beyond the tavern, and compelling them to seek refuge in the obscurity of the forest, which skirted the opposite side of an open field, over which they had passed in their retreat.

In this last charge Lieutenant Colonel J. A. Pritchard, who command on the left of Colonel Rives' regiment, made prisoners Lieutenant-Colonel Chandler and 5 other officers, with 40 men, of the enemy's line.

For some twenty minutes the enemy's artillery continued a desultory fire long the line of the road, which was answered by MacDonald's battery, of Frost's brigade, and a section od Wade's battery, under Lieutenant Farrington.

Our men, exhausted by the exertions of the day, after a fast of thirty-six hours, were now relieved by the descent of night, and under favor of the obscurity rested upon their arms on the field whence they had driven an obstitute and stubborn foe.

During the night great commotion was audible in the camp of the enemy. Their artillery and baggage wagons seemed to be continually moving. The officers of my command preserved their lines unbroken, in readiness for any emergency.

About midnight the sound of wheels approached. We opened our lines and admitted a caisson with ammunition, which, through mistake of the driver, came to seek one of the divisions of the Federal army in the ranks of his adversaries. Until morning no other incident occurred to disturb the ominous silence of the battle-field.

Early on the morning of the 8th our line was formed on the verge of the timber according to the following order: Colonel Burbridge's regiment took position immediately to the right, his left resting on the edge of the road. Immediately on the left and next the road Wade's battery was paced in mask. Next to the left of the battery Colonel Rives' regiment formed in line, and farther to their left was stationed a portion of Frost's brigade, under Colonels Greene and Shaler, our front being completed by Colonel Hill's Arkansas regiment deployed in line. In the rear of Colonel Rives' regiment was placed Major Whitfield's battalion of dismounted cavalry. To the right and about three hundred yards to the rear of Colonel Burbridge's command were stationed three regiments of Arkansas troops, under Colonel Churchill.

The full light of morning revealed to us a caisson, with 5 horses attached, which had been abandoned by the enemy the previous night. It lay in the space between the opposing armies. A detachment from Wade's battery led it into our lines.

Until near 7 o'clock no gun had been fired. Each army was engaged deploying its columns for a decisive contest. A battery of the enemy now abandoned into the open field and took position in front of their line and in full view of our men. During this operation they received no molestation; but no sooner had they opened fire upon our line than they were answered by Teel's battery, which, having come up, was assigned a position between Rives' regiment and General [Martin E.] Green's command. Few shots had been interchanged until Wade's battery entered the list.

The enemy, not counting on such odds, limbered up and hastily left the field. For a short interval the report of an occasional shot from our batteries was the only sound that broke the calm stillness of the morning. After a short time the appearance of the enemy's batteries moving into position over against our right proved they had not been loitering, and when they opened fire on our lines from their new stand-point the explosion of their shells above the ground occupied by Burnside's regiment proved that they had not been posted so far from our position