left the woods. He was afterward found in the woods mortally wounded, and before dying stated to Lieutenant Roach, of the Twenty-first, and Captain Turner, of the Irish Battalion, that he was taken unhurt, but when the enemy were forced to retreat they knocked him down with their guns and bayoneted him in several places. He was in his proper mind at the time of making this statement, and died the same night. Accompanying this report I forward a list of casualties.*

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. A. WITCHER,

Captain, Commanding Twenty-first Virginia Regiment.

Major JOHN SEDDON,

Commanding Second Brigade.

Numbers 39. Report of Captain Abner Dobyns, Forty-second Virginia Infantry.

CAMP NEAR LIBERTY MILLS,

August 13, 1862.

COLONEL: In obedience to orders I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the Forty-second Regiment Virginia Volunteers in the recent engagement at Cedar Run, Culpeper Country, Virginia, on August 9:

About 3 p. m. the regiment, commanded by Major Henry Lane, in conjunction with the rest of the brigade, was ordered to the front, and accordingly marched along the Culpeper road until it reached a body of woods about half a mile from the battle-field. It was then halted and ordered to load. It was then filed off to the left of the road and marched through the woods nearly parallel with the road, and during the march the woods were very heavily shelled by the enemy, but no casualties occurred in the regiment. The regiment was halted in the woods to the left of the road near a field, where one or two pieces of our artillery were planted and in action. It remained in this position near half an hour, and was then ordered to move forward, and accordingly marched some 400 yards, until it reached a narrow road leading to a wheat field; filing down the road to the left near 100 yards, it then filed to the right through the woods parallel with the fence until it reached its depth; it was then halted and fronted in line of battle. The Forty-eighth Virginia Regiment was on the right and the First Virginia Battalion on the left. Our skirmishers, who had previously been thrown out, soon discovered those of the enemy near at hand, and in a few moments the main body of the enemy advanced from the woods opposite the wheat field to our front, and having gotten midway the wheat field the regiment was ordered to fire, which was done with a great deal of coolness and rapidity, and kept up constantly for some half an hour or more, the regiment remaining in good all the time.

Early in the engagement Major Lane was mortally wounded, and a great many of the company officers and men were killed and wounded.

The enemy, having flanked us right and left, were seen suddenly advancing upon our rear in considerable disorder. About this juncture we received orders to fall back and soon came in contact with the

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*Embodied in Numbers 27.

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