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with this regiment. Every officer, so far as I can learn, did his duty on that trying day. The Colonel brought his command into action, when the enemy were pressing with his whole force upon our line. For a little time he held the enemy in check, but the number of the enemy and the exposed position of his men, the enemy now occupying our left, made it necessary for him to fall back to the river. In falling back his horse was shot, and he was injured in the hip. He remained, however, a half-hour longer on the field, and then went on board the gunboat and gave direction for throwing their shells. The Lieut.Colonel, Cyrus Sears, commanded the right and held his position and remained on the field during the battle. The Major William Cotton, a brave officer, was mortally wounded, early in the engagement, and borne from the field. The Adjutant, Thomas Free, conducted himself most praiseworthily, and as he is a citizen of Tama County, I may speak freely of him. He was in the thickest of the fight executing orders and cheering on the men to duty. It is a marvel how he passed through the battle of that day untouched, but so it is, save a few bullet-holes in his clothes. He is a brave, spirited, efficient young officer of whom Tama County may feel proud. The line officers without exception did their duty, and to this fact I attribute our success. Tauntingly it has been said that negroes won't fight. Who say it, and who but a dastard and a brute will dare to say it, when the battle of Milliken's Bend finds its place among the heroic deeds of this war? This battle has significance. It demonstrates the fact that the freed slaves will fight. The enemy were at least three thousand strong, mostly Texan troops, infantry, while we were but one thousand four hundred, and yet for eight long hours we contested the field, and finally drove the enemy in such hot haste that he had left one hundred and fifteen of his dead for us to bury. Could we have had a small cavalry force, we might have added many prisoners to the successes of the day; as it was, we only took a few. Our many dead and wounded shall tell how bravely they fought, how dearly they won the battle-field of Milliken's Bend on the seventh of June, 1863.

men of the Thirteenth Louisiana in the engagement, mixed with the other regiments.

Total engaged, (colored,) one thousand two hundred and fifty; (white,) one hundred and sixty; killed, one hundred and twenty-seven; wounded, two hundred and eighty-seven; missing, one hundred and thirty-seven; whole number engaged, one thousand four hundred and ten. Total loss, five hundred and fifty-one.

Here is a total loss of near forty per cent and a loss in killed and wounded of thirty per cent nearly, and yet the battle is won. Now let the friend and the enemy of the colored man figure up the per cent loss of the great battles of this war, and decide each for himself, whether Milliken's Bend shall find a place among the records of heroic deeds and battle-fields.

We

Our figures are our arguments that colored men will fight, and they need no comment. leave them as the battle-field gave them, mournfully brave.

The enemy's loss as ascertained from prisoners was not less than two hundred killed and four hundred to five hundred wounded. In the charge when the struggle was terrific, they had the open field while our forces occupied the breastworks. It is but reasonable to suppose therefore that their loss would exceed ours. Then again when they retreated the gunboat shelled them for a mile and a half, and a number were killed and wounded by shell. I think their loss will exceed seven hundred, and I base my estimate on statements of prisoners and others.

A prisoner said the rebel commander expected to capture the post with ease, and was severely chagrined at being defeated. He said it was the severest fight he had ever been in.

It is rumored that Kirby Smith commands the rebel force and that he said he would take the d-d nigger camp or wade in blood to his knees. It was first reported that the rebels shot all the prisoners taken when they got to Richmond, ten miles from here. We have since learned that the proposition was made and the Louisiana troops were for executing it, but that the Texan troops drew up in line of battle and declared it could not be done while they bore arms. Good for Texans. The threat is not executed. The officers are kept in close confinement and the prisoners are treated with rigor. I understand, however, they will be regarded as prisoners and exchanged the same as white soldiers. A rebel force is still hovering about the vicinity of Richmond, said to be six thousand strong. We may be attacked again, but I doubt not we will give a good account of ourselves if so. Two additional regiments have come into this camp since the battle, and in several particulars we are better prepared to inspect G. G. EDWARDS.

Allow me to say, that the Twenty-third Iowa honored itself and the State it represented on this bloody field. Iowa has never been dishonored on the field of battle. May her proud fame remain untarnished! The Twenty-third Iowa had one hundred and sixty men in battle, lost twenty-five killed, twenty-six wounded, three missing. Now come the colored regiments; they are yet unorganized, only eight companies having been mustered in, and may be considered raw material. The Ninth Louisiana went into action with about five hundred men; killed sixty, wounded one hun-rebel troops. Yours, dred fifteen. Eleventh Louisiana went into action with about six hundred; killed forty, wounded one hundred and twenty-five, missing one hundred and CAIRO, June 15, 1863. thirty-one. First Mississippi went into action with The battle of Milliken's Bend occurred on Saone hundred and fifty; killed two, wounded twen-turday and Sunday, the sixth and seventh inst., ty-one, missing three. I believe there were a few the first attack having been made on the after

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

noon of Saturday, closing with the retreat of the rebels before nightfall. I gather the following in regard to the affair from an officer of the steamer Dunleith, just from the scene of action.

It would appear that the Union forces at Milliken's Bend were under the command of a colonel of Iowa volunteers-supposed to be the Twenty-third-and his force consisted of two Iowa regiments and one or two colored regiments, new in the service, and short in point of numbers, and no heavy or even light artillery of any importance with which to repel an attack. But hearing early on Saturday that the rebels, under General Henry McCulloch, brother of Ben McCulloch, were concentrating near him, with a menacing front, toward Milliken's Bend, the commander sent out some cavalry with orders to reconnoitre and report.

The cavalry dashed out from the works early in the day, and soon returned with a full confirmation of the report previously brought in, in regard to the proximity of the rebels and their designs upon the little garrison at the Bend. The rebels were said to be about five thousand strong, and late from Alexandria, La., but more recently at Richmond upon the Shreveport Railroad. This force of from five to six thousand, it was supposed, General McCulloch had divided into three parts, sending one part to Young's Point, another to Lake Providence, and with the third was about to attack the Union forces holding Milliken's Bend. This third force was estimated at some three thousand.

blacks lost a number- but the rebels morethe rebels fell back, finally broke, and retreated in disorder. The Union forces were in too small number to pursue, and had no cannon with which to cut up their then rear guard. Hence, the retrograde was made without great loss to the enemy. After the last of the rebels had disappeared, it being night, pickets were placed, scouts sent out, and every preparation made to be ready in the event of a return of the rebels. It was rightly supposed that, having felt their strength, and knowing that our men were without guns and in small force, the enemy would not long delay a second attempt to occupy Milliken's Bend. But this was the end of the attack for that day. A steamer from below chanced to come in sight just at dark, going to Helena. She was hailed, informed of the attack, and sent back for aid of some kind. Just at the break of day, the dark sides, huge wheel-houses, and yawning ports of the gunboat Choctaw were discerned by the guard. Here was help, indeed. With such support the garrison could never be taken without immense loss to the captors. The Choctaw took her position with reference to the point from which the rebels must necessarily attack, and remained until sunrise, awaiting in ominous silence the expected advance.

Sunday morning had hardly been ushered in, and the sun had been out of his eastern bed but half an hour, when the scouts and pickets of the garrison came in in great haste to report that the enemy had again commenced an advance moveThe approach of the rebels, momentarily ex-ment, headed toward the Bend. On this occapected and prepared for as well as the limited sion, understanding well his strength, and consupply of ammunition and arms would permit-scious of the support his iron-clad helpmate at last became apparent. Pickets, thrown out would bring, the commander of the post gradfor the purpose, came in saying an immense army was coming. The commander sent out detachments of white troops to repel their approach, detailing a regiment of negroes to act as reserves, the orders being, if the white troops could not stem the current, to fall back upon the support of the colored troops, and then unitedly oppose the advance until no longer able to withstand the men brought against them.

ually drew in all his pickets, not leaving a man outside of his hastily built earthworks. When the advance of the rebels made their appearance there was not a man to be seen all that confronted them was silence and apparently deserted breastworks and rifle-pits. But, fearful of deception, the rebel commander had recourse to a ruse for the comparative protection of his advance upon the works. All the mules belonging This programme, in a measure, was most to his command, and all he could steal from ad"promptly carried out. The troops advanced, joining planters along the route, were brought to met the enemy, engaged him in force and with the front. Extending from the centre to each effect with musketry, and, as the colonel had wing of the approaching host, covering the solanticipated, found that our strength was not diers from the bullets of the Yankees-from the adequate to the undertaking, being greatly out-sight of their sharp-shooters-was a line of living, numbered by the rebels. But both fought for moving breastworks the bodies of the devoted an hour most stubbornly. The Iowa troops were loth to retreat at all and obtain the support of their colored reserves, and the loss on the rebel side, said to have been one hundred in this early affray, attests their valor and efficiency. But the rebels pressed our men gradually back, in good order, however, until the blacks were reached, when they came in with a will. The spirits of the retreating and outnumbered Iowans were raised; they rallied, they stood their ground; the negroes came up with volley after volley, delivered with good effect and rapidity; and after a short battle, in which the

mules. As they drew nigh the Union defences the enemy opened heavily with musketry. Their first volley was the signal for the Iowans and the colored regiments to make their appearance. They rose as though by magic from behind their protection, took deliberate aim wherever a rebel could be seen, and dropped their bullets surely and certainly into the bodies of such as were foolish enough to disdain a shield of mule muscle and mule bone; and yet the living line kept up its snakelike advance. Taking the hint, perhaps, from the rebel commander at the siege of Lexington-when the gallant Colonel Mulligan and

Bend, in which negro troops played so conspicuous a part:

force toward the gunboats, taking colored men
prisoners and murdering them. This so enraged
them that they rallied and charged the enemy
more heroically and desperately than has been re-
corded during the war. It was a genuine bayonet
charge, a hand-to-hand fight, that has never oc-
curred to any extent during this prolonged con-
flict. Upon both sides men were killed with the
butts of muskets. White and black men were
lying side by side, pierced by bayonets, and in
some instances transfixed to the earth.
In one
instance, two men, one white and the other black,
were found dead, side by side, each having the
other's bayonet through his body. If facts prove
to be what they are now represented, this engage-
ment of Sunday morning will be recorded as the
most desperate of this war. Broken limbs, broken
heads, the mangling of bodies, all prove that it
was a contest between enraged men; on the one

his Irish brigade were defeated by the approach of men behind revetted bales of hay, which they rolled before them as they neared the Union My informant states that a force of about one ranks McCulloch expected to gain Milliken's thousand negroes, and two hundred men of the Bend by substituting mules for hay. If so, he Twenty-third Iowa, belonging to the Second brinearly set himself down an ass in the estimation | gade, Carr's division, (the Twenty-third Iowa had of those he proposed attacking. A bale of cotton been up the river with prisoners, and was on its or hay might make a breastwork of considerable way back to this place,) was surprised in camp by value, but the mules, unless moved forward side- a rebel force of about two thousand men. The wise and the animal is known to be stubborn-first intimation that the commanding officer receivpresented but slight obstacle to the sharp eye of ed was from one of the black men, who went into an experienced rifleman. Hence the rebels fell the colonel's tent, and said: "Massa, the secesh are in considerable numbers from the first volleys in camp." The colonel ordered him to have the of our troops. Still they advanced. But now men load their guns at once. He instantly replied: came the turn of the rebels to be surprised."We have done did dat now, massa. Before When within a short distance of the works the the colonel was ready, the men were in line, ready gunboat, until the moment partially concealed for action. As before stated, the rebels drove our by the smoke of the battle, opened with heavy guns, sending a continuous line of ten-inch shell into the serried columns of the enemy. It was an astonisher. It was worse than the negro reserves of the previous day. It was paralyzing. To make the matter worse, the same negro regiments, taking advantage of their surprise, were again upon them, scaling the works from within, rushing down upon the mules, frightening them out of the little sense nature had endowed them with, and in turn attacking the soldiers with bayonet and clubbed musket, came the black besom of destruction, like unto a small, dark colored, mighty, destructive hurricane. Rebel nerve could never withstand all of this. After a few volleys—after an ineffectual attempt to drive back the negro assailants after imploring his men in vain to stand up to it and fight or "die in the last ditch," McCulloch, if it were McCulloch, was compelled to sound the retreat and with-side from hatred to a race, and on the other, dedraw, leaving a heap of dead men and mules lying stark upon the field. The colored regiment had thus far not met with any considerable loss. But with great lack of caution their colonel led them forward in pursuit of the fleeing foe, until they were in full range of the guns of the Choctaw, and, sad to relate, a goodly number of the brave blacks, who had literally saved the fortunes of the day for the Federal arms, were cut down and instantly killed by our own shell. A signal stopped the firing as quickly as possible, but not until dreadful havoc had been made. But the rebels were, it is now supposed, most effectually whipped, and so badly crippled by loss of dead and wounded, that they would not return to the attack. Our loss is put down at about one hundred, killed, wounded, and missing, during the two fights. That of the rebels was twice the number. Had it not been for the unfortunate occurrence of the Choctaw, our loss would have been very small indeed. Over one hundred dead were left by the enemy unburied, unattended to, upon the field. They took off nearly all their wounded.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

TWENTY-SECOND DAY IN REAR OF VICKSBURGH,
June 9, 1863.

Two gentlemen from the Yazoo have given me

sire for self-preservation, revenge for past grievances, and the inhuman murder of their comrades, One brave man took his former master prisoner, and brought him into camp with great gusto. A rebel prisoner made a particular request, that his own negroes should not be placed over him as a guard. Dame Fortune is capricious! His request was not granted. Their mode of warfare does not entitle them to any privileges. If any are granted, it is from magnanimity to a fellow-foc.

The rebels lost five cannon, two hundred men killed, four hundred to five hundred wounded, and about two hundred prisoners. Our loss is reported to be one hundred killed and five hundred wounded; but few were white men.

Doc. 9.

THE NATIONAL ENROLMENT.
SOLICITOR WHITING'S OPINION.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL, June 9.

}

THE following opinion of Hon. William Whiting, solicitor of the War Department, has been ordered to be published by the Secretary of War:

The National forces, liable to perform military the following particulars of the fight at Milliken's duty, include all able-bodied male citizens of the

United States, and persons of foreign birth who manner as if they had never been in the service; have declared their intention to become citizens no regard is to be paid to their former period of according to law, being between twenty and service or to the length or brevity of the period forty-five years of age. Certain persons are ex-between the date of their discharge and that of cepted, divided into eight classes. No persons the draft. but such as are therein excepted shall be exempt. (Sec. 2d.)

Volunteers who were in the service of the United States on the third of March, 1863, and It is declared the duty of the enrolling officers have since that time been discharged, are not to enroll all persons subject to military duty, therefore included in the first class from which (Sec. 9.) All persons thus enrolled shall be sub-the first draft is intended to be made, and are ject for two years after July first succeeding the enrolment, to be called into the military service, (Sec. 11.) The national forces (not now in the military service) enrolled under the act shall be divided into two classes, etc., (Sec. 3.)

Those of the second class shall not be called out until those of the first class shall have been exhausted.

Thus it seems, by the true construction of this act, while all persons coming within its provisions are to be enrolled in the national forces, nevertheless, under the first enrolment, those who were in the military service at the time the act went into effect are not to be included in that class which is subject to the first draft.

Several provisions of this statute are inconsistent to the idea that persons then in the service were to be treated as liable to draft from the first class.

Thus it is provided in the seventh section that regulars, volunteers, militiamen, or persons called into the service under this or any other act of Congress, were to be arrested as deserters, wherever they might be found, by the provostmarshal, and to be sent to the nearest military post, thus admitting a plain distinction between these different classes of persons, namely, those who were then in the service and those who were to be drafted in.

The same distinction between those who were in the service and those who were to be drafted in is recognized in Sec. 18, which provides bounties to those who being then in the service should volunteer to reënlist.

therefore not now liable to be called on by a
draft, which is to be made from that class of the
forces of the United States under the provisions
of this act.
WILLIAM WHITING,

JAMES B. FRY,

Solicitor of the War Department

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It is made the duty of provost-marshals "to obey all lawful orders and regulations of the provost-marshal general, and such as shall be prescribed by law concerning the enrolment and calling into service of the national forces." (Act March 3, 1863. Sec. 7.)

The twenty-fifth Section of the same act provides that "if any person shall resist any draft of men enrolled under the act into the service of the United States, or shall counsel or aid any person to resist any such draft, or shall assault or obstruct any officer in making such draft, or in the performance of any service in relation thereto, or shall counsel any person to assault or obstruct any such officer, or shall counsel any drafted man not to appear at the place of rendezvous, or wilfully persuade them from the performance of military duty, as required by law; such person shall be subject to summary arrest by the provost-marshal, and shall be forthwith delivered to The statute providing for the classification of the civil authorities, and upon conviction theretroops from which drafts are to be made enacts of shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five as follows: (Sec. 3d.) That the national forces hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exof the United States, not now in the military ser-ceeding two years, or by both of said punishice, enrolled under this act, shall be divided into two classes. Thus those who are "now" (that is to say, on the third of March, 1863) in the military service, are not to be included in either of these classes. And as those then (March third) in the service were not included in either of these two classes, they may be said to constitute a class of persons to be enrolled under the provisions of this act.

As between the first and second class the law (Sec. 3) requires that the second class shall not in any district be called into the service of the United States until those of the first shall have

been thus called in.

Volunteers or regulars who had been in the service, and who had been discharged therefrom, or had resigned prior to the third day of March, 1863, are liable to be drafted in the same

ments."

To do any act which will prevent or impede the enrolment of the national forces (which enrolment is preliminary and essential to the draft) is to prevent or impede the draft itself.

The enrolment is a service to be performed by the provost-marshal in relation to the draft. It is not the act of drawing ballots out of a ballot-box itself, but it is "in relation to it," and is the first step that must by law be taken preparatory to the draft. It is therefore clearly within the duty of the provost-marshal to subject all persons who obstruct the enrolment, the meeting of the board, or any other proceeding which is preliminary and essential to the draft, to summary arrest, according to the provisions of Section 25.

There are many ways of obstructing officers in

The bold reconnoissance across the Rappahannock on Friday last, below Fredericksburgh, which we rightly thought would startle the indifferent public, had more than one object. Its first object was to discover the exact whereabouts urday morning. Its second object was to remain where it was as a diversion, while we hastily gathered together a force to feel of and if prudent to attack this threatening mass of cavalry opposite our extreme right flank.

the performance of their services or duties in making, or in relation to, the draft, without employing physical force. The neglect or refusal to do an act required by law to be done may itself be such an obstruction as to subject the offender to arrest. Suppose a person to be found stand-of the rebel army, which was accomplished Sating in a passage through which the drafting officers are required to enter into a place designated by law as the place for the draft; and suppose that his standing in that place would prevent access by these officers to the place of draft. If they request him to move away and he neglects or refuses to do so for the purpose of preventing the draft, the non-performance of the act of removal would be of itself an "obstruction of the draft, or of an officer in the performance of his duty in relation to it."

Standing mute in civil courts is, under certain circumstances, a punishable offence. And so if a person, with intent to prevent the draft, refuses to give his true name when lawfully requested so to do by an officer whose legal duty it is to ASCERTAIN and ENROLL it, it is an obstruction of that officer in the performance of one of his duties in relation to the draft. So also is the giving of false names with the same illegal intent; and the offender will in either case be subject to summary arrest by the provost-marshal.

General Hooker conceived the whole plan very quickly, and caused its execution to be begun with that rapidity and secrecy for which he is noted.

Saturday evening the composition of the force was determined upon, and all the cavalry that could be made immediately available was detailed for the work under command of Gen. Pleasanton, (Gen. Stoneman having been relieved,) assisted by Generals Buford and Gregg and Col. Dufie, as subordinate commanders. In addition, two small brigades of picked infantry, under General Ames, of the Eleventh corps, and Gen. Russell, of the Sixth corps, were detailed to accompany the expedition. A detail of artillery was made in the proportion of one battery to each brigade, the horse-batteries with the cavalry being in charge of Capt. Robertson, chief of artillery on General Pleasanton's staff.

WILLIAM WHITING, Solicitor of the War Department. JAMES B. FRY, The infantry force selected challenged particuProvost-Marshal General. lar admiration. The regiments were small, but they were reliable-such, for instance, as the Second, Third, and Seventh Wisconsin, Second and Thirty-third Massachusetts, Sixth Maine, Eightysixth and One Hundred and Twenty-fourth New. York, and one or two others of like character.

Doc. 10.

FIGHT AT BEVERLY'S FORD, VA.

NATIONAL ACCOUNTS.

IN BIVOUAC AT BEALETON, VA.,
ORANGE AND ALEXANDRIA RAILROAD,
Tuesday Evening, June 9, 1863.

THIS has truly been an exciting day. An hour since I sent you the mere skeleton of the day's operations, which scarcely affords any idea of the extent or character of our achievements. I informed you by letter on Monday what might be expected to-day, and I have now the result to record.

About the middle of last week, information of a pretty positive character was received at headquarters, concerning the massing and drilling of a large force of the enemy's cavalry in the vicinity of Culpeper. Numerous reports had been received before, but they were more or less conflicting, especially that portion of them which concerned the movement of the rebel infantry forces in a westerly direction. In my letter of Monday I gave in substance such information as I had concerning the strength and character of the enemy's augmented cavalry force. It was in the main correct, but in the light of to-day's operations I can give you the details as specifically as you can desire; for, beside defeating the enemy in a severe battle, we have ravaged his camp, ascertained his strength to a figure, and frustrated a bold plan, the execution of which was to have begun to-morrow morning at daylight. VOL. VIL-Doc. 2.

The force when completed did not, by several thousand, reach the reported number of the enemy, from twelve to fifteen thousand; but then as far as cavalry was concerned, we sent all that could be spared, and as far as infantry was concerned, the sequel proved that fully as much was sent as could be used to advantage. And then there was a strong supposition that the force of the enemy had been exaggerated.

Gen. Pleasanton's cavalry rendezvoused during Saturday and Sunday at Catlett's Station and Warrenton Junction, getting supplies of forage and food from both places, by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. General Ames's infantry moved Saturday evening to the Spotted Tavern, and on Sunday to near Bealeton Station. Gen. Russell's brigade moved on Sunday to Hartwood Church, and on Monday to Kelly's Ford. The plan was to rendezvous the command at the two points on the Rappahannock, Beverly's Ford on the right and Kelly's Ford on the left, the two being six miles apart, and then move the column forward toward Culpeper on roads converging at Brandy Station, where a junction of the forces was to be formed, or sooner if necessary.

On Monday evening, therefore, Gen. Buford's column left Warrenton Junction, and followed by General Ames from Bealeton, bivouacked for the night near the Bowen mansion, about one mile

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