Report of Brigadier-General William Mahone.
Major T. T. Mills, Assistant Adjutant-General:
Major—The operations of this brigade in the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, may be summed up in a few brief remarks. The brigade took no special or active part in the actions of that battle beyond that which fell to the lot of its line of skirmishers. During the days and nights of 2d and 3d of July, the brigade was posted in line of battle immediately in front of the enemy, and in support of Pegram's batteries. In this front its skirmishers were quite constantly engaged, and inflicted much loss upon the enemy; and after the repulse of our troops on the 3d, maintained firmly its line. During the 2d and 3d the brigade was exposed to a large share of the terrific shelling of those days, and from which its loss was mainly sustained. Casualties in the battle—killed, eight men; wounded, two officers and fifty-three men; missing, thirty-nine men. Total, one hundred and two.
I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Defence of Vicksburg in 1862—The Battle of Baton Rouge.
By Major John B. Pirtle.
[The Louisville Branch of the Southern Historical Society has been sustained with a good deal of spirit and interest. They hold regular meetings, and have had read before them a number of papers which deserve to be put in permanent form, and which the president, Major W. O. Dod, and the secretary, Major E. H. McDonald, have promised to send us. Our readers will thank us for giving this week the interesting and valuable paper read before the society by Major John B. Pirtle.]
The Army of Tennessee, under General Bragg, had been for several weeks encamped at and near Tupelo, Mississippi, and here on the night of the 18th of June, 1862, the reserve corps, as Breckinridge's division was called (this designation had been given it when the dispositions for the battle of Shiloh were made), received orders to be prepared to march at daylight the next morning.
