About the 1st of August, Gen. D. B. Birney, who had for a long time been in command of our division, was assigned to the command of the 10th army corps. He was succeeded in the command of our division by Gen. Gershom Mott, who entered the service in 1861 as colonel of the 6th New Jersey volunteers. For the greater part of the time that we were in front of Petersburg, our brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. Byron R. Pierce, formerly colonel of the 3d Michigan volunteers.
After the Burnside mine explosion we moved back to our old camping ground at Fort Alex. Hays and remained there until the 13th of August, when another expedition to the north side of the James was put on foot. The 2d corps was marched to City Point and there got on board of transports, which, in order to deceive any scouts the enemy might have thereabouts, were at first started down the James, but after dark they were turned about and proceeded up the river until we reached Jones Neck, where we landed on the north side of the river. We moved out the Newmarket road and soon found the enemy in force on the west side of Bailey's creek. On the night of the 14th the division was massed at Fussel's mill, and on the 15th we were maneuvering all day to get into position.
On the 16th we engaged the enemy above Fussel's mill, where we lost quite a number of men, and took between two and three hundred prisoners. In this fight Col. Calvin A. Craig, of the 105th Pennsylvania and temporarily in command of our brigade, was killed. He was an excellent officer and his loss was deeply felt by the whole brigade. We remained on the north side of the river during the 17th and 18th, keeping up a continual threatening attitude by changing position and skirmishing. On the afternoon of the 18th another fight was brought on by the enemy leaving their works and coming out to attack us.
On the night of the 18th our (Mott's) division recrossed the James and marched to the extreme left of the line to reenforce the 5th corps under General Warren, who was about making an attempt to capture the Weldon railroad at the Globe tavern or "Yellow House."
On August 25th our division was ordered to Ream's station on the Weldon road, to reenforce the other two divisions of our corps who had a severe fight there. When we arrived we were under fire, but the other divisions were withdrawn, and we were ordered back to the vicinity of Fort Hays, where we went on picket and established a new picket line at night.