and a demi-battery, under Lieutenant Stover. Leaving the general directions to observe and pursue Coffee and Hunter, if they should cross the Osage at Warsaw, I marched in the direction of Lamar, via Humansville and Stockton, to cut off Shelby, who was reported as in full flight south of Snibar, with General Ewing in pursuit. At Stockton I was joined by Major [A. A.] King, [jr.,] Sixth Missouri State Militia Cavalry, with 375 men of the Sixth and Eighth Regiments Missouri State Militia. This force had entered Humansville from the north, in pursuit of Hunter and Coffee, four hours after I had passed through it toward the west. Major King attacked and drove this force through Humansville, capturing their last cannon.

Finding that Shelby had passed through Stockton in advance of me, I marched to Greenfield and Sarcoxie, via Bowers' Mill, and on the night of the 19th camped at Keytesville, when I learned of scouts of Colonel [J. S.] Phelps, commanding at Cassville, that the enemy had crossed the Telegraph road to Cross Timbers that day at about noon. I kept up a raid pursuit, following the trail of our flying foe, via Sugar Creek and Easley's Ferry, to Huntsville. Our advance party entering Huntsville with a dash, took quite a number of soldiers of Brooks' rebel command, with their horses and arms. I was there joined by Colonel Edwards, Eighteenth Iowa Infantry, with 300 men of his regiment, and Major [T. J.] Hunt, First Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry, 175 men and two mountain howitzers. This gave me an effective force of 600 cavalry and 300 infantry, with four guns, two of these being 12-pounder mountain howitzers.

This last would have been a much greater acquisition to me than they proved had they been properly supplied with ammunition. They were sent from Fayetteville with only 67 rounds for the two howitzers, and, of course, could not be relied upon for many length of time. We had here information that Shelby and Brooks had united their forces on War Eagle Creek, and that Hunter and Coffee were also there, the combined force amounting to 2,500 men. We marched toward this camp to attack, but found that the enemy had gone.

On the 24th, we marched across a tremendous mountain called Buffalo Mountain, and finding the enemy in camp in a snug little valley on the other side, attacked and drove him at sundown, dropping a few shells into his camp. The mountain on the other side was too steep and the passes too narrow for a night pursuit, and we had to content ourselves by waiting for the light of morning. At nearly dawn we struck again into the mountains. Our advance, under Major Hunt, First Arkansas Cavalry, was skirmishing with the enemy all day, driving them before us.

On the 26th, while engaged in an attack on the enemy's rear guard, who were posted in a narrow pass, Lieutenant [J. G.] Robinson, of the First Arkansas Cavalry, was mortally wounded. He was brought into camp and died that night at 10 o'clock.

On the 27th, we marched into Clarksville, and learned that Shelby had made good his escape and crossed the river, and that Brooks had gone down into the valley of the Big Piney with about 400 men, with instructions to pick up stragglers from the rebel army, and to cut off any train that might be coming to me from Fayetteville. My cavalry and artillery horses were too badly used up to permit of pursuit across the river, so I turned my course toward Fort Smith. At a point 4 miles north of Ozark, I send Colonel Catherwood with the men of the Sixth and Eighth Regiments of Missouri State Militia, and Major Hunt with the men and howitzers of the First Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry, to Springfield and Fayetteville. I arrived at Fort Smith on the evening of the 30th.