No. 24.-report of Brig e. En. Schuyler Hamilton, U. S. Army, commanding left wing Army of the Mississippi, of operations from April 22 to May 29.
Hdqrs. Left wing Army of the Mississippi, June 17, 1862.
Sir: I have to report that the division under my command at New Madrid and in the operations resulting in the capture of Island No.10
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and expedition to Fort Pillow, composed of First Brigade, under Col. William H. Worthington, consisting of Fifth Iowa, commanded by Lieut. Col. C. L. Matthias; Fifty-ninth Indiana, commanded by Col. J. J. Alexander; Second Brigade, under Col. Nicholas Perczel, consisting of the Tenth Iowa, commanded by Lieut. Col. W. E. Small; Twentysixth Missouri, commanded by Col. George Boomer, and Eleventh Ohio Battery, commanded by Capt. Frank C. Sands, arrived at Hamburg, after a trying passage, April 22, 1862.
The troops were there reorganized.
May 3.-Eightieth Ohio, Col. E. R. Eckley, and Forty-eighth Indiana, Col. N. Eddy, joined and reported for duty.
May 5.-Fifty-sixth Illinois, Lieut. Col. W. R. Brown, and Tenth Missouri, Col. Samuel A. Holmes, joined for duty.
On the 6th Col. Nicholas Perczel was placed in command of the Second Brigade, Brig. Gen. N. B. Buford commanding the First Brigade.
Owing to the impassable condition of the roads, and the necessity for a combined movement of the whole army before Corinth, the command was from April 22 to May 17 moving from Hamburg to Farmington, a distance of about 20 miles.
May 8.-The division, as reserve of the Army of the Mississippi, supporting a battery of 20-pounder Parrotts, covered and supported the operations of Generals Paine's and Stanley's divisions in a close reconnaissance of the approaches to Corinth from Farmington.
On the 9th of May, Brigadier-General Hamilton being ill, the division, under Brig. Gen.. N. B. Buford, was drawn up in line to support the advance in case of necessity, but was not ordered forward, though a brigade under Brigadier-General Palmer was warmly engaged with the enemy.
On this day the Seventeenth Iowa, Col. J. W. Rankin, joined the division, and was assigned to the Second Brigade.
May 12.-The Second Brigade, under Colonel Perczel, and the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, Capt. O. F. Pinney, were advanced on the Old Alabama road to the left and rear of Farmington, and threw up a strong redoubt.
May 15.-The Fourth Minnesota Col. John B. Sanborn, joined the division, and was assigned to the First Brigade.
May 17.-The whole Army of the Mississippi moved forward to the line in and about Farmington.
Strong intrenchments were thrown up and constant reconnoitering parties thrown forward.
May 22.-The troops were thrown into the intrenchments on the report of Capt. Thomas H. Botham, Third Michigan Cavalry, that the enemy was advancing in strong force.
As no enemy approached, though our advanced pickets were driven in for several miles, this was by some supposed to be a false alarm, but the testimony of many citizens of the country confirms his report.
They state that a force of 40,000 men, infantry, artillery, and cavalry, moved out of Corinth to attack the left flank, guarded by the Third Division, but finding it so strongly posted and the troops so vigilant, they marched down the hill and then marched up again, without attempting to make any attack.
On the night preceding this day the melancholy accident took place of Col. William H. Worthington, general officer of the day, being shot by mistake by one of our own pickets.
A gentleman of scholarly attainments and amiable manners an excellent soldier, an earnest patriot, his fate throws a gloom not only on the Third Division, but the whole Army of the Mississippi.
May 24.-A strong reconnaissance, composed of the Fifth Iowa, four companies Fourth Minnesota, with a section of Sands' battery, under
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command of Lieutenant-Colonel Matthias,reconnoitered to the Memphis and Charleston road without seeing any large body of the enemy.
May 26.-The Tenth Iowa, with two companies of the Twenty-sixth Missouri and two rifled pieces from the Fifth Wisconsin Battery and two howitzers from Sands' Eleventh Ohio Battery, all under the command of Col. N. Perczel, made a bold reconnaissance on the Danville road to Corinth, and met the enemy in largely superior force.
Men and officers behaved with great gallantry and coolness, and though forced to retire, did so in admirable order.
On the 28th the whole army advanced upon the outworks of Corinth except the troops left to guard the camp.
Intrenchments were throw up and batteries put in position.
There were several sharp skirmishes.
May 29.-The Tenth Missouri and Seventeenth Iowa, under Colonel Holmes, had a sharp affair with the enemy, in which all the officers and men engaged behaved well and did severe execution upon the enemy.
On this day Brigadier-General Hamilton was placed in command of the whole left wing of the Army of the Mississippi, consisting of eighteen regiments and four batteries.
On the night of May 29 Corinth was evacuated, and the Army of the Mississippi moved forward in pursuit of the enemy the next day. All the officers and men were anxious to meet and beat the enemy.
Special attention is called to the report of Capt. A. M. Powell, commanding his battery (M), First Missouri Light Artillery, and Lieutenant Barnett's section of the Second Illinois Artillery, of his operations during the pursuit.
The left wing advanced to Booneville, with the other forces, without overtaking the enemy, and June 11 returned to their camp near Corinth on Clear Creek.
Suffering during the whole of these operations from severe illness, though constantly on the alert by day and by night, I was obliged to depend much on my staff officers.
Capt. William C. Russell, assistant adjutant-general, was indefatigable in the discharge of his duties on the field and in his office.
Lieutenant Gaw, Volunteer Engineers, aidede-camp, whose services were frequently put in requisition by Major-General Pope, commanding the Army of the Mississippi, was employed upon almost every reconnaissance made by the Army of the Mississippi, and procured most of the information obtained relative to the enemy's position in front of our left.
He was always cool and gallant, and his services were essentially useful.
I hope he may receive the promotion his abilities and efforts have deserved and for which he has been recommended.
First Lieutenant Burt, aide-de-camp, has also constantly been ready, active, and fearless 16 the discharge of duty, and the same remarks apply to Lieut. James E. Merriman, Twenty-sixth Illinois, acting aide-de-camp, and to First Lieutenant Nazro, quartermaster and commissary.
Dr. Charles H. Rawson, medical director, is entitled to high praise for his wise suggestions as to and enforcement of sanitary measures.
A list of the killed, wounded, and missing and the reports of subordinate commanders are inclosed herewith.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant
Schuyler Hamilton, Brig. Gen. Vols., Comdg. Left Wing Army of the Mississippi. Brigadier-General Elliott, Chief of Staff, Army of the Mississippi.
