gades, of about 500 men each; the available cavalry that could be controlled were also used; all under command of Lieutenant-General Forrest. The trains and body of the army were hurried toward the Tennessee River, marching to Pulaski, and thence by the dirt road to Bainbridge. The rear guard had thus a clear road and when pressed could fall back rapidly. The country on the right and left of the pike, very broken and densely timbered, was almost impassable; the pike itself, passing through the gorges of the hills, was advantageous for the enemy; with a few men he could compel the pursuing force to develop a front almost anywhere. In the vicinity of Lynnville, the country being open, the enemy was driven rapidly back, and at Buford Station, near Richland Creek, while Hatch was pressing them on the pike Croxton struck them in flank and drove them in confusion beyond Richland Creek. In this affair one flag and a number of prisoner were captured and the rebel General Buford wounded through the leg. The rebels retreated that night to the vicinity of Pulaski, but the next day were driven through that place, closely pressed by Harrison's brigade. The bridges across Richland Creek were saved by the celerity and good management with which Colonel Harrison handled his command, so that, without delaying, he continued the pursuit, and by 2 p. m. came up with the enemy strongly entrenched at the head of a heavily wooded and deep ravine, through which ran the road. The country was so difficult and broken that the men of Harrison's brigade were necessarily in weak order, but nothing daunted, they pursued the enemy's skirmishers back to their fortified position. Here they were compelled to halt, and while the troops of Hatch's, Croxton's, and Hammond's commanders were marching through the woods to their support, a few hundred of the enemy's infantry, for the first time since the battles about Nashville, sallied from their breast-works and drove back Harrison's attenuated skirmish line and captured one gun of Smith's battery (I, Fourth U. S. Artillery). They were promptly driven back, but had succeeded in getting the captured gun off. Hammond, Croxton, and Hatch moving on the flanks of their position they abandoned it hastily just before night, leaving about fifty prisoners in our hands.

On the 26th the pursuit was continued to the Sugar Creek, the enemy falling back and making but slight resistance. At the latter place they took up a strong position and held it until General Hammond had developed his forces and got ready to attack. Hastily withdrawing, they continued their march throughout the night. It had now become evident that no effort on the part of my command could again bring Forrest to risk another engagement. Having neither rations nor forage, and learning that the main body of the rebels had already reached the south side of the Tennessee, I directed the corps to halt, and the next morning I sent Colonel Spalding, of the Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry, with 500 picked men, after the enemy, with directions to continue the pursuit until he had reached the Tennessee Rive. He reached the river, at Bainbridge, early on the morning of the 28th, the last of the enemy having crossed and taken up the bridge during the night.

The road from Pulaski to Bainbridge was as bad as it could possibly be, the country through which it runs almost entirely denuded of forage and army supplies. Both men and horses suffered greatly. Hood having effected his escape, the corps was ordered to Eastport for the purpose of refitting and resting. Before this order was received, however, Hatch, Hammond, and Harrison had marched at Athens, on the road to Huntsville, in pursuance of previous instructions from General Thomas.