charged the enemy and drove him in confusion from his position. Having now gained a line somewhat sheltered from the enemy's fire by the rising ground in our front, in order to reform the line, which had become somewhat broken in consequence of crossing a deep ditch running diagonally through the field, over which we had charged, as well as to give the men a moment's rest before making the final assault, I halted the regiment for about three minutes, after which I ordered another charge upon the enemy, who had taken shelter behind a stone wall, rail breastworks, and an old dwelling-house, stable, and ice house, about 200 yards in our front. Simultaneously with the order, both the officers and men gallantly rushed forward with a shout, and drove the enemy from their shelter in utter confusion. Here we received the hottest musketry fire of the day, and it was here that most of our comrades fell. Both officers and men behaved with their usual gallantry and bravery. No hesitating or faltering in the face of the enemy's fire; all discharged their duty faithfully and cheerfully. I took 420 men into the engagement. Previous battles, sickness, hard marching, and exposure had materially reduced the strength of the regiment.
Captain John Cole, Company B, was the only officer severely wounded. The regiment lost 11 killed, 37 wounded, and 7 missing; total, 55. This does not include about 30 slightly wounded who were not sent to the hospital, among them were 3 officers.
The entire line having come to a halt, we held our position until we were ordered to reform on the ground from which we had made the last charge, and rested there unmolested, except by an occasional shot from the enemy's sharpshooters, until about 9 p. m., when we were ordered to withdraw, and by 10 o'clock took up the line of march with the entire column, and continued a long and fatiguing march for ten days, passing through Liberty, Salem, Rocky Gap, New Castle, Sweet Sulphur Springs, White Sulphur Springs, Meadow Bluff, Lewisburg, Hawk's Nest, Loup Creek, and Gauley Bridge, arriving here in the afternoon of the 28th, having marched a distance of 215 miles since leaving Lynchburg.
Depending entirely upon the country over which we marched for supplies, a great portion of our line of march being but sparsely settled and supplies scarce, and what little they had, shipped to the mountains on learning of our approach; in consequence of which, to our suffering from hard, fatiguing marches, loss of sleep, and a burning sun, was added a fair prospect of starvation. During the last four or five days many of my best men dropped out of the ranks, completely exhausted by hunger and fatigue; but supplies having been sent out to meet them, the most of them have since come into camp. Notwithstanding the many hardships endured and the terrible suffering of
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