C. S. Army, and Lieutenant Dodds, secret scouts, C. S. Army, and 54 enlisted men; and by capture, 4 commissioned officers (Captain Holmes, the leader of the expedition, which recaptured the Chesapeake), the lieutenant and post commissary of subsistence at Woodville, a son of General Liddell, and an acting assistant surgeon, C. S. Army, and 82 enlisted men.

The command captured 3 pieces of cannon, 1 caisson, 350 rounds ammunition, harness, &c., 1,000 head beef-cattle, 300 sheep, and between 300 and 400 horses and mules, 12 army wagons, harness, &c.: destroyed about 350 stand of small-arms, $100,000 worth of subsistence stores, the telegraph station at Woodville, and a large portion of the line, the printing office at Woodville, and secured large amount of information through captured dispatches, and otherwise valuable to the Government, and also gained 175 able- bodied colored recruits.

The command returned in good health, and with a few days' res tare ready for another raid on the enemy.

I stated in a former report that I desired to prefer charges against Lieutenant Earl, commanding Major-General Canby's scouts; while I do not desire to again have him under my command, his gallant action in [re]capturing the flags of our armies and sealed dispatches at Saint Joseph leads me to believe that he is a valuable agent of the Government, and I would most respectfully decline to prosecute him for what I thought unofficer-like conduct.

Respectfully submitted.

E. D. OSBAND,

Colonel THIRD U. S. Colored Cavalry.

Captain F. W. FOX,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

Numbers 4. Report of Colonel Loren Kent, Twenty-ninth Illinois Infantry, of expedition from Natchez to Fort Adams, Miss.

HDQRS. TWENTY-NINTH Regiment Illinois VOL. INFTY.,
Fort McPherson, Natchez, Miss., October 8, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report:

On the morning of the 5th instant, at 7 a. m., with this regiment and eleven men of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, I marched from Tunica Landing, Miss., on the road to Fort Adams, via Pinckneyville, a distance of eighteen miles, arriving at 5 p. m. No enemy was seen on this route, but small parties, I afterward learned, hovered about our flanks at a respectful and safe distance. We drove in to camp about 100 good beef-cattle. On the following morning I mounted (on mules captured the previous day thirty-five of my men, and with the squad of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry and 100 infantry moved in the direction of Buffalo Creek, a distance of ten miles, returning about dark with 100 head of cattle, many serviceable horses and mules, and quite a number of able-bodied negro men. Upon my arrival at Fort Adams I found Colonel Osband with a portion of his command, who gave information and brought in stock. According to information given in detail in my previous report, for prudential reasons, also previously made known to you, I determined to remain at Fort Adams until this morning at 8 o'clock. Yesterday was occupied in loading stock, cotton, wagons, and

53 R R-VOL XXXIX, PT I