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regiments, Cobb's brigade, Magruder's division; Major Ashton, of the same regiment, who fell heroically, bearing the colors of his regiment to the front; Colonel Dowd, Fifteenth North Carolina; Colonel Goode Bryan, Sixteenth Georgia, Cobb's legion, who had been relieved from picket duty, and led his regiment gallantly into the thickest of the fight, with the coolness and ability which characterized the well-trained soldier; Colonels Holder and Griffin, and Lieutenant-Colonel Brandon, of the Third Mississippi brigade, who were all severely wounded whilst gallantly leading their regiments into action; also, Lieutenant-Colonel Carter, Thirteenth Mississippi, who was borne from the field wounded, and Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, Lieutenant-Colonel Luse, Major McElroy, and Captain Brooks, on whom the regimental commands devolved, all discharged their duties with signal ability.
Captain Inge, Assistant Adjutant-General of this brigade, distinguished in every path where duty leads to peril, was most conspicuous on this field, where he won for himself the united commendation of the brigade and regimental commanders, to whose testimony I can add my own from personal observation.
Colonel Hodgers and Lieutenant-Colonel Evans, of the Fourteenth Virginia; Colonel Edmunds and Major Cabell, Thirty-eighth Virginia, and Colonel Tomlin, of the Thirty-second Virginia, all deserved the commendation of their brigade commanders and my own. Brigadier-General Armistead held the line of battle in the wood which skirted the field, and after bringing on the action in the most gallant manner, by repulsing an attack of a heavy body of the enemy's skirmishers, skilfully lent support to the contending troops in front, when it was required.
Brigadier-General Cobb, whose brigade was posted at three different stations, occupied a central position near General Armistead, and rendered gallant and useful service, not only by the promptnes and skill with which he came forward, and placed his troops in front, in support of General Armistead, but by the devotion with which he rallied, under an extremely heavy fire, bodies of troops which had suffered severely from the enemy.
Brigadier-General Jones, with his admirable division of gallant Georgians, the brigades commanded by General Toombs and Colonel Anderson, lent efficient support to the troops in front, enabling them to maintain their ground.
I regret to lose the services of my gallant and efficient Assistant Adjutant-General Major Henry Bryan, who was twice severely wounded, whilst accompanying Cobb's brigade to the attack on the batteries.
My thanks are especially due to my Aids-decamp, Lieutenants Allston, Eustis; Lieutenant-Colonel Cary, Inspector-General; Major Bloom-field, Chief Quartermaster; Major Brent, Chief of Ordnance; Major Hyllested, of the Zouave battalion, Acting Aid-de-camp, Captain Dickinson, Assistant Adjutant-General; Lieutenant Phillips, of the Confederate cavalry; Mr. H. M. Stanard, A. A. D. C., and Mr. J. Randolph Bryan, A. A. D. C., for distinguished and gallant services on the field.
My Chief Commissary, Major A. B. Magruder, discharged all his duties to my entire satisfaction.
I am also indebted to Captain Coward, of General Jones's staff, for gallant and valuable services.
Captain Morris, of the signal corps, Mr. D. F. Brashear and A. C. Dickinson, carried my orders on the field, and rendered good service.
The brave and devoted troopers of the Charles City cavalry were on this, as on all other occasions, distinguished for the promptness, intrepidity, and intelligence with which they discharged their important duties.
To their chivalric and enterprising Lieutenant (Hill Carter, Jr.) I owe a public acknowledgment of the great service he has rendered the country on every occasion which presented itself within the last fifteen months. I beg leave to bear testimony to the gallantry, skill, and ability of Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen D. Lee, my Chief of Artillery.
It is proper to add, that though the general order of battle, directing the week's operations, required the chief engineer, Major Stevens, to assign engineer officers to each division, whose duty it should be “to make provision for overcoming all difficulties to the progress of the troops,” no engineer officer was sent to me. Lieutenant Douglass, of the engineers, had been attached to my staff, but was relieved from that position; and although I had applied for his services to the headquarters of the army, more than once, I could not obtain them, nor was any other sent in his place.
As to the time when the attack on the enemy's batteries in front was made, Brigadier-General Armistead, whose advance troops led in the attack from the centre, states in his report, that, in the charge, the brigades of Mahone and Wright came up immediately on his right, Cobb's brigade closely following his advance.
I have the honor to be, sir,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. Bankhead Magruder Major-General.
Appendix to Report of General Magruder.
sir: I have the honor to request that you will forward, at once, to the Secretary of War the enclosed paper, marked A, (remarks of General Lee on the report of Major-General J. B. Magruder of the operations of his command near Richmond,) and the paper B, (statement of General Magruder in explanation of General Lee's remarks on General Magruder's report of the operations of his command near Richmond,) in order that they may be submitted to the President without delay.
The papers numbered 1, 2, and 3, herewith enclosed, refer to my report of operations of my command near Richmond, with which I beg leave to request that you will have them filed, in order that my report may stand complete.
They have been previously filed with my report
