morning of May 4, and what occurred after that time to the evacuation of Fredericksburg by the forces under command of General Gibbon:

I reported to Brigadier-General Gibbon on the afternoon of Saturday, May 2, at his headquarters, near Falmouth, and opened communication with headquarters of the army, through Captain Gloskoski and the station at the Phillips house. There was but one message of any importance sent over this line, which was as follows:

General BUTTERFIELD:

Heavy column of troops and trains of wagons can be seen from here retreating from Sedgwick's front, and appear to incline to our right.

JOHN GIBBON,

Brigadier-General.

At 11 o'clock on Saturday night, General Gibbon broke up his headquarters, and moved down to the river near the Lacy house, where his engineers were at work laying a pontoon bridge. At this point the enemy opened musketry fire upon us, which delayed operations for some time. At sunrise the bridge was across, and the troops began to pass over. Captain Gloskoski and myself occupied the steeple of the Baptist Church as a signal station, from which we reported to General Gibbon the movements of the enemy on the right of the town in his front. We were also in communication with the Phillips house, from which station we received the following messages to General Gibbon:

Enemy's infantry coming down the road and filing right into their trenches under woods opposite Falmouth.

TAYLOR.

Two guns of the enemy have taken position in woods opposite Falmouth.

TAYLOR.

After the taking of the heights by a division of General Sedgwick's forces, Captain Gloskoski's flag being among the first on the heights, we opened a station from thence to headquarters of the army, via Phillips' house, Captain Gloskoski superintending the station, and sent all messages from there. Late in the afternoon, being joined by Captains Babcock and Pierce, with Lieutenant Clarke, Captain Babcock assuming command, we went into campt about half a mile beyond the heights, on the left of the Plank road. We established a station here, but I believe no messages were sent, as the signal telegraph, under Lieutenant Wilson, was in town. One brigade of General Gibbon's division occupied the left of the town. Late in the evening the enemy made a demonstration upon our extreme left, which was reported to headquarters by Lieutenant Hill. We remained here all night, and in the morning our wagons were sent into Falmouth for forage and rations. The Government stores in our possession, together with our private baggage, were left near Captain Babcock's wagon when our team went off. About 7 o'clock the man on watch at the station reported the presence of the enemy's skirmishers, and our pickets retiring without firing a shot, we barely had time to saddle our horses and take in our hands such Government property as could thus be carried, when the enemy opened fire upon us. We superintended the packing of the wagon with all the Government stores it was possible to save, and started it for town. It ran the gauntlet of the enemy's musketry, and reached Fredericksburg safely, and thence crossed the river. Small squads of stragglers were passing to the front on the Plank road; these I endeavored to collect together, and make a stand with against the enemy's skirmishers, but their artillery having taken position opened fire upon them, and the skirmishers continuing to advance, these men had to retire. I then tried to