Howell Cobb to Captain, August 12, 1862

August 12, 1862. CAPTAIN: I have the honor to submit a succinct report of the operations of the brigade under my command from the morning of June 29 to July 1 instant, inclusive : For several days previous to June 29 my command has been kept day and night under arms, prepared at a moment’s notice to move in co-operation with the operations of our army on the other side of the Chickahominy. On the night of the 28th the men were required to remain in the trenches at the position then occupied by the brigade at the burnt chimney, on the Nine-mile road. From the trenches we moved on the morning of the 29th, expecting to find the enemy still occupying their strong line of fortifications immediately in our front. It was now ascertained, however, that they had evacuated their works during the night and our march was continued in their pursuit. On reaching a point not far distant from Savage Station, on York River Railroad, the enemy were reported to have made a stand in our front. The division of General Magruder was here drawn up in line of battle, the brigade commanded by the brave and lamented Griffith on the right and my brigade on the left. The remaining brigades of General Magruder’s command I did not know. In line of battle our march continued to Savage Station without encountering the enemy. At that point the enemy were first seen. A few well-directed shots from the Troup Artillery battery drove from our right the fire of the enemy in our sight; but the subsequent events of the day showed that they were then in strength, prepared to make a stubborn resistance. My brigade was placed on the left of the railroad, my right resting on the road. The position to which I was ordered was in the rear of the woods, which separated us from an open field in our front. Unwilling to give the enemy the advantage of the woods in event of their advance, I advanced my line some 400 yards through these woods and occupied a position on the skirt of the woods, with an open field in my front. The battle of that evening was fought on the right of the railroad, and hence my brigade, though exposed from their advanced position to the continued fire of the enemy, had no opportunity of participating actively in the fight. On the morning of the 30th, the enemy having disappeared from our front, we again took up the line of march, and after a most fatiguing march were placed that night in line of battle on the field where the enemy had been successfully met and overcome by General Longstreet’s division during the day. My brigade occupied the second line, in support of Griffith’s brigade, now commanded by Colonel Barksdale, both on the left of the Williamsburg road. The lines were scarcely formed when the morning of July 1 summoned us to another march in pursuit of the enemy, who had again disappeared during the night. We had not proceeded far when, meeting with the command of General Jackson, it was found that no enemy was in our front, and returning by the position from which we had marched in the morning we reached the battle-field of the 1st. Here a portion of my command, the Georgia Legion, was placed in support of the artillery. The remaining regiments were posted to the right of Mrs. Carter’s house, in a ravine. Another regiment of my command, the Sixteenth Georgia, was detached and sent forward to occupy a ravine on the right to prevent any attempt of the enemy to advance in that direction. My command was thus posted at three different points, rendering my own position, in endeavoring to look after each, an embarrassing one. While at this point I received a message from General Armistead, who occupied with his brigade the advance position in our front, that he needed support, and I immediately moved to his support with the remaining regiments of the brigade—the Twenty-fourth Georgia, Second Louisiana, and Fifteenth North Carolina. To reach that point we had to pass through the open field in our front under the fire of the enemy, which was done in double-quick and good order, and had to pass through dense woods and almost impassable ravines, which separated us from General Armistead’s position, all of which was done in quick-time and with alacrity by the three regiments. On reaching this point I immediately posted my command on the crest of the hill in front of batteries of the enemy, which continued to pour a deadly fire upon that point, as well as the entire distance which we had traversed from the ravine near and to unite at the proper time in the effort to carry the batteries of the enemy. We had not occupied this position long when General Magruder was informed that the enemy was advancing in our front, and under his order I at once advanced these three regiments to the open field in front of the batteries of the enemy. The advance of the enemy was repulsed and the regiments united in the general assault on the batteries. The conduct of both officers and men throughout was all that could be asked and even more than could be expected of men. The best evidence IJ can offer of the daring and courage of the men of my command is the fact that after the battle their dead were found mingled with those of other brigades nearest the batteries of the enemy. It was at this point in the battle that Colone) Norwood, of the Second Louisiana, while gallantly leading his regiment, fell severely, but, I am happy to say, not mortally, wounded. Major Ashton, of the same regiment, had seized the colors of the regiment after three brave men had been shot down in the act of bearing them forward, and was bravely cheering on his men and rallying them to their standard, when, pierced by several balls, he fell and died instantly. In the same action the brave and gallant commander of the Fifteenth North Carolina, Colonel Dowd, was severely, but not mortally, wounded, and his regiment, for the present, deprived of his invaluable services. } At a subsequent period of the battle the Sixteenth Georgia, previously detached, was brought into the action, and, like their comrades, were found foremost in the fight. The Georgia Legion, though under the fire of the enemy during the entire day, was not brought into the action, because of its position in support of the artillery. It is but justice to the men of my command to state the fact that for more than forty-eight hours previous to the battle they had had neither rest nor food; and though their ranks had been greatly reduced by exhaustion, there was no murmuring or spirit of complaint as long as there was an enemy in front. We commenced the march from the burnt chimney on the morning of June 29 with 2,700 men, but fatigue and exhaustion had so reduced. 750 . THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN, V. A. [Cnar. XXII. our ranks that less than 1,500 were carried into the battle of the Ist instant, and of that number nearly 500 are in the list of killed and wounded. ; I would add that the Troup Artillery (Georgia Legion) was with my brigade during all of its operations and did effective service. On Tuesday their position was such that while exposed to a galling fire they could not reply with safety to our own men. The coolness and composure of the men were commendable. I annex a list of the casualties in each regiment.* It is due to the members of my staff to say that they acted with coolness and energy and to my entire satisfaction.

HOWELL COBB,