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Genl Joseph E Johnston Abingdon Virginia Dec 27th / 70

Genl

At your request communicated to me by Mr. [B?] [R?] Johnston I will cheerfully give you my recollection of the condition of my regiment the 33rd Regt Va Volunteers immediately after the close of the first battle of Manassas July the 21st 1861. But before doing so I deem it but just to the brave men I had the honor to command on that on that occasion, to make a brief statement relative to the drill discipline, and service of the officers and men of the regiment at the time of the battle. As you will remember I commanded the 33rd Regt of Va Volunteers, which constituted a part of Genl Thos J. Jacksons Brigade – this regiment was composed of good and substantial men from the valley of Virginia, but wholly without previous training discipline, drill or experience except one company which had the benefit of some drilling but was as much without discipline & experience as were the other companies, and one comp had just been organized and assigned to the regiment a few days

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before the fight – the officers being as raw & inexperienced as the men. There were but nine companies belonging to the Regiment at the time, and but eight numbering about four (400) in the fight, one comp having been left at Winchester to guard some prisoners – in fact it was nothing more that an undisciplined Regiment of militia composed of good material dressed up in soldiers uniform.

Without going into a detailed statement of the part borne by the brave men under my command on that memorable day, it will not be deemed inappro- priate to state so much as may be necessary to the proper understanding of the reasons which led to the condition of the Regiment at and after the close of the fight. About 1100 as I now recollect the Brigade commanded by Genl Tho J Jackson to which my Regt the 33rd belonged were placed in position in the edge of the pines, which skirted the plateau in front of the [Keenry?] house, my Regiment occupying the left of the Brigade and at the time the extreme left of our army, at least the Infantry portion of it. The battle was then raging in rear and to the

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right of the [Keenry?] house, and heavy columns of the enemies infantry were moving towards our left flank, and whilst in position in the edge of the pines concealed from the view of the enemy, one

                                           a 

of their batteries was rapidly advanced and ^ section of it placed in position, in a depression upon the plateau considerably to the left of the [Keenry?] house and about one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards immediately to the front of my regiment, but concealed

          by 

from view from the conformation of the [ground ?]

           oblique 

and from it an ^ fire was immediately opened upon Pendletons battery [posted?] on the right of Genl Jacksons Brigade. But few shots had been fired from it when I made a charge upon it with my Regiment – the men moved forward rapidly with a yell and soon had possession of the pieces, the artillery horses were shot down and the men driven from their guns – we were unable however to maintain our

                            heavy 

position in consequence of the ^ fire from the advance

    large 

of a heavy body of the enemies Infantry, and were forced to fall back leaving the pieces we had taken, but which were never moved off by the enemy – other Regiments immediately charged across the plateau, and after a severe struggle in that

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particular locality in which various Regiments were engaged the enemy were driven back, and other sections of his batter taken, and the one retaken

                 previously

which my regiment had ^ taken but could not hold.

For the purposes of this communication I do not deem it necessary to go further into particulars, except to state that out of about four hundred men, (the number of my Regt) engaged in the fight upwards of one hundred and forty (140) were killed and wounded in which number was embraced a fair proportion of officers. I think that history will furnish but few instances of a more gallant charge by raw and undiciplined men, than was made by the 33rd Regiment at the first battle of Manassas, and yet at the close of the fight and after it was certain that the enemy had been completely routed, I could not have collected together as many as twenty men to have united in the present, as completed was the disorganization – and this disorganization after the victory was won so far as I was able to observe extended though perhaps in a less degree to all the troops that

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were fully engaged with the enemy during the fight. In fact it seemed to me that after it was ascertained that the enemy had suffered a complete rout, the men regarded the was as ended, and considered

                                      (a natural feeling)

it their first duty to care for their wounded comrades ^ & some many of the men of my regiment went with their wounded friends to Manassas Junction assisted them on the cars and accompanied them to their homes in the valley of Virginia, and some two weeks elapsed before all of them returned to their Regiment.

As I had before stated the disorganization in my

                                       perhaps 

Regiment after the close of the fight was ^ greater than in other commands, from the fact that it did not have the same advantage of the same disciplined and drill, and from the further fact that it suffered a heavier loss than any other Regiment engaged in the fight in proportion to the numbers engaged – but as I have before stated so far as I was able to observe the same state of disorganization extended though in a less degree to all the troops fully engaged in the fight. The men were also hungry and much fatigued, the day being very hot and oppressive. And in confirmation of what I have said I will state that in riding about for several days after

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the fight I met men of various Regiments going in every direction enquiring for their commands.

I attributed the disorganization in my own regiment after the fight, more to the fact that the men were raw and wholly without the advantage of dicipline and that the loss of killed & wounded was very heavy,

                                                   severe

than to the fatigues of the days fighting, which was consi- derable. In my view the gallant fighting done by the men on that day was the result in a great measure of individual bravery and the disorganization after the close of the fight the necessary result of the want of drill and dicipline, for the troops were all comparatively undiciplined and had even no previous ^ service, there having been no time for drill and dicipline. I have not gone into details but hope I have said enough to express intelligibly my opinion

                   our

of the condition of the army and especially of my

         immediately

own Regiment ^ after the close of the first battle of Manassas

Yours

Very Truly

Arthur C Cummings