population in this section of country. At this point I dispatched two scouts to Wilmington - Sergeant Amick, Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry, and Private Quimby, Thirty-second Wisconsin Infantry. General Sherman sent dispatches by them. The sergeant was directed to cross the river at Campbell's Bridge and proceed as directly as possible to Wilmington, avoiding Lumberton and Elizabethtown. He traveled night and day, succeeded in deceiving parties of the enemy that he met, and accomplished his journey in forty-eight hours. I commend him and his comrade for the successful accomplishment of their important mission. It raided hard during the day, and increased as we were going into camp at night. After the leading division in each column had passed over the road it became almost impassable, in fact quite so till miles of the roadway had been corduroyed. March 9, excepting the three days at Lynch's Creek, this and the day following were two of the most tedious of the campaign. The rain continued, and the roads grew worse and worse. The soil seemed to be sandy, and the roads would have answered for light wagons, but after a few wagons had passed over the whole bottom seemed to give out, and in places, if wagons left the roadway, they sank to the wagon body in the quicksand; and what was particularly discouraging, our corduroy of rails or poles would itself sink down and necessitate a reconstruction. General Logan marched the Fifteenth Corps from Laurel Hill to Gilchrist's Bridge by two routes. The wagon bridge being destroyed, a pontoon was laid at that point. The entire corps crossed that bridge, but separated into two columns - one, General Hazen leading, took the direct Fayetteville road; and the other, General John E. Smith leading, took the route via Randallsville. General Blair moved from Campbell's Bridge by the right-hand road with two divisions, and sent by the direct road his other division under General Giles A. Smith. His two columns halted near Raft Swamp. Every column encountered similar difficulties in the way of roads, the left column, General Hazen's, being, it may be, a little worse the swamps being more continuous. General Giles A. Smith was obliged to halt his train for the night in the road, because the soil was so porous and treacherous. I encamped near Randallsville. The next day, March 10, I moved out early and joined General Giles A. Smith, and accompanied him to the crossing of Rockfish Creek, at Davis' Bridge. General Blair had simultaneously reached the plank road bridge, three miles below. Davis' Bridge had been set on fire, but the fire had been extinguished by the heavy rain, so that in a few hours the damage done was repaired. The plank road bridge was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. General Logan's two columns were repairing roads and closing up all day. The heads of column were between eleven and twelve miles back from Davis' Bridge. Captain Duncan, with the scouts, went ahead rapidly toward Fayetteville, and succeeded in securing the bridge over Little Rockfish from being destroyed by the rebel cavalry. Early the next morning, March 11, I directed him to take all the available mounted men at my headquarters and scout toward Fayetteville. he encountered the enemy's pickets just outside of the town, which he drove before him easily, but on entering the town he met a large force of the enemy's cavalry. The scouts were driven back, and Captain Duncan was captured. He afterward escaped, and reports that he was stripped of everything valuable and in the presence of Hampton and Butler. General Giles A. Smith, upon reaching Little Rockfish Creek, sent forward his escort and a company of mounted foragers. They moved up to the assistance of the scouts, and got possession of Arsenal Hill,