Backbone Mountain, and halted to rest my men two miles west of North Branch Bridge, where I was overtaken by you. My command had already marched fourteen miles, most of them without breakfast. I had but few rations to send forward, if I had transportation, but I had not a single wagon to carry anything. At the consultation then held, a full statement being made by the respective commanding officers of their condition and of yours, in regard to want of transportation, it was determined to abandon the pursuit, in which opinion there was a unanimous concurrence, with, I believe, a single exception amongst over twenty officers.

At that time the enemy were at Stony River Bridge, which they subsequently destroyed before even fresh troops could have reached them from where we then were. Subsequently operations being conducted under your own eye, I suppose are not called for in this hasty report, made under circumstances forbidding accuracy of date and detail.

I remain, your obedient servant,

J. IRVINE,

Colonel, Commanding Sixteenth Regiment O. V. M.

P. S.- On Saturday, the 12th, I had mounted scouts at a fork of the roads where a road branched east from Saint George's pike, supposing it to be the road leading to Red House.

Numbers 10. Report of Colonel H. G. Depuy, Eighth Ohio Infantry, of operations July 13 and 14.

RED HOUSE CAMP,

Hdqrs. Eighth Regiment O. V. M. July 22, 1861.

SIR: In compliance with your order, dated July 19, 1861, requiring me to transmit you a full account of my proceedings with my command to pursue and intercept the rebel forces retreating from Laurel Hill, by way of Saint George and Red House Corners, on Sunday, July 14, 1861, with the number of my forces, the amount of provisions on hand, and means of transportation, herewith I present the following report:

I arrived at West Union from Oakland with four companies of my command on Saturday morning, July 13, at 1 a. m., in a violent rain storm, having been compelled to leave two companies at Chisholm's Mill to guard all of my teams which had given out. They arrived at West Union at 9 a. m., making my force six companies, of 578 men. At 9 a. m., July 13, I waited on Colonel Irvine, of the Sixteenth Ohio Regiment, and we proceeded to examine the country for five miles in the different directions which we supposed the enemy would take. On our return Colonel Irvine received a dispatch from you, informing him that the enemy were retreating by way of Saint George. As yet not knowing but that West Union would be the route they would be compelled to take, owing to the impassable state of the other roads leading from Saint George across the country and intercepting the western turnpike, I, with Colonel Irvine and Major Bailey, immediately selected two positions, one south of West Union one-half mile, and the other one mile west, either of them strong enough to have defended us from any numbers. I ordered my men to lay upon their arms in readiness to take position at a movement's warning.