m., directed by your order to proceed to Billup's Post-Office, on the Halifax road, with the advance (one regiment of cavalry assigned to the corps), there to take the right-hand road to Rowanty Creek. We found this road obstructed; this delayed us so long that the infantry column had come up when we arrived at the stream. Upon the south bank of this creek the enemy was posted, in recently constructed works, prepared to contest the crossing. The cavalry dismounted some men, formed a skirmish