at the very muzzle of a rebel musket, the powder burning his clothes, and into the wound. The fighting was desperate for a few moments, until their line of battle forced us to retire. Captain D. C. Brandish was killed inside their lines.

The following are the casualties:*

SECOND EPOCH.

About 10 p.m. of the 7th we evacuated the works at Wilderness, marching by Old Wilderness Tavern toward Todd's Tavern, which point we passed about 8 a.m. of the 8th, and halted for coffee, but before the men had time to get coffee or breakfast we were ordered to move to Spotsylvania Court-Hous, and marched at once, passing other infantry troops and the cavalry. While marching in column along the road to the Court-House our flankers were vigorously attacked by the skirmishers of the enemy, when we were swung out to the right of the road, formed and charged the enemy's lines posted in a wood on the point of a hill. We made two separate and desperate charges under a galling fire of infantry and artillery, but were finally outnumbered and outflanked, and forced to retire, leaving dead and wounded. From this beginning the fighting was continued all day. In the first charge in this battle (Laurel Hill) Private Lucius R. Mills, of Company H, seized the colors of the Eighty-third Pennsylvania from the ground and carried them to the front, and again in the second charge he planted them beside our own colors in the very teeth of the enemy and brought them safely off, but in retiring he was seriously wounded, and sent the colors to the Eighty-third Regiment by another man. We came out of the fight with 27 officers and men. On the 9th we lay a short distance in rear of where we charged on the previous day, supporting the front line, Second Brigade, Colonel Sweitzer.

On the 10th the First Michigan, with the Eighteenth Massachusetts and Sixteenth Michigan (all of Bartlett's brigade), held the skirmish line in front of the Second Brigade. The fire was terribly severe, and the regiments had to be very often relieved. About 1 o'clock on the morning of the 11th the enemy assaulted the line of the First Michigan and made a desperate attempt to drive it from the rifle-pits, but was handsomely repulsed with great loss. Captain Lewis C. Randall was killed in this attack of the enemy. At 3 a.m. of the 12th we moved to the right and relieved part of the pickets of the Second Corps. We demonstrated on the enemy's left, driving the skirmishers corps across the Po River, but were forced under a severe shelling to recross the river, holding the bank of the river till dark, when retired to breast-works in rear, where we remained till the 13th, when we were relieved by Second Division and rejoined our division. At 9 p.m. of the 14th we moved to the left through mud and rain, making a march of 7 miles, and driving before Spotsylvania Court-House about daylight, the men completely exhausted and unable to make an attack. Lines were formed and some old works occupied and held until the 17th, when a few line of earthworks was built. At sundown of the 17th moved to the left and front as skirmishers, covering a new advanced line, into which the brigade moved and threw up breast-works during the night; held this skirmishers line until 8 p.m. of the 18th, when relieved by Eighty-

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*Nominal list (omitted) shows killed,5; wounded, 49; prisoner, 12.

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