ever, he divided his forces, part going south through New Market toward Huntsville, and the remainder under Forrest in person, moved through Lynchburg toward Columbia. The first column, 4,000 strong, under Buford, appeared in front of Huntsville during the evening of the 30th, and immediately sent in a summons to the garrison to evening of the 30th, and immediately sent in a summons to the garrison to surrender, which the latter refused to do. The enemy remained throughout the night in the vicinity of the town, and repeated the demand for its surrender on the morning of October 1, and, meeting with an answer similar to the one received on the night previous, he moved off in the direction of Athens, which place was attacked by him at about 3 p. m. without effect, the garrison holding its own nobly. The second column (under Forrest in person, and estimated at 3,000 men) made its appearance near Columbia on the morning of the 1st, but did not attack that place.

During these operations of Forrest in Middle Tennessee small parties of the enemy made their appearance in the neighborhood of McMinnville and Liberty but made no serious demonstrations.

Morgan's DIVISION, of the Fourteenth Army Corps, which started from Atlanta on the 29th of September, reached Stevenson during the morning of the 1st of October, and pushed on toward Huntsville immediately, reaching that place during the night, and set out for Athens at an early hour on the morning of the 2d, repairing the railroad as it advanced. The enemy, under Buford, resumed the attack on Athens on the 2d, but was again handsomely repulsed by the garrison, consisting of the Seventy-THIRD Indiana, Lieutenant- Colonel Wade commanding. Failing in this second attempt, Buford moved off toward Elk River, pursued by a small force of our cavalry belonging to General Granger's command. The other column, under Forrest, started from near Columbia on the morning of the 3d, and moved off in the direction of Mount Pleasant, paroling all his prisoners before his departure. During his stay in the neighborhood he destroyed about five miles of railroad between Carter's Creek and Spring Hill, including three bridges. The enemy's intention to make good his escape to the south side of the Tennessee River being now evident, directions were given to General Morgan, at Athens, to move with his DIVISION toward Bainbridge and enwhilst, General Rousseau, already on the way to Columbia from Nashville with a force of 4,000 mounted men, hastily collected together, was to push after the enemy through Mount Pleasant, and press him in the rear. Croxton's brigade of cavalry started from Farmington, and moving through Lewisburg, pursued a southwesterly course toward Lawrenceburg. The above was the position of the troops on the morning of October 3. On the same day information reached me that Major-General Washburn, with 3,000 cavalry and 1,500 infantry was moving up the Tennessee River to participate in the operations against Forrest. Directions were sent him on the 4th to leave his infantry at Johnsonville move with his cavalry by water to Clifton, and thence across the country toward Pulaski, joining General Rousseau's column at that point. Lieutenant-Commander Forrest, U. S. Navy, commanding the naval force on the upper Tennessee, was requested to send some gun-boats down the river to Florence, Ala., and endeavor to prevent the enemy crossing in that vicinity, if the high stage of water then prevailing in the Tennessee would admit of his crossing the upper shoals with his gun-boats. Morgan's DIVISION reached Rogersville during the evening of the 4th, having been delayed in crossing the Elk River, and on the same night Forrest passed through Lawrence-