Col. John M. Orr (124^th Indiana)

Col. John C. McQuiston (123^rd Indiana)

Col. Minor T. Thomas (8^th Minnesota)

Raleigh, N. C., April 25, 1865

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the First Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, in the movement of the column operating from New Berne, N. C., up the Neuse River, under the command of Major-General Cox, then commanding the District of Beaufort, from the time of leaving New Berne to and including the 10th day of March, 1865, and the action fought on that day near Kinston, N. C.:

The division left New Berne in obedience to orders on the 3d day of March and marched to Batchelder's Creek, a distance of nine miles. Transportation being limited, the troops carried, in compliance with orders from Major-General Cox, seventy rounds of ammunition per man on the person. I also required to be carried entrenching [tools] to the amount of 100 axes, 100 shovels, and 20 pickaxes to each brigade.

The organization of the division was as follows: First Brigade--Col. John M. Orr, One hundred and twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteer infantry, commanding; One hundred and twentieth Indiana Volunteers, Col. A. W. Prather; One hundred and twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. H. H. Neff; One hundred and twenty-eighth IndianaVolunteers, Lieut. Col. Jasper Packard; One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteers, Col. Willard Warner. Second Brigade--Col. John C. McQuiston, One hundred and twenty-third Indiana Volunteers, commanding; One hundred and twenty-third IndianaVolunteers, Lieut. Col. D. C. Walters; One hundred and twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteers, Capt. David Bennett; One hundred and thirtieth Indiana Volunteers, Col. Charles S. Parrish; Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteers, Col. W. W. Wheeler. Third Brigade--Col. Minor T. Thomas, Eighth Minnesota Volunteers, brevet brigadier-general of volunteers, commanding; Eighth Minnesota Volunteers, Maj. George A. Camp; One hundred and seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteers, Col. J. S. Jones; One hundred and seventy-eighth Ohio Volunteers, Col. J. A. Stafford; Company F, First Michigan Volunteer Light Artillery, Capt. B. D. Paddock; Fifth Illinois Light Battery (Elgin Battery), Capt. A. M. Wood.

On the 4th day of March the division marched to Core Creek, a distance of nine miles. On the 7th day of March it marched to Gum Swamp, a distance of five miles. The movement thus far was without incident worthy of particular mention so far as the division is concerned. The limited amount of transportation prevented any movement separating the column any considerable distance from the point of completion of the repair of the railroad. On the 8th of March I received orders about 11.30 a. m. from Major-General Cox to move with two brigades from my camp at Gum Swamp to Wise's Cross Roads, where he then was at the position occupied by General Carter's command. Orders were soon after given to leave but one regiment at Gum Swamp.

The division moved as ordered. Upon arriving at Wise's Forks I was ordered to pass my command by the right flank of General Carter's command, which was covering the roads converging to that point known as the Dover and Trent roads, and strike the enemy on the flank. The enemy, afterward found to be Hoke's (rebel) division, had attacked and captured or dispersed two regiments of General Carter's command, which was near the crossing of the Southwest Creek by the Dover road, and were then, with other rebel troops, moving down the Dover road toward the position occupied by General Carter. I moved out with the First and Second Brigades to attack the enemy. Drove in his skirmishers, but found that he had developed more to his left than was anticipated, or else had changed direction in consequence of a movement by a portion of General Palmer's command to my right. Whatever the cause his left was beyond my reach and extended to the line held by General Palmer on the right. Deeming it inexpedient to attack under the condition of things presented unless the troops to my right should attack simultaneously, I halted and reported the situation to Major-General Cox. It being then nearly dark, orders were received by me to intrench strongly the position then occupied so that the line could be held by a portion of the force if occasion required.

General Palmer's troops made connection with my right and General Carter's command, which had followed the movement on my left, continued the breast-works to the left. The Third Brigade, which meantime had come up, remained near the left of the main line. The two batteries I also ordered to park in rear of the left of General Carter's position, to be used as occasion should offer. During the evening the breast-works were extended on General Carter's left to what is known as the lower Trent road by the Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteers, Colonel Wheeler, and the One hundred and seventy fourth Ohio Volunteers, Colonel Jones, which latter named regiment had in the early part of the evening been in position on the right until General Palmer made connection. Matters remained without change during the night, the enemy making a few dashes at the skirmish line of the First and Second Brigades, without success. On the 9th of March, about 10 a. m., I received orders from Major-General Cox to send what troops I could of the Third Brigade, Colonel Thomas, to report to General Palmer on the right. Colonel Thomas. with the One hundred and seventy-eighth Ohio Volunteers, Colonel Stafford, and the Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteers, Colonel Wheeler, temporarily under command of Colonel Thomas, reported to General Palmer accordingly. Nothing of particular importance occurred during this day. The enemy pressed the skirmish line pretty severely a number of times and seemed meditating an attack. At about 11 p. m. the One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteers, Colonel Warner, Second [First] Brigade, was, in obedience to orders, directed to take position on the extreme left, half a mile from General Carter's left, and extend the skirmish line from General Carter's left sufficiently far to cover the hospital, some half a mile down the Dover road toward the railroad.

On the, 10th day of March the enemy attacked the left in strong force, about 10 a. m. The first intimation of his approach was a rattling fire of musketry on the lower Trent road, on the skirmish line, the cavalry posted to give warning of any approach by the enemy in that direction having been driven off, and did not succeed in communicating until the force of the enemy was well developed. As the main line extended but a short distance to the left of the road on which the enemy was moving to the attack, I reported to Major-General Cox that I thought one of my brigades could, for the time being, hold the line in the center, then occupied by the First and Second Brigades. Whereupon I was directed to send one brigade to the left of General Carter's troops. I immediately ordered Colonel McQuiston, commanding Second [Brigade], to move his brigade toward the left as soon as relieved by Colonel Orr, commanding First Brigade, and Colonel Orr to relieve the Second Brigade by extending his own line. Colonel McQuiston, on arriving at the position on the left, was ordered by me to advance a skirmish line well extended to the using what skirmish force was already there of the One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteers, and ascertain how far to our left the right of the skirmishers extended. In the meantime I had placed the two batteries in position on the Trent road. The enemy had by this time advanced so as to be within the effective fire from the artillery of General Carter, in position on the Trent road, which, together with the two batteries of my division, was opened on his column.

Colonel McQuiston reported that the left of his skirmish line met with no opposition; that on the right he found the enemy's line. I at once, with the approbation of Major-General Cox, ordered him to advance the left of his skirmish line, double up the skirmish line of the enemy, and attack him in flank if possible, which was done just as the enemy had found the fire from the breast-works in his front on the Trent road more than he could live under. The result was a quick and disorderly flight of the enemy, with considerable loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners. This attack was made by Hoke's rebel division. No sooner was the attack on the left repulsed than an attack was made on that portion of the center held by the First Brigade, Colonel Orr, to which point I at once moved and ordered the Fifth Illinois Battery, Captain Wood, to move toward the right and go into position near the right of the First Brigade. The enemy in this attack drove in the skirmish line, and, apparently, being disappointed in drawing the fire of a line of battle behind breast-works, or else finding the fire too severe, retired precipitately very soon after coming well under fire of the line, and did not again renew the attack in force. The Ninth New Jersey Volunteers, General Palmer's command, reported to me, by direction of Major General Cox, just as the attack of the enemy on the center was repulsed and was assigned to position with Colonel Orr's brigade and soon after relieved by troops of the division and ordered to report back to General Palmer. As ascertained from prisoners taken, this attack was made by the rebel divisions of Generals Clayton and Loring. The plan of action of the rebels was said by some prisoners to be that by moving on the lower Trent road it would lead in rear of the left of our line of breast-works and cause us to change front to rear, so that the attack in the center would find only a skirmish line, or, at most, a feeble line, and thus they could crush us between the two attacking forces. If such was the plan it failed, and their own right flank was turned instead. Skirmishing, sometimes quite spirited, occurred from time to time until dark. The rebel forces, so far as I could ascertain, consisted of Hood's old army, with the exception of Cheatham's corps, Hoke's division, and the troops formerly around Kinston, in all about 15,000, commanded by General Braxton Bragg in person. The attack was a failure and the enemy retreated during the night of the 10th.

The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded I have not the means of knowing. It must, from the relative situation of the forces, have been considerably greater than ours.

The number of prisoners turned over to the provost-marshal of the division was 10 commissioned officers and 235 enlisted men. There were also in addition at the division hospital 1 commissioned officer and 21 enlisted men severely wounded. Of those there are known to have been captured by this division 193 officers and men.

I bear glad testimony to the excellent conduct, in all respects, of the officers and men of my division in this their first engagement under their present division organization. Colonels Orr, McQuiston, and Thomas handled their brigades with skill and courage. The artillery Battery F, First Michigan, Capt. B. D. Paddock, and the Fifth Illinois Battery, Capt. A. M. Wood--behaved well under the circumstances, trying to that arm of the service. The ground afforded little or no shelter to men or material, and the batteries were exposed to an annoying musketry fire.

There were present with me of my staff Maj. Joshua Healey, One hundred and twenty-eighth Indiana Volunteers, acting assistant inspector-general; Capt. Henry A. Hale, assistant adjutant-general of Volunteers; Capt. June E. Cravens, One hundred and twenty-third Indiana Volunteers, acting aide-de-camp; Capt. Andrew Davis, One hundred and seventy-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, provost-marshal; Lieuts. George L. Binney, Second Massachusetts, and Edwin G. Fay, One hundred and seventh New York, aides-de-camp; Lieut. Miles Hollister, Eighth Minnesota, acting ordnance officer; Surg. John H. Spurrier, One hundred and twenty-third Indiana Volunteers, medical director, to whom I am indebted for much assistance and commend for faithful and fearless performance of duty.

Accompanying are the reports of brigade and regimental commanders, to which I respectfully refer for details concerning their respective commands; also a list of casualties.

Among the worthy ones lost to their country was Lieutenant-Colonel McKay, One hundred and eightieth Ohio Infantry, a capable and brave young man, who was mortally wounded while in charge of the skirmish line of his brigade on the evening of the 9th of March.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Thomas H. Ruger

Maj. THEODORE COX,

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report the part taken by my command in the operations near Kinston, N. C., on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of March, 1865:

The brigade moved into position near Wise's Forks, on Trent road, making front of three regiments, the One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry being held in reserve. The right of my brigade connected with General Palmer's left, my left connecting with the right of Second Brigade, the line being in the following order: One hundred and twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteers on right, One hundred and twentieth Indiana Volunteers in center, One hundred and twenty eighth Indiana Volunteers on left, One hundred and eightieth OhioVolunteers in reserve. Four companies from the brigade (one from each regiment) were deployed as skirmishers, and immediately engaging the enemy, keeping up a brisk fire while the brigade built works. At dark, the connection with General Palmer's left not being perfect, the One hundred and seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteers reported to me and built works in reserve for support of right flank, but in three hours were ordered by me to report to Colonel Thomas. On the 9^th advanced our skirmish line 300 yards and found the enemy's pickets; built barricades on the skirmish line; strengthened main line of works; placed a strong palisade along entire front. Occasional sharpshooting was kept up until 4 p. m., when the enemy made a strong but unsuccessful attack upon our line; skirmishing continued until after dark. At midnight of the One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteers were ordered to report to General T. H. Ruger, and were sent by him to extend and strengthen General Carter's left, their company of skirmishers still remaining in front of my brigade.

On the 10^th instant, at 11 a. m., Colonel McQuiston's brigade moved out, and I was ordered to extend my lines so as to occupy my own works and those vacated by Second Brigade, which I did without a moment's delay, the three regiments in the same order as before. At 12 p. m. the enemy advanced on our whole front in line of battle, driving our skirmishers before them. When within 100 yards of my works my whole line opened upon them, and after a moment's struggle their line was broken and they fell back in disorder, whereupon we pursued them with a strong skirmish line, taking 1 lieutenant and 34 enlisted men prisoners within 100 yards of our works. By steadily pushing forward, with sharp skirmishing, we at length retook our original line of skirmish pits, and soon after dark firing ceased. Just as the enemy were repulsed the Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteers and One hundred and thirtieth Indiana Volunteers reported to me and were assigned to position along the main line. Soon afterward the Ninth New Jersey Volunteers and one section of Elgin Battery reported to me and were ordered by me to strengthen the main line. The two guns being placed in position on the right rendered important service by shelling the woods and enabling my skirmishers to advance. At 4 p. m. the One hundred and twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteers reported to me and relieved the Ninth New Jersey Volunteers. At dusk the One hundred and twenty-ninth and One hundred and thirtieth Indiana Volunteers and Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteers were ordered by me to report to Colonel McQuiston. During the time the One hundred and eightieth Ohio Volunteers were detached from the brigade they were engaged in severe skirmishing on the left and captured 31 prisoners, making total number taken by brigade 1 lieutenant and 65 enlisted men. The number killed and wounded in my brigade during the three days' engagements is as follows: