Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 10.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Major — I have the honor to report that on the night of the 1st of April, four regiments of my brigade, with intervals between the men varying from six to ten paces, were stretched along the works between Battery Gregg and Hatcher's run, in the following order from right to left: Twenty-eighth, Thirty-seventh, Eighteenth, Thirty-third. The right of the Twenty-eighth resting near the brown house in front of General McRae's winter quarters, and the left of the Thirty-third on the branch near Mrs. Banks's. The enemy commenced shelling my line from several batteries about nine o'clock that night, and the picket lines in my front opened fire at a quarter to two o'clock the following morning. The skirmishers from McGowan's brigade, who covered the works held by my command, were driven in at a quarter to five o'clock, and my line was pierced by the enemy in strong force at the ravine in front of the right of the Thirty-seventh, near General McGowan's headquarters. The Twenty-eighth, enfiladed on the left by this force, and on the right by the force that had previously broken the troops to our right, was forced to fall back to the plank road. The enemy on its left took possession of this road and forced it to fall still further back to the Cox road, where it skirmished with the enemy and supported a battery of artillery by order of Brigadier-General Pendleton. The other regiments fought the enemy between McGowan's winter quarters and those occupied by my brigade, and were driven back. They then made a stand in the winter quarters of the right regiment of my command, but were again broken, a part retreating along the works to the left, and the remainder going to the rear-these last, under Colonel Cowan, made a stand on the hill to the right of Mrs. Banks's, but were forced back to the plank road, along which they skirmished for some time, and then fell back to the Cox road, where they supported a battery of artillery by order of Lieutenant-General Longstreet.

That portion of my command which retreated along the works to the left, made two more unsuccessful attempts to resist the enemy, the last stand being made in the Church road, leading to the Jones house. It