At Vicksburg we will act so as to accomplish the original purpose, and will calculate to send you rations up the Yazoo. Yazoo City is the best point and can be reached after the reaction of the battery at Haines' Bluff.

Your, truly,

W. T. SHERIDAN,

Major-General, Commanding.

Colonel JOHN A. RAWLINS, Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. RIGHT WING, THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS,
Helena, Ark., December 21, 1862.

Sir: I arrived here last evening, and immediately saw Generals Gorman, Steele, and Blair. Their share of transports had previously been sent and were here loaded so as to receive their troops.

Already, 9 a. m., two of my Memphis division (Morgan L. Smith and General Morgan) have passed down to the first rendezvous, Fridan's Point, and I expect A. J. Smith every hour. Steele's division will be afloat to-day and drop down to Friar's Point, so that by to-morrow morning my whole command will be embarked and under way. I will reach Gaines' Leanding to-morrow, the 22d, and Milliken's Bend 23d, and beat mouth of Yazoo Christmas.

I sent a full and complete return of the first three divisions from Memphis, and now send you an abstract of the Fourth (Steele's), of which I cannot get a detailed report till we get away from Helena.

Fourth Division, general Stele commanding (on the Continental).

3rd Brigade, General Wyman:

4th Iowa, steamer Roe.................................

9th Iowa, steamer Roe.................................

25th Iowa, steamer Nebraska........................... 3,300

31st Iowa, steamer key West...........................

1st Iowa Battery......................................

2nd Brigade, General Thayer;

13th Illinois, steamer John Warner.............825

26th Iowa, steamer Tecumseh....................825 3,250

28th Iowa, steamer Stephen Decatur.............800

34th Iowa, steamer Iatan.......................800

1st Brigade, General Hovey:

3rd Missouri, steamer Dacotah....................560

12th Missouri, steamer T. E. Tutt..............600

17th Missouri, steamer Emma....................480 2,960

1st Missouri Artillery..........................70

76th Ohio Infantry, steamer Meteor.............800

58th Ohio Infantry, steamer Polar Star.........450

4th Brigade, General Blair:

29th Missouri, steamer S. M. Kennett..............

30th Missouri, steamer Gladiator..................

31st Missouri, steamer D. G. Taylor............... 3,000

32nd Missouri, steamer Southern State..............

Grant aggregate, ready for duty................... 12,510

General Morgan L. Smith reported to me this a. m. in passing that some men, 25 in number, had come into Memphis after I left, reporting that Holly Springs has been captured by the enemy and that they were the sole survivors. I hardly know what faith to put in such a report, but suppose whatever may be the case you will attend to it. I find General Gorman has done nothing here in the matter of the detachment