was everywhere repulsed. Warren's loss was three hundred and one killed, wounded and missing. The enemy left two hundred and eleven dead on the field, among them General Sanders. Warren also captured five hundred and seventeen officers and men and six flags, the greater part of Hagood's brigade.

Warren's position on the Weldon railroad now seemed secure. The Ninth Corps pushed their entrenchments from the Jerusalem plank road so as to connect with his right. It was a great point gained, for it cut off one direct and important communication with Petersburg. But the enemy could use the road below. On August 22d, Hancock, with two divisions of his corps and Gregg's cavalry, was sent to Warren's rear to destroy the railroad southward to Rowanty creek. By night of the 24th, they had accomplished their work as far as Ream's Station and had five more miles to destroy.

But this kind of work would prove too fatal to Lee to admit of its going on without a desperate effort to stop it. Hill's corps, with Anderson's division of Longstreet's, and Hampton's two cavalry divisions were sent out to drive Hancock off. That officer hastily improvised rather awkward entrenchments at Ream's Station, and placed Gibbon's Second Division on the left and Miles' First Division on the right. It was August 25th. At five in the afternoon, Hill opened a heavy artillery fire on Hancock's position, which did little damage. He then massed and assaulted Miles' front, part of which, composed of new troops, gave way. Hancock ordered a reserve of the Second Division to Mile's support but it failed to respond. Murphy's brigade of the Second, on the left of the break, was driven back and lost two batteries. Hancock ordered Gibbon to retake the guns, but his forces seemed to be demoralized. The moment was a critical one, and would have ended in a complete rout but for the steadiness of the remaining portions of Miles' First Division. Miles rallied the

Sixty-First New York regiment at right angles with his own breastworks, swept the enemy off his entire front, retook the lost guns, and re-established a considerable part of his broken lines. Hampton now attacked Gibbon's position on the left with his cavalry, dismounted, and drove him from his defences, almost without a struggle. Passing on with cheers, the victorious troopers suddenly met a heavy flank fire from Gregg's cavalry, also dismounted, which checked their advance. They then fell upon Gregg and drove him back to a new line, which Gibbon had by this time formed in the rear. Miles and Gregg then stubbornly held on till dark, and even offered to retake their original lines, but Gibbon stated that his division could not retake theirs. Mott and Wilcox had been sent to reinforce Hancock, but neither of them had yet come. Therefore, Hancock withdrew from his exposed position. The enemy did not molest him nor follow, but returned to Petersburg, leaving Hampton to hold Ream's Station. Hancock lamented his want of success, and attributed it to failure of promised reinforcement and the bad condition of his men on account of the oppressive weather and large number of raw recruits. He lost six hundred and ten killed and wounded and one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two missing; also nine guns. A very large per cent. of the killed were officers. Hill reported his losses at seven hundred and twenty killed and wounded, and his captures at twelve flags, nine guns, ten caissons, two thousand one hundred and fifty prisoners, three thousand and one hundred small arms.

September was consumed in entrenching the newly acquired front south of Petersburg. On September 28th, another expedition against Richmond was ordered under Ord of the Eighteenth and Birney of the Tenth Corps. The moving force was ten thousand strong, and accompanied by Kautz's cavalry. It crossed the James by night at Aiken's and marched to Chapin's farm, in the direction of Richmond.

Here it struck the enemy's entrenchments. Ord received a heavy artillery fire from Fort Harrison, and quickly made his disposition for attack. Pushing Stannard's division to the foot of the hill on which the fort stood, Burnham's brigade ran, under a severe fire, up the slope, and after a short and determined encounter captured the works with sixteen guns and a number of prisoners. Burnham was killed in the assault. The Federals now charged right and left and captured two outer works with six guns. Ord now endeavored to sweep toward the river to capture the remaining redan, and a pontoon bridge, but they were covered by the enemy's gunboats and the attempt was unsuccessful. Ord was severely wounded and the command devolved on General Heckmann, who immediately attacked Fort Gilmer, but was repulsed. Birney had been for some time driving the enemy back on the New Market road. He now threw out his left and connected with Heckmann. Law's brigade came to the fort in the afternoon to help hold it. Grant now came upon the scene, and ordered both corps to advance. Birney's corps received the brunt of the fire from Ft. Gilmer, which his brigade of colored troops attempted to take by repeated assaults. There was hard fighting over difficult ground and against strong and intricate entrenchments for a long time, but without further decided results.

Ewell and Lee both came upon the scene with heavy reinforcements. It was at once determined to retake Ft. Harrison. All night and till the next afternoon reinforcements were coming up from Petersburg and disposition was being made for the attack. The Federals were busy strengthening it. The assault began at two o'clock on the afternoon of September 30th. The Confederates advanced in strong column and under cover of a heavy artillery fire, till they were quite close. The Federals then opened a hot musketry fire and drove them back. They reformed and attacked a second

and third time, but were again repulsed with great loss. The Federal losses during the two days' operations were, killed, 394; wounded, 1554; missing, 324; total, 2272. The Confederate losses must have been even heavier.

This entire move north of the James was with a view of attracting enough of Lee's strength from the south of Petersburg to warrant another effort to extend the Federal lines beyond the Weldon railroad, and as far as the Boydton Plankroad. Accordingly, Warren pushed out Griffin's and Ayres' divisions on his left, General Parke (Parke had succeeded Burnside as commander of the Ninth Corps) with Wilcox's and Potter's divisions following. Griffin soon struck a heavy line of entrenchments which he carried. Ayres' division carried a redoubt on Griffin's right. These two captures gave them the entire line of entrenchments at this point. Potter's division advanced to Griffin's left, and Wilcox's to Potter's left. Thus formed, they moved toward the Boydton road. Potter came upon the enemy's main line of entrenchments first. They extended from Petersburg to Hatcher's Run and covered both the Boydton plank and Southside railroad. Potter advanced to attack, but was met by a counter attack and driven back, as well as one of Wilcox's brigades. A new line was quickly formed which checked the enemy's advance.

On the afternoon of October 1st Mott's division arrived on Parke's left. On the 2d Parke advanced his entire lines, by dint of hard fighting, and entrenched within a mile of the enemy's works. These were connected on the right with works crossing the Weldon railroad, and made secure by redoubts and batteries. The casualties were six hundred and sixty-one killed and wounded, and one thousand three hundred and forty-eight missing. The result was a material extension of the Federal lines westward, and so as to threaten the Southside railroad.

On October 7th, Kautz's cavalry, on the north of the James,

was driven from its position on the Darby road, and fell back

upon the Tenth Corps, with the loss of its two batteries and two hundred and seventy-four men killed, wounded and missing. On October 24th, Grant issued orders to Meade to make preparations to gain possession of the Southside railroad. All these operations of the Federal army on the south of Petersburg were telling disastrously on the Confederates. The loss of the Weldon road was a blow which carried consternation into both military and political circles. Every movement of Grant westward increased the apprehension. Lee saw that it was like drawing a deadly cordon about him. Hence his herculean efforts to forestall Grant's westward progress, and to keep his communications open both for purposes of supply and retreat, which last was fast becoming inevitable by reason of the industry, skill and pertinacity evinced by the Federal leader.

GEN. KAUTZ.

Lee accordingly threw all his available forces out along the Southside railroad to protect it. Meade organized his advance for the morning of October 27th. The point was to turn the enemy's flank at the crossing of the Boydton plank. road and Hatcher's Run. Parke's Ninth was to make a feint on the entrenchments. Warren was to cross the run and push for the Southside railroad. Hancock was to do the same, but to recross the run above and strike the railroad at Sutherland Station. Both Parke and Warren soon struck the enemy's pickets, and found strong defensive works ahead of them. It was therefore late when Warren got Crawford's division across the run to connect with Hancock, already over.