Question by General MCDOWELL. What did General McDowel say or do to General Milroy Answer. He did not make any reply to General Milroy which could have been heard by General Milroy. General McDowell appeared perfectly willing to re-enforce General Milroy, and hesitated for about ten minutes. At that an officer came with a note for General McDowell. General McDowell having read this note, he at once gave orders to a brigade of General Porter's to advance into the woods and took active measures himself to see that was done. Question by General MCDOWELL. Did he say to General Milroy he would not help General Sigel or anything to that effect? Answer. Not to my knowledge. Question by General MCDOWELL. Did you hear General Milroy say anything about re-enforcements for General Sigel! Answer. I did not. Question by General MCDOWELL. Did you learn why General McDowell hesitated to send re-enforcements to General Milroy and then immediately sent them on the application of another! Answer. The impression that I received from what I heard at the time was that he (General McDowell) did not want to take the responsibility of ordering in General Porter's troops when the commander-in-chief was on the field and in the immediate neighborhood. Question by the COURT. You have stated that General McDowell did not make any reply to General Milroy which he (General Milroy) could have heard. State what General McDowell said at that time which you heard. Answer. General McDowell was talking to General Porter during the ten minutes I was there, and I do not know positively the language used by General McDowell on that occasion. General McDowell appeared desirous of supporting General Milroy, and he was talking to General Porter about the arrangement of his troops in order to effect that. After having read that note General McDowell said, "Now I have authority; now all is right; let us go in." That was spoken with a great deal of ani. mation. Question by the COURT. You have stated that you thought General McDowell did not wish to order any of General Porter's command to support General Milroy. Had not General McDowell any portion of his own troops there with which he could have re-enforced General Milroy? Answer. No, sir, not at that spot; General Reynolds' troops were in the woods and were coming out, and were mostly without ammunition. Capt. J. De W. CUTTING, aide-de-camp, U. S. Army, a witness, was duly sworn. Question by General McDoWELL. What is your rank and what duty were you upon on the 30th August last? Answer. I was captain and additional aide-de-camp, and assigned to duty with General McDowell. Question by General McDoWELL. Were you near General McDowell on the 30th of August last, on the occasion of General Milroy's coming to him for re-enforcements! Answer. I was. Question by General MCDOWELL. How far was General Milroy from General McDowell when he asked him for re-enforcements. What was his manner and his state of mind, as far as you can judge! Answer. When I first saw General Milroy he was about 15 or 20 yards from General McDowell. He was very much excited and gesticulated, having his sword drawn His manner was so confusing and his language so indefinite that it was difficult to understand where he needed the assistance which he called for. Question by General McDoWELL. Were you near to General McDowell? If so, how near Answer. I was within 4 or 5 yards of him. Question by General MCDOWELL. State what you know of what was said by General Milroy to General McDowell, and the replies, if any, of the latter. Answer. I can't remember the words of General Milroy, but they were to the effect that our troops in front were being badly cut up, and that re-enforcements must be sent or else the day would be lost. I do not think that General McDowell made any reply, and am quite sure he said nothing about General Sigel. Question by General McDoWELL. Was there any question at all raised about re-enforcing General Sigel ↑ Answer. I do not recollect having heard either General McDowell or General Milroy mention General Sigel's name. Question by General MoDowELL. Did General Milroy speak in a loud voice! Answer. He did. Question by General MODOWELL. Did General McDowell, soon after General Milroy came up, send forward re-enforcements on the application of another officer? Answer. He did. Question by General McDowELL. Did you know why General McDowell hesitated to grant General Milroy's application and then sent off re-enforcements on the application of another? Answer. I think I did. General Porter's corps, or a part of it, was acting as a reserve, and I supposed that General McDowell scarcely felt authorized to send them forward, unless very urgently required, without an order to that effect from General Pope. General McDowell sent these troops to support General Meade, who a few moments after General Milroy came up had sent a messenger to General McDowell, who said that General Meade was pressed hardly by the enemy and could not hold his position without re-enforcements. General McDowell then spoke a few words to General Porter, and a part of General Sykes' division immediately went forward to re-enforce General Meade. Question by the COURT. Who was with General Milroy when he ap proached General McDowell? Was General Milroy alone or was he accompanied by any staff officer or orderly ? Answer. I think he was alone. Question by the COURT. How do you know that General Porter's corps was acting as a reserve! Was it by the orders of General Pope or of General McDowell? Answer. I did not know by whose order it was; I saw them drawn up in line of battle quite far to the rear of where the other troops were engaged. I judged they were the reserve from their position. The court took a recess of five minutes. General McDowell made the following statement: I consider the evidence of General Buchanan essential in connection with General Milroy's report, and I request that the court will wait till to-morrow morning to receive it, as I have every reason to believe that he will be here. It is now near the hour of adjournment. The court adjourned to meet to-morrow morning, February 4, 1863, at 11 o'clock. APPENDIX. GENERAL ORDERS, } WAR DEPI., ADJT. GEN.'S OFFICE, I. Officers of the Regular Army will, as a general rule, receive leaves of absence to accept the rank of colonel in volunteer regiments, but not lower grades. Non-commissioned officers and privates will be discharged on receiving commissions in volunteer regiments. II. The oath of allegiance will not be administered to any person against his own will; it must in all cases be a voluntary act on his part, nor will any compulsory parole of honor be received. But oaths taken and paroles given to avoid arrest, detention, imprisonment, or expulsion are voluntary or free acts, and cannot be regarded as compulsory. All persons guilty of violating such oaths or paroles will be punished according to the laws and usages of war. III. The laws of the United States and the general laws of war authorize in certain cases the seizure and conversion of private property for the subsistence, transportation, and other uses of the Army, but this must be distinguished from pillage; and the taking of property for public purposes is very different from its conversion to private uses. All property lawfully taken from the enemy, or from the inhabitants of an enemy's country, instantly becomes public property, and must be used and accounted for as such. The fifty-second article of war author. izes the penalty of death for pillage or plundering, and other articles authorize severe punishments for any officer or soldier who shall sell, embezzle, misapply, or waste military stores, or who shall permit the waste or misapplication of any such public property. The penalty is the same whether the offense be committed in our own or in an enemy's territory. IV. All property, public or private, taken from alleged enemies must be inventoried and duly accounted for. If the property taken be claimed as private, receipts must be given to such claimants or their agents. Officers will be held strictly accountable for all property taken by them or by their authority, and it must be returned for the same as any other public property. V. Where foraging parties are sent out for provisions or other stores the commanding officer of such party will be held accountable for the conduct of his command and will make a true report of all property taken. VI. No officer or soldier will, without authority, leave his colors or ranks to take private property or to enter a private house for that purpose. All such acts are punishable with death, and an officer who permits them is equally as guilty as the actual pillager. VII. Commanding officers of armies and corps will be held responsible for the execution of these orders in their respective commands. By command of Major-General Halleck, General-in-Chief of the Army: B. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. HEADQUARTERS INDEPENDENT BRIGADE, Near Fort Ethan Allen, Va., September 12, 1862. Maj. T. A MEYSENBERG, Assistant Adjutant-General : The next morning, 30th, I brought my brigade into the position as signed them, and remained in reserve until about 4 p. m., when I threw it across the road to stop the retreating masses which had been driven back from the front. I soon received an order to move my brigade off to the left on doublequick, the enemy having massed their troops during the day in order to turn our left flank. I formed line of battle along the road, my left resting near the edge of the woods in which the battle was raging. Soon our troops came rushing panic-stricken out of the woods, leaving my brigade to face the enemy, who followed the retreating masses to the edge of the woods. The road in which my brigade was formed was worn and washed from 3 to 5 feet deep, affording a splendid cover for my men. My boys opened fire on them at short range, driving the rebels back to a respectful distance. But the enemy, being constantly re-enforced from the masses in their rear, came on again and again, pouring in advance a perfect hurricane of balls, which had but little effect on my men, who were so well protected in their road intrenchment. But the steady fire of my brigade, together with that of a splendid brass battery on higher ground in my rear, which I ordered to fire rapidly with canister over the heads of my men, had a most withering effect upon the rebels, whose columns melted away and fast recoiled from repeated efforts to advance upon my road breastwork from the woods. But the fire of the enmy, which had affected my men so little, told with destructive results on the exposed battery in their rear, and it required a watchful effort to hold them to their effective work. My horse was shot in the head by a musket-ball while in the midst of the battery cheering on the men. I got another, and soon after observing the troops on my left giving way in confusion before the rebel fire I hastened to assist in rallying them, and while engaged in this the battery took advantage of my absence and withdrew. I had sent one of my aides shortly before to the rear for fresh troops to support this part of our line where the persistent efforts of the rebels showed they had determined to break through. A fine regiment of regulars was sent, which was formed in rear of my brigade, near the position the battery had occupied. The rebels came around the forest in columns to our right and front, but the splendid firing of the regulars, with that of my brigade, thinned their ranks so rapidly that they were thrown back in confusion upon every attempt made. About this time, when the battle raged thickest, Lieutenant Esté and Lieutenant Niles, of General Schenck's staff, reported to me for duty, informing me that General Schenck had been seriously wounded and his command thrown back from the field. Most thankfully was their valuable assistance accepted, and most gallantly and efficiently did they assist me on that most sanguine field, until 8 o'clock at night, in bringing up regiments, brigades, and batteries, cheering them on to action and in rallying them when driven back before the furious fire of the enemy. Shortly after sunset my own brigade had entirely exhausted their ammunition, and it being considered unsafe to bring forward the ammnunition wagons where the enemy's shells were constantly flying and exploding, and the enemy having entirely ceased their efforts to break through this part of the line and had thrown the weight of their attack still farther to my left, I ordered my brigade back some one half of a mile to replenish their ammunition boxes and there await further orders. I remained on the field with Lieutenants Esté and Niles, my own [aides] having been sent to see to my regiments. The enemy continued their attacks upon our left until long after dark, which it required the most determined and energetic efforts to repel. At one time, not receiving assistance from the rear, as I had a right to expect after having sent for it, and our struggling battalions being nearly overcome by the weight, and persistence of the enemy's attack, I flew back about one-half mile to where I understood General McDowell was with a large portion of his corps. I found him, and appealed to him in the most urgent manner to send a brigade forward at once to save the day or all would be lost. He answered coldly, in substance, that it was not his business to help everybody, and he was not going to help General Sigel. I told him I was not fighting with General Sigel's corps; that my brigade had got out of ammunition some time before and gone to the rear, and that I had been fighting with a half dozen different brigades, and that I had not inquired where or to what particular corps they belonged. He inquired of one of his aides if General was fighting over there on the left? He answered he thought he was. McDowell replied that he would send him help, for he was a good fellow. He then gave the order for a brigade to start, which was all I desired. I dashed in front of them, waved my sword, and cheered them forward. They raised the cheer, and came on at double-quick. I soon led them to where they were most needed, and the gallant manner in which they entered the fight and the rapidity of their fire soon turned the tide of battle. But this gallant brigade, like the many others which had preceded it, found the enemy too strong as they advanced into the forest, and was forced back by the tremendous fire that met them. But one of General Burnside's veteran brigades, coming up soon after dark with a battery, again dashed back the tide of armed treason, and sent such a tempest of shot, shell, and leaden death into the dark forest after the rebels that they did not again renew the attack. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. H. MILROY, Brig. Gen., Comdg. Indep't Brig., 1st Corps, Army of Va. SIXTY-FIRST DAY. COURT-ROOM, COR. FOURTEENTH AND l'A. AVENUE. Brig. Gen. R. C. BUCHANAN, U. S. Volunteers, a witness, was duly sworn. Question by General MCDOWELL. Lay before the court your letter to General McDowell of October 20, 1862, and say if the statements therein made are true. Answer. That is the letter, and the substance of those statements is true to the best of my recollection and belief. The letter referred to was handed to the recorder by the witness, was read by the recorder, and is appended to the proceedings of this day, marked A. The court had no questions to ask this witness. General McDowell stated that he had no more witnesses to produce. 18 R R VOL XII |