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Report of Maj. Gen. J. G.Foster to the Committee on the Conduct of the War.

APPENDIX.

REPORT OF BRIGADIER GENERAL J. G. FOSTER TO MAJOR GENERAL BURNSIDE, OF THE OPERATIONS OF FIRST BRIGADE COAST DIVISION AT THE BATTLE OF NEWBERN, N. C., MARCH 14, 1862.

HEADQUARTERS GENERAL FOSTER'S BRIGADE,

DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA,

Newbern, N. C., March 20, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to report that, in pursuance of the orders of General Burnside, and in accordance with the plan of operations agreed upon, I proceeded to land my brigade on the 13th instant at Slocum's creek. I took on board the Pilot Boy about five hundred men of the twenty-fourth Massachusetts volunteers, and towing the boats of my brigade, carrying about six hundred more, reached the mouth of the creek and landed without molestation. I landed with the first detachment, and instructed Captain Messinger to remain on the Pilot Boy and land the balance of the brigade. I had sent orders to form the twenty-fourth and advance a short distance on the main road, and on landing took command and moved on, giving the advance to the twenty-first regiment Massachusetts volunteers, of General Reno's brigade, by order of General Burnside, assigning the advance to General Reno. I left an aid to form the regiments as they landed, and to order them to follow. I advanced on the main road, throwing out skirmishers and an advance-guard of the twenty-first Massachusetts; and at a distance of six miles I heard from Captain Williamson, of the topographical engineers, the result of a daring reconnoissance made by him, accompanied by Lieutenants Pell and Fearing, of General Burnside's staff, and by Lieutenants Strong, Pendleton, and Strong, of mine, discovering an abandoned breastwork. I then pushed on and entered the work, accompanied by General Reno, who had shortly before come up and assumed command of the twenty-first Massachusetts. The work was found to be a breastwork, well constructed and running in a straight line from the railroad to the river, a distance of about one mile, having a flank facing the railroad and a fort on the river flank; there were four flanking bastions for guns, and the fort was prepared for four guns; none were mounted, however. The troops were halted inside the fort to rest and eat. General Burnside then coming up, I, agreeably to his orders, advanced my brigade about 3 o'clock on the country road, General Reno being ordered to take the railroad track, which ran off to the left of the country road. We marched about four miles, halted and bivouacked for the night near the enemy's position. At daylight of the next morning (the 14th) I advanced my brigade, by order of General Burnside, until I came to the enemy's position, (General Parke was ordered to the left by General Burnside,) and made the following dispositions: The twenty-fifth was thrown to the extreme right, followed in order by the twenty-fourth in line of battle, their left resting on the country road, just on the left of which I placed the howitzer from the Highlander, under command of Captain Dayton, supported in line of battle on the left by the twenty-seventh Massachusetts, and opened fire. On the arrival of the navy boat howitzers, under command of Lieutenant McCook, they were placed in the line on the left of Captain Dayton's guns, and the twentythird was ordered to the left of the twenty-seventh. The firing was incessant and very severe from the breastwork and within a very short range. General Burnside arriving, I communicated to him the dispositions I had made, which he approved; sending over to General Parke to push on the enemy's right, and leaving me to hold the front, he rode off to reach General Reno's position. The tenth regiment Connecticut volunteers having arrived, were ordered to the left of the twenty-third, and to support them if rendered necessary by want of

ammunition; this being the case, they formed on to the left of the position of the twenty-third and opened fire. Hearing from the twenty-seventh that they were very short of ammunition, I ordered the eleventh Connecticut, of General Parke's brigade, which had just come up by order of General Burnside to their support, and sent one of my aids to conduct them to their position. The twentyseventh Massachusetts then retired in good order, with orders to lie in a hollow, out of the fire, with fixed bayonets, and wait further orders. The ammunition of the naval howitzers being nearly exhausted, and one piece disabled, the twentyfifth Massachusetts were ordered to march by the flank and form so as to support the guns, leaving the twenty-fourth on the extreme right. About twentyfive minutes from this time the head of General Parke's column, the fourth Rhode Island, had reached the breastwork at the railroad crossing, and, after a brisk fire, pushed on and entered the breastwork in an opening left for the railroad track, and where the enemy's fire had much slackened in consequence of the steady and constant fire of the twenty-third Massachusetts and tenth Connecticut. This position of affairs being discovered, I ordered an advance along the line, which was promptly obeyed, the enemy retreating with great precipitation. On entering the breastwork sharp firing was stiil heard to the right of the enemy's position, and hearing from General Parke that he was engaged with the enemy's forces in their works on the right of the railroad, I led the twentyfifth Massachusetts to their support and received the surrender of Colonel Avery and one hundred and fifty men. The breastwork we had entered was similar in construction to the abandoned one, running from Fort Thompson at the river to the railroad track, a distance of a mile and a quarter, and from the railroad track rifle pits and detached intrenchments, in the form of lunettes and redans, following each other for the distance of a mile and a quarter, terminating by a two-gun battery. Fort Thompson, a flanking bastion, mounted thirteen guns, all thirty-two pounders, (two rifled,) four of which were turned so as to bear on our lines. The breast work was mounted with two complete field batteries, besides several small pieces of heavy artillery, and manned by about six thousand men. The force in men and artillery of the other defences I am unable to give, they not coming under my observation. Pressing forward with my brigade I reached the railroad bridge at Newbern, which being burnt to prevent our following up the flying enemy, I rested the men on a field on the east bank of the Trent. By order of General Burnside, who had continued up with me, I shortly after crossed with my brigade over the river and encamped the regiments, with the exception of the twenty-fifth Massachusetts, in the camp of the enemy at the fair grounds, the enemy having left all his camp equipage, and from appearances must have fled very precipitately, the twenty-fifth being quartered in town for police duty. The fatigue and hardships of the march from Slocum's creek I need not mention; the horrible state of the road, the wearing labor it cost to drag for twelve miles the howitzers, the severity of the storm, and the wet ground of the soldiers' bivouac for the night, you well know. I must mention in my brigade, where all behaved bravely, with particular praise the twenty fourth Massachusetts and the tenth Connecticut. The former, under a severe fire of musketry in the front, and exposed to a flanking fire of grape and canister from Fort Thompson, unprotected by the trees, behaved with marked coolness and steadiness; the latter advanced close under the enemy's fire, in line of battle, fired with the most remarkable steadiness, and stood steadily up, giving and taking the most severe fire. The howitzers, under the command of Lieutenant McCook, Acting Masters Daniels and Hammond, captain's clerk Meeker, Captain Rowan's clerk Gaberdan, Lieutenants Tillotson and Hughes, of the Union Coast Guard, were most admirably served during the day, and when their ammunition was exhausted they laid down by their pieces rather than withdraw from their position. Captain Dayton volunteered again to land and command