Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/183

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, September 25th, 1863.

Major , Assistant Adjutant-General Johnson's Division, Ewell's Corps:

Major—I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the brigade under my command during a portion of the battle of Gettysburg. The brigade, consisting of the Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth, Forty-second, Forty-fourth, Forty-eighth and Fiftieth Virginia regiments, commanded respectively by Captain W. P. Mosely, Colonel J. C. Higginbotham, Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Withers, Major N. Cobb, Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. Dungan and Lieutenant-Colonel L. H. N. Salyer, left camp at 7 o'clock A. M. on the 1st July, the second brigade in the division column, and on reaching Gettysburg, late in the afternoon, passed by the railroad depot to the left of the town, and, under the direction of the Major-General commanding division, formed line of battle about dark on the left of Nichols' brigade, in a ravine in an open field northeast of the town, and to the left and front of the enemy's artillery on "Cemetery hill." As soon as the line was formed, pickets were thrown well to the front, and the brigade laid upon their arms during the night. Nothing of importance, so far as my brigade was concerned, occurred during the night. Soon after daylight on the 2d July, the skirmishers taken from the Twenty-fifth Virginia, and commanded by Major R. D. Lilley, were pushed further to the front to watch the motions of the enemy. The brigade in line of battle remained in the position occupied by it the night before until about 4 o'clock P. M., when, by a verbal order from the Major-General Commanding, it moved to the front to support Andrew's battalion of artillery (Major Latimer), which was moving into position on a hill opposite to Cemetery hill. The brigade was halted under cover of a range of low hills, about three hundred yards in rear and to the left of the battalion of artillery—the Fiftieth Virginia regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Salyer) being moved up to the immediate support of the artillery and formed near its left.

To meet a strong demonstration made by the enemy on our right, the remainder of the Twenty-fifth Virginia, under Colonel Higginbotham, was thrown to the right and front, and the Fiftieth