rammers were shot from the hands of the cannoneers, some of whom were nearly buried amid the dirt which was thrown upon them by the storm of shell which rained upon them by the enemy's batteries.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

N. B. FORREST,

Major-General.

Colonel E. SURGET,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Meridian, Miss.

Numbers 10. Report of Brigadier General James R. Chalmers, C. S. Army, commanding cavalry DIVISION.

HDQRS. CHALMERS' DIVISION, FORREST'S CAVALRY,
Perryville, Tenn., November 8, 1864.

MAJOR: In obedience to orders from Major-General Forrest, commanding, &c., I moved on the morning of the 30th of October from Paris, Tenn., with Rucker's brigade, my escort battalion, and four pieces of rifled artillery (one section of Rice's and one of Hudson's battery), to Paris Landing, on the Tennessee River, where I arrived about 11 a. m. on the same day. I found Colonel Bell at the landing with his brigade, of Buford's DIVISION, and a section of Morton's battery. He reported to me that a short time before my arrival a gun-boat and two transports had passed his position, going down the river, and that in obedience to orders from General Buford he had reserved his fire until they had passed, and had then opened upon them, and he thought had done them some damage. One of the transports succeeded, as I was afterward informed, in passing Fort Heiman, where General Buford was stationed with the Kentucky brigade of his DIVISION, a section of Morton's battery, and the two 20-pounder Parrott guns of Hudson's battery, but was badly crippled in the attempt. The other transport (the Venus) and the gun-boat (the U. S. steamer Undine, Numbers 55) were are a bend of the river about midway between the positions of Colonel Bell and General Buford, and out of the range of the guns of either. After consultation with Colonel Bell, I directed him to move his artillery down the river to a point as nearly as possible opposite to the boats, and to drive them from their position. He rode off to reconnoiter, and on returning reported that the order could not be executed on account of the ground to be passed over. My artillery having arrived was placed in position on the bank of the river above that held by Colonel Bell, with an interval of several hundred yards between the sections.

Colonel Rucker, coming upon the field, suggested that guns should be moved down the river to attack the boats, and on being told that Colonel Bell had reported the ground impracticable for artillery, he proposed that he and I should re-examine it. We accordingly rode down the river, Colonel Bell accompanying us, but before we had found a suitable position a courier reported another transport coming down, and Colonel Bell and I returned to the batteries, leaving Colonel Rucker with orders to continue his reconnaissance. The transport proved to be the J. W. Cheeseman, a stern-wheel steamer. She was allowed to pass the upper