BRIGADIER-GENERAL HOWE.
Charles Mundee,
Major and A. A. G.
Headquarters Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Army Corps, May 14th, 1863.
The Brigadier General Commanding the Third Brigade, cannot part with the Thirty-third New York Volunteers, without expressing to the officers and men of that gallant Regiment, who have fought under his eye and command with so much honor and distinction, his regret at our separation, his well wishes for your future.
No words can express what you all must feel—the sense of having fought nobly for our country, and suffered bravely for the cause. The memory of those who have fallen is tenderly cherished, and your Brigade Commander bids you “God Speed” in anything you may undertake in the future.
Sincerely,
BRIG. GEN. THOMAS H. NEILL,
Commanding Third Brigade.
On the evening before departure, Colonel Taylor assembled the recruits, numbering one hundred and sixty-three, who having enlisted for three years, were to be left, and addressed them a few words of parting; expressing his regret that they were not to accompany the Regiment home; urging them to conduct themselves in the future, gallantly, as they had done in the past; and informing them that their officers and comrades, though absent in body, would be present with them in spirit. Lieutenant-Colonel Corning followed with a brief address. They were formed into one Company, and attached, under Captain Gifford, to the Forty-ninth New York.