1865/06/01 Report of Bvt. Brig. Gen. W.Cogswell

This brigade was in camp near Goldsborough from March 24 to April 10, when it broke camp at 5.30 a.m. and moved in its proper place in line with its division toward Smithfield, which was reached on the afternoon of the 11th. On the morning of the 12th the brigade crossed the Neuse River on pontoons at Smithfield and pushed on toward Raleigh, a distance of seventeen miles, and encamped at 3.30 p.m. near Swift Creek. At 4.30 p.m. my command was ordered to break camp and push on with all possible speed to the support of General Kilpatrick, who, it was reported, had captured a part of the enemy's supply train. At 5 p.m., when the troops were fairly on the road, I was ordered to return to my late camp, as the necessity for the movement no longer existed. April 13, broke camp at 6.30 a.m. and marched seventeen miles to Raleigh, arriving in camp near the insane asylum of the State of North Carolina about 3 p.m., where the command remained quiet during the 14th. April 15, the brigade was ordered to be in readiness to move at 8 a.m., but the order was countermanded. April 16, 17, and 18, remained quiet. April 19, in obedience to orders received, the troops were put in permanent camp, where they remained until the 25th of April, when at 9.30 a.m. the brigade moved with its division toward Jones' Cross-Roads. The brigade encamped at dark within one mile of the cross-roads, having marched twelve miles. April 26 and 27, remained quiet. April 28, broke camp at 6.30 a.m. and returned to our former camp near Raleigh, where we remained until the morning of the 30th, when, at 7.30 a.m., the command moved with its division through the city of Raleigh on the road to Richmond, and homeward bound. At about 8.30 p.m. encamped near Manteo's Mills, on the south bank of the Neuse.

May 1, at 7.30 a.m., broke camp, and, crossing the Neuse, moved northward across the Tar River. The troops were in camp about 8.30 p.m., having marched twenty miles. May 2, broke camp at 7.30 a.m.; marched sixteen miles and camped at 6 p.m. May 3, broke camp at 6 a.m. and, marching through Williamsborough Post-Office, crossed the Roanoke River on pontoons, following the Third Division, Fourteenth Corps, and encamped one mile from the bridge; distance accomplished, twenty-two miles. May 4, moved at 6 a.m. and, marching north: easterly, crossed the Meherrin River and encamped about 3.30 p.m.; distance, nineteen and a half miles. May 5, marched nineteen miles, crossing the Nottoway River, and camped at 3 p.m. May 6, marched fifteen miles, through Blacks and Whites Station, on the South Side Railroad, and encamped at 1 p.m. May 7, broke camp at 4.30 a.m.; marched sixteen miles, crossing the Appomattox River on double pontoons, and encamped near Clover Hill at 2 p.m. May 8, marched thirteen miles trod camped at noon. May 9, moved two miles and camped. May 10, remained quiet. May 11, marched at 10 a.m., crossing the James River and passing through Richmond out the Mechanicsville pike, and camped near Brook Creek; distance, ten miles. May 12, marched eight miles; crossed the Chickahominy and camped in the swamps. May 13, moved sixteen miles, passing through Ashland; crossed the South Anna and New Found Rivers, and camping at 5 p.m. May 14, moved on nineteen miles, crossing the Little River and the Richmond and Gordonsville Railroad, and camping at 6 p.m. May 15, moved at 6 a.m.; crossed the Mattapony and Po Rivers; passed through Spotsylvania Court-House, and camped about 6 p.m. at Chancellorsville; distance, nineteen miles. May 16, moved at 5.30 a.m.; crossed the Rappahannock at United States Ford; passed Hartwood Church and the Spotted Tavern, and camped on Town Creek at 7.30 p.m., having accomplished a distance of twenty-two miles. May 17, marched seventeen miles and camped at Brentsville at 5.30 p.m. May 18, marched twenty miles through Fairfax Station and camped at 3 p.m. May 19, marched nine miles and went into permanent camp four miles from Alexandria. May 20, 21, 22, and 23, remained quiet. May 24, under orders to pass in review, the command broke camp at 7 a.m. and moved with its division toward Washington; crossed the Long Bridge, passed in review, and, marching through the city out the Bladensburg pike, went into permanent camp three miles from the capitol, on the western bank of the Anacostia or Eastern Branch of the Potomac. Since this last date the brigade has remained quiet, all the officers being busily engaged in preparing for the payment, muster out, or transfer of their men.

This report closes the operations of the brigade from Goldsborough, N. C., up to the present time, and I might say is the final and last report of its operations. The Twentieth Connecticut, Twenty-sixth Wisconsin, Thirty-third Massachusetts, and One hundred and thirty-sixth New York Infantry, by reason of existing orders from War Department, and the termination of the war, in a few days at furthest, report to their respective States for final muster out and discharge, while the Fifty-fifth Ohio and Seventy-third Ohio Infantry Veteran organizations, the only remaining regiments of the brigade, are awaiting orders to report to Louisville, Ky., for duty in the West.