Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-09-03

Of his regiment, the command OF WHICH SUI
seouen,ly devolvcd upon Major Skinner, Lieu
tenant. Colonel Fry having been obliged to
leave the field in consequence Of a sun'stroke'
An accomplished, promising officer, Major
Garter II. Harrison, lllh Regiment Virginia
Volunteers, was lost 10 the service while lead
inc Two companies Of his regiment against the
enemy; he fsl, twice shot, mortally wounded.
Brjrad;er General Longstreet, while finding
on ali sides alac.ity, ardor and intelligence,
mentions his special obligations to Colonies
Moore, Garland and Corse, commanding, scy-
ernllv, regiments of his brigade, and to the
field officers, Lieutcnant-C Colonies Fry, Fun
stem and Munford, and Majors Brent and Skin
ner. Of whom he says :."Thcy displayed more
cooIpes, and energy than Is usual among vctc-
rams Of the old service. General Longstreet
also mentions the conduct Of Captain Marye,
Of the 18th Virginia Volunteers, as espe.,
cially gallant on orc occasion, IN advance Ct
the Ford.
The Regiments Of Early's Brigade were
commanded b. Colonel Harry Hays and Lieu.
tenant. Colonels Williams and Hairston, who
handled their commands in action with Salts
factory c~ooircss and skill, supported by their
field officers, Lieutenant. Colonel Do Choiseu
and M,ior Penn, Of the It'll Louisiana, and
Major Patton Of the 7th Virginia Volunteers.
The skill, the conduct and the soldierly
qualities of tho Washington Artillery engaged
were all that could be desired. The officers
and men attached to the seven pieces already
spccifcd. war. for their Battalion q distinction
which, | feel assured, will never De furnished,
and which will ever serve TO urge them and
their corps to high endeavor. Lieutenant
Son;res wnrthilJ' commanded tho pieces in &C.
tim. The commander of the Battalion was
necessarily absent from The immediate field,
under orders in the sphere of his duties, but
the fruits Of his discipline, zeal. Instruction and
CAPACITY as an Artillery Commander, were
%present, and must rebound 10 his reputation.
On the left Of Mltchell's Fo;d, while 10 Sc.
rious engagement occurred, the conduct OF ri!
was emincntly satisfactory to the general Oft.
Ger in command.
Its due, however, to Col. J.L Kcmper, Virgi.
MIA forces, to express my sense Of the value ct
his services in the preparation for, and the cx-
ccution OF, the retreat from Fairfax Court
House on Bull Run. Called from the head Of
his Regiment, by what appeared to ne an in.
p~eratiyo need Of the service, TO take charge o!
the superior duties OF the QlarterInas:ers lie.
partment, with the advance OF That critical
l~uncturc, he accepted the responsibilities III.
volYcd, and vas emineatly efficient.
For further information. touching Officers
and individuals Of the 1st Brigade, and the de'
tails Ct the ~retrograle movement, have 10 re-
fer particularly to the report Of BrlG"d!eruet'
cral Bonham herewith.
II is proper here to state, that while from
the outset it had been determined, on tho ap.
preach Of the enemy in force, to fall back and
fight him OIL the line Of Bull Run. yet the pc
sition occupied by General Ewel's Brigade, il
necessary, could have been maintained against
a largely superior force. This was especially
the case 7ith Inc POSITION II the Fifth Alaba
ma Volunteers, Colonel Roles, wh;>;: that e@
ce,l>nt officer had made capable Of a raSolutc
protracsed defence again. heavy odds. accord
ingiy, on the morning oi the 18th ult!m",
| when the enemy appeared before that position,
thev we're checked and held at bsy, with some
confessed loss, in . skirmish in advance OF tbs
works in which Major Morgan and Captain
Shelly, Fifth Regiment Alabama Volunteers
acted with intelligent gallantry, and the posi-
was only abandoned under general but spcci
| fc, IMPERATIVE orders, in conformity with 4
long. coaceivv established plan of scLion ant
battle. :
Captain L. P. Alexander, Confederate State:
| Engineers, fortunately joined my headquarters
in time to Introduce the system Of new ticlt
signals, which, under his skii!ful management
rendered me the T:0st important service pre-
cading and during the engagement.
The medical officers serving with the rrSl
ments engaged were At their proper posts, ant
discharged their duties with satisfactory skill
and Zeal, and, on one OCCASION IL least, under
an annoying fire; when Surgeon CuIlen, Firs'
Regiment Virginia Volunteers, vas obliged t.
remove our wounded from the hospital, w!llcf
had become the special target Of The encmy's
rife guns, notwithstanding i: was surmountet
by the usual yellow hospital flag, buL which
however, | hope, for the sake Of past aSsocia
tons, was ignorantiy mistaken for q Conicde
rate flag. The name 0; each individual mcdi
cal officer | carnot mcnlisn.
On the day Of tho c!Igasr!nrnI, vas attend
ed by my personal staff, Lieut.. :. ". Fergu
son, 4. d. g., and ms volunteer Ai,ics' dc
| Camp, Colonies Preston, Manning, ChcSnnt
Miles, Chisholm and Hayward, Of South Caro-
lima, to all OF whom | am greatly indebted Iol
manifold essential services in the transmission
OF orders on the field, and in The preliminary
| dIlulIHCilltsli0 v IN SS"btS''' ''''
ance Of the line Of Bull Run.
Col. Thomas Jordan, Assistant !Adjutan'
General: Capt.. .. i. Smith. Assistant Adm
tant General. Col. S. Jones. Chief Of Artillery
and Ordnance; Major Gabcil. Chief Quarter
master Capt. ". II. Fovla, Chief OF Subsis
tence Department; Surgeon Thomas Ii. Val
lialns, Medical Director, and Assistant Surgeon
Brod.c, Medical Purveyor Of the General Stall
attached lo the Army Of the Potomac, were
necessarily engaged, sevcrally, with their re
sponsitle duties at my headquarters NJ CamE
Pickens, which they discharged with hh energy
and intelligence ior which ! have 20 teudaT my
sincere thanks.
Messrs. Mclean, Wiicoxcn, Eincheloc ant
Brawner, citizens of this immediate vicinity
it is their duo TO say, have placed me and TIT
country under great obligation for the iil'or
nation relative to this region, which has eli
abled me 10 avail myself Of its defensive iea
lures and resources. They were found eve
roaly to give me their tine, without stint Ul
re Eard.
Our casualties, in all, GS killed and wounded
were fifteen" killed and iilty.lhrec wounded
| several Of whom have since died. The loss g
the enemy can only be conjcctured II wa!
unducstionahly bcavy. In the cursory tXam:-
nation which was made by details from Long
streets and Early's Brisades. on the lstt
July, OF that part Of the field Immediately con
tested and near Biackburn's Ford, some SIXTY
four curpses were found ard buried, and a
least twenty prisoners were also picked up
besides, IFS stands Of arms, . large quantity o
accoutremen!s aud biark4!s,and quite one hna
drcd ard fifty hats.
The effect OF this days conflict was to salts
f. the enemy he could not force T. passage
across Bull Ran in the lice Of our troops, anc
led him into the flank movement Of the 2lS
july and the battle OF Manassas, the details o
which will he related in another paper.
Herewith, | have the honor to transmit Tn
reports OF 1.-THE several brigade commanders en-
gagged, and Of the artillery. Also, . map o
the tielA IF battle.
The rendition Of this report, it is pr"!'cr II
say in conclusion, has been unayoidably delayei
BIZ the constantly ensrossing administrative du
~tiessof the commander Of IN army corps com
1--