June 3 — Early this morning we started with the cavalry on a reconnoissance around the right of the Yankee army. We made a circuitous march of about eighteen miles in the direction of the Pamunkey. While we were on the march General Grant’s forces charged General Lee’s whole line of works at Cold Harbor in the lower part of Hanover County, and as usual these latter days General Lee was ready for General Grant’s onslaught and assault. The enemy made some four or five gallant and desperate charges on Lee’s line, and were successfully repulsed and hurled back every time with fearful slaughter. The way the musketry roared and raged the fire must have been terrific at times, especially during the desperate charges of the enemy, when the Union patriots rushed up against General Lee’s line like maddened sea waves dashing against an adamantine wall, and were slaughtered by the hundreds, yes, thousands.
If we had a Stonewall Jackson now, with fifteen thousand men, just to show the great fighter Ulysses a little Jacksonian flanking trick, I am almost confident that after to-day’s slaughter Ulysses would be searching with more eagerness and anxiety for the friendly protection of the gunboats on James River than did General McClellan in 1862 when he heard old Stonewall thunder on his right flank and rear.
We passed to-day many and extensive earthworks that were constructed and occupied a few days ago by the enemy. The whole country along the south side of the Pamunkey is literally dug up and covered with breastworks, breastworks from which there never was a shot fired, and which have been abandoned in that oft-repeated movement by the left flank.
About middle of the day we encountered the enemy at Hawes’ Shop. We had a warm and spirited artillery duel with them of a couple hours’ duration; there was also some little sharpshooting among the cavalry. After fighting two or three hours both sides seemed to be satisfied, ceased firing, and withdrew from the field. We came back to the Chickahominy and camped about a mile above Meadow Bridge. In coming back this afternoon we passed the field on Tottapotamy Creek, where General Breckinridge fought and defeated the Yankees a few days ago. For about two miles the battle-ground is covered with intrenchments and heavy banks of earthwork higher than a man’s head. The whole field is a perfect labyrinth of thrown-up ridges running in every direction, and so constructed that men can pass from one to the other without exposing themselves to an enemy’s fire.
June 2 — Heavy thunder-showers this evening, with hail. We are still in camp near Hughes’ Cross Roads. I heard heavy cannonading all afternoon in the direction of the Pamunkey.
June 1 —General Grant is still at his base-changing business and eagerly endeavors to get to Richmond on that line by moving, by the left flank, while at the same time he has hundreds of Union patriots slaughtered by rushing them up without much strategy against General Lee’s breastworks that are always ready, manned, and loaded to give the blue host a shower of fresh warm bullets. We remained in camp, but on the lookout and ready for orders all day.
May 31 — All is well in our immediate front, and we remained in camp to-day.
May 30 — This morning we moved about a quarter of a mile out on the Hanover Court House road and put our guns into position, as there is plenty of game in that direction. The enemy was advancing slowly and cautiously on that road this morning, but they did not come in range of our guns. Our horseless dismounted cavalry of the corps formed a line of fight in line with our guns, and immediately commenced digging like ground hogs. To get earth for breastworks they threw up earth works all along the line on both sides of the road. To-day was the first time I ever saw cavalrymen engaged in the ditching and intrenching business, and for a while this morning they made the earth fly. We remained in position until night, then moved back couple hundred yards and camped near Hughes’ Cross Roads.
May 28 — We renewed our wandering march this morning and marched toward the Pamunkey. We crossed the Virginia Central Railroad, at Atlee’s Station, about eight miles from Richmond, then moved on a road that leads nearly due east through Hanover town to the Pamunkey. To-day the enemy crossed to the south side of the Pamunkey, with a large force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. We saw the Yanks, and the whole country swarmed with them in our front; we had nothing to oppose their onward march but a small force of cavalry and two batteries of artillery.
General Hampton attacked the van of the enemy’s advance this afternoon at three o’clock near Old Church, about two miles from the Pamunkey. The fight was spirited, determined, and lasted till dark; the musketry was heavy at times on the Yankee side, as they had infantry engaged. Our cavalry fought gallantly and stuck to their position stubbornly, and repulsed two charges that the enemy made on our line, but late this evening we were forced to retire a short distance,— not more than three hundred yards,— as the enemy’s force was overwhelming and composed of a heavy force of infantry in addition to their cavalry. Our battery was under fire, but we did no firing, as the lay of the field and the peculiar conformation of the lines were unfavorable for artillery firing.
Late this evening we fell back to the south side of Tottapotamy Creek, a small stream just in rear of our line, and bivouacked for the night. General Breckinridge’s forces passed our bivouac at dusk this evening, going to the front; they won’t go very far before they will bump up against some lively game in the shape of Yankee infantry that General Hampton’s cavalry were fighting this afternoon.
The country along the Pamunkey in the lower part of Hanover County is mostly level. Weather sunny and hot.
May 27 — Last night the enemy abandoned their position in our front and are still moving by the left flank, and to-day we moved farther to our right in order to keep an eye on the enemy’s base-changing operations. We crossed the South Anna, one of the principal headstreams of the Pamunkey, draining the southwestern portion of Louisa County. The North and South Anna unite and form the Pamunkey near the southern point of Caroline, about three miles, the way the bird flies, northwest of Hanover Court House.
We were on the march and prowling around until midnight. Camped near Hughes’ Cross Roads, about ten miles from Richmond, and near the Chickahominy. We passed through Ashland to-day, a beautiful little town pleasantly situated on the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, sixteen miles north of Richmond. To-day we passed long trains of General Lee’s army wagons, moving toward our right.
May 26 — Rained very hard this morning for about three hours. We remained in camp to-day.
May 25 — We were ordered to the front this morning, southwest of Hanover Court House. The Yankees are in heavy force in our immediate front. However, we did no firing to-day, as all seems to be quiet along the front. We are camped this evening near Hanover academy, about six miles from Hanover Junction. We passed Fork Church to-day, one of the oldest churches in Virginia, and it is still a good substantial building. It is built of brick that was imported from England. The church is built in a style that resembles very much our modern country churches, except that it has a portico in front like a dwelling house. Heavy thunder this evening.
May 24 — We remained in camp all day. The Yankees are on our side of the North Anna in great force, and from all accounts the country along this side of the river is thick and full of them.
