Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 9.
Frank Moore, Ed.

Major: In pursuance to the written instructions of the Major-General commanding, I beg leave to report the action of my command in the recent engagements in Virginia and Maryland. On the sixth of August last, I was ordered to repair, with my brigade, to Malvern Hill, and to drive the enemy from the wood to the north of the hill. I deployed my troops in line of battle, and, after marching about a mile through the woodland and open field, encountered the cavalry pickets of the enemy, which were soon driven in by the fire of two regiments, killing several of the enemy, who soon retired, evacuating his position--four prisoners taken.

On the morning of the twenty-fourth August, I was ordered to support, with my brigade, the batteries under the command of Major Garnett, who was attacking the enemy at Rappahannock Station, with further instructions to attack the enemy should he appear on the south side of the river. Receiving a message from Captain Squiers, commanding the battery, that the enemy were in a small redoubt, which they had thrown up the night previous, I immediately ordered an advance to drive him from his position; but, on the approach of my troops, he soon retreated across the railroad bridge, before we were in musket range. I here ordered the Macbeth artillery, Captain Boyce, to advance, occupy the work, and to open fire on the enemy across the river. This point, however, Captain Boyce found untenable, as the enemy's batteries swept the entire hill and work. He was compelled to retire with the loss of four wounded. The entire loss of my brigade in this engagement was twenty-one killed, (enlisted men;) seven commissioned officers, and seventy-five enlisted men, wounded. The coolness of the men and of the officers of the brigade excited my highest admiration. Many of them, never having been under fire before, sustained a severe fire of grape and shell for more than three hours without breaking line of battle.

On the evening of the twenty-ninth of August, the brigade engaged the skirmishers of the enemy, in considerable force, on the south side of the road near Groveton, and rendered efficient cooperation to the commands of General Wilcox, on the left, and General Hood, on the right, in driving the enemy from his position. The enemy falling back, and the darkness of the night concealing his movements, I formed my brigade in the camp of the enemy, until ordered to fall back by the Major-General commanding. Leaving a strong picket in my front, I withdrew about a mile to the rear.

On the morning of the thirtieth August, the enemy presenting himself in large force near Groveton, I was ordered to take command of the troops formed immediately on the right of the road, embracing Whiting's division, Brigadier-General J. B. Hood commanding, Pickett's brigade, Colonel Eppa Hunton commanding, and my own brigade. I would state that, just before the action commenced, Pickett's brigade was ordered to the support of General Kemper. My command now consisted of three brigades, which were disposed as follows: Evans's brigade, with the left resting on the turnpike, under the immediate command of Colonel P. F. Stevens; Hood, with his command, on Stevens's right. In this position my command rested until about four o'clock P. M., when General Hood was ordered to advance, Colonel Stevens supporting his left. The command soon became warmly engaged with the enemy, who seemed to concentrate a heavy force on the right of the road, and opened a heavy artillery fire on my whole line from right to left. After advancing more than a mile, the command of General Hood, after charging the batteries in the centre, was compelled to fall back, which was done in good order. Stevens's command, coming up immediately afterward, held the enemy until relieved, timely, by Major-General R. H. Anderson's division. In this engagement the loss of Evans's brigade was very severe — the loss being fourteen officers and ninety-eight enlisted men killed, forty-eight officers and four hundred and sixty-three enlisted men wounded, and eight enlisted men missing. Among the killed were