commenced and constantly kept up. At 9 a.m. we charged upon the enemy's breast-works, the brigade in two lines of battle. Although we failed to drive the enemy we were not repulsed, but stubbornly held all the ground charged over until late in the evening and until after a line of breast-works had been prepared for us by the rear line, to which we fell back as soon as completed. In this charge myself and Actg. Adjt. Thomas J. Hyatt had our horses killed under us. Although this was the first engagement of the campaign, any failure to drive the enemy could not be attributed to lack of courage of either officers or men, all with a very few exceptions behaving with much gallantry.

The brigade was now no longer the extreme right of the line, General Shaler's brigade, of the First Division, Sixth Army Corps, having been ordered to the right to protect the flank. In this position we rested until just before night-fall, when our skirmish line was suddenly driven in and our position outflanked on the right, thus subjecting my regiment to a severe fire from both front and rear. We held our position, however, until General Shaler's brigade, forming the extreme right, had given away, allowing the enemy to get in our rear, and thereby subjecting us to danger of capture, when we fell back by company successively as the enemy closed in upon us. By this time the enemy, as well as ourselves, had been thrown into confusion, and darkness having set in, friend could not be distinguished from foe. The enemy, who had captured a number of prisoners, was driven back by our partially rallied lines, but was not pursued. In this day's fighting my regiment lost 1 officer and 22 enlisted men killed, 7 officers and 129 enlisted men wounded, and 3 officers and 67 enlisted men missing.

II.

Having rested on our arms during the night after the battle of the 6th of May until after midnight, we moved silently by the left flank along the line of breast-works to a point near the Wilderness Tavern. Soon after daylight we were attacked, but the enemy were driven off by a battery near us. In this position we remained until 8.30 p.m., when we marched in direction of Spotsylvania Court-House. The march during the night was extremely tedious and slow, the men often dropping to sleep in the road. After a march rendered very severe by excessive heat and dust, we found the enemy in the evening in a strong position, and made preparations to storm his works. After having been formed, apparently for that purpose, we lay quietly until after dark, then moved forward, and approached as near the enemy's works as possible without bringing on an immediate engagement. In this position we remained during the night. Early on the following morning skirmishing commended, and was continued during the day without intermission. Soon after daylight we constructed a line of breast-works and lay behind them during the day, nothing occurring in our front but continued and heavy skirmishing. In the evening four companies of my regiment were detailed to support the skirmish line in an advance upon the enemy. By straggling shots and this heavy skirmish my regiment sustained a loss of 1 officer and 2 enlisted men killed and 6 enlisted men wounded. During the succeeding day, the 10th, we lay behind our works, momentarily expecting an attack. Desperate fighting occurred a few hundred yards from our right, the enemy evidently attempting to break our lines at that point. On the 11th one company