[575]Accordingly, at 10.20 P. M. I ordered Major-General Johnson to evacuate the lines in front of Bermuda Hundreds, leaving pickets and skirmishers to cover the movement until daylight, or later if necessary. I hereto append a copy of the orders to Major-General Johnson. At 11.15 P. M. I addressed the following telegrapic despatch to General R. E. Lee:
I have abandoned my lines on Bermuda Neck, to concentrate all my forces here. Skirmishers and pickets will leave there at daylight. Cannot these lines be occupied by your troops? The safety of our communication requires it. Five or six thousand men may do.
In obedience to orders Major-General Johnson, after entirely securing the guns and other military stores, evacuated the lines of Bermuda Hundreds during the night, giving orders to the officer commanding the pickets and skirmishers to hold the lines until 6 A. M. of the 16th. At the time of the evacuation no information had been received that reinforcements would be sent to refill these lines. The heavy guns, carriages, and chassis at Fort Dantzler were buried by Major-General Johnson, and were recovered on the re-occupation of lines, having been undisturbed and uninjured by the enemy. About 4 A. M. on the 16th a despatch was received from General R. E. Lee that a division was on its way to replace Major-General Johnson. A staffofficer was immediately sent to General Johnson with this information and instructions to hold the lines as long as possible. The promised division not arriving in time, our pickets and skirmishers left in charge of the lines were driven in early on the morning of the 16th. The result of the concentration of my forces at Petersburg was the successful defence of that place against repeated and persistent assaults, which were immediately afterwards made by the enemy with largely superior numbers. The foregoing simple narrative of the course of events contains, I believe, answers to all the inquiries embraced in your letter. I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
My dear General,—I take pleasure in forwarding to you, as I had promised I would, the following narration of an incident of the siege of Petersburg, which, from the circumstances of the case, may not be altogether useless to you, as an additional leaf to what is left of your valuable notes about the war. I remember that on or about the 17th of June, 1864, pending the heroic, and to me Providential, defence of Petersburg (the immediate result of which, front the battle of Drury's Bluff to that time, was the saving of Richmond), some forty or fifty prisoners were brought to me, for the purpose, as usual, of being
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[575]
1883. Harper. New York.
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