miles of Cold Harbor without meeting their pickets. Keep a few men ahead, and when they meet the enemy halt and let your command close up. When you hear that I am well engaged on the right, where General Merritt will advance, I want you to make a bold push for Cold Harbor. It is possible you may have to dismount regiment to attract the enemy, but you must send one or two saber regiments in among their led horses. General Custer will send one regiment across the country from his present position, starting at 4 p.m. Caution your men of this, and don't fire on them if they get into Cold Harbor in advance, or while marching up there. Have no bugle calls while getting ready. Endeavor to communicate with me across country. I will be on the road where General Merritt is.

Yours, &c.,

A. T. A. TORBERT,

Brigadier-General of Volunteers, Commanding First Cavalry Division.

The roads by which I was directed to reach Cold Harbor formed two sides of a quadrangle, on one side of which General Merritt was to advance. I started at the hour named with one squadron (Hanley's) of Ninth New York in advance. When within 2 miles of Cold Harbor a line of pickets was discovered across the road and faced toward us. I halted and closed the column, as per order, and advancing to reconnoiter, found them to be the pickets of Fifth Michigan. I immediately ordered the commanding officer to take his regiment off the road and to the right, and again advanced. One mile in advance of this point I was fired upon by the enemy's pickets, and, charging upon them, was stopped by a barricade with dense thicket on each side. At this time skirmishing was first heard on our right, apparently from General Merritt's advance. I immediately dismounted the Seventeenth Pennsylvania (as I wished to keep the Ninth New York mounted for a charge), and advanced through the woods, at the same time removing the barricade, and ordering the Ninth to follow mounted. The Seventeenth became almost immediately heavily engaged, losing a number of men. We had by this time almost reached Cold Harbor, but, finding another strong barricade in my front, and the pressure on the left of the Seventeenth becoming very heavy, I was forced to dismount the Ninth New York to support them. I now had but one regiment left (Sixth New York) to guard my left, rear, and led horses, but I determined, if opportunity offered, to send that in mounted. On emerging from the woods near Cold Harbor, I found myself in the direct front of the enemy's barricades, which extended one-third of a mile to my left, from which they were then maintaining a very heavy fire on the Seventeenth Pennsylvania, then charging on the cross-roads. The Ninth New York at this time advancing on the left and rear of the Seventeenth, the enemy left his position behind the barricade and retired in the direction of Gaines' Hill. There was no opportunity to use the saber. The nature of the country effectually prevented a mounted command from reaching the right flank of the enemy's position, and it was utterly impossible to force a passage up the road until the barricade had been carried and removed and the enemy driven from the woods on the left. Not a moment's time was lost after reaching the first barricade until the brigade fought its way into Cold Harbor. The Seventeenth Pennsylvania alone lost nearly 30 men in half an hour. The brigade was then ordered to take up a position (dismounted) on General Custer's left, and erect barricades, with a view maintaining the important position from which the enemy had been driven by the division. About midnight the brigade was ordered to retire to the position it had occupied in the morning. On reaching the Bottom's Bridge road, I was ordered