HDQRS. THIRD Brigadier, THIRD DIV., 23rd ARMY CORPS, Goldsborough, N. C., March 31, 1865.

CAPTAIN: I have the honor, very respectfully, to report that, in obedience to orders from division headquarters, I to-day make a reconnaissance beyond Little River with my brigade and one section of Artillery, under command of Lieutenant Reed, Battery D, First Ohio Artillery. In the first place I moved out on the Smithfield road, commonly known as the river road, some six miles. We found cavalry pickets or scouts of the enemy soon after crossing the river, but not in any great force. Where the road crosses the railroad we found, perhaps, a company of cavalry on picket and had some skirmishing with them, in which we killed one rebel and captured three others, driving the rest back to a cross-road intersecting the Smithfield and Raleigh roads. Here, finding no forage whatever on this road, it having been taken by General Sherman's Army, which passed over it, and by the enemy, I turned back to the Raleigh road, where left one regiment, and with the remaining two regiments and the Artillery moved out on the Raleigh road about four miles. On this road we found a wagon train and guard of the Fourteenth Army Corps in our advance. They were skirmishing with rebel cavalry, and drove them back to the cross-road before mentioned, at Doctor Gulley's, where the rebels had a strong barricade of rails and where they made a somewhat determined stand. I then moved up my command and with a few shots from the Artillery soon drove the enemy back on the Raleigh road. Negroes represented that some 500 or 600 rebel cavalry had been at Doctor Gulley's all day; that they had been hauling off corn, &c. From that information I could get, and from what I saw, there was nothing but cavalry in our front, and that not in any large force, for several miles beyond our advance.

The prisoners we captured belonged, as they said, to the First Regiment South Carolina Cavalry, part of Wade Hampton's command, and from their statements their regiment was in camp some five or six miles beyond where they were on picket. No infantry had been in the neighborhood of our march for several days, so far as I could learn.

The country on both roads from we found was almost entirely destitute of forage of any description. The wagon train of the Fourteenth Corps, which we found in our advance, had obtained but five wagon loads of corn. We god nothing whatever. I learned from negroes, as well as citizens, that the rebels had been hauling off all the corn and other forage of the country through which we passed for several days.

We lost none killed, wounded, or captured during the day.

I append herewith a diagram* of the roads and country, made by Captain Schofield, division topographical engineer.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOMAS J. HENDERSON,

Colonel, Commanding Third Brigade.

Captain C. D. RHODES,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, Third Division.

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*See p. 972.

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