No. 8.

Report of Lieutenant Colonel James C. Foy, Twenty-third Kentucky Infantry.

HDQRS. TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT KENTUCKY VOL. INFANTRY,
Camp Brown's Gap, Tennessee, October 30, 1863.

SIR: Accordingly to instruction received from General W. B. Hazen, I proceeded on the morning of the 27th with my party of 75 men, under Captain Williams, Captain Boden, and Captain Tifft, to the point where we were to debark; this was about 2 a.m. On arriving there, I found the boat with considerable water and some dozen or more pieces of heavy iron in, that had to be unloaded before we could start. After that was done we had to pull the boat up the river 300 yards, so that we would be able to make the gap in the bridge in crossing; this accounts for our little delay in starting. I now saw that I would have to reduce my party to 50 men, that being the utmost number the boat would hold. I gave directions to each of my captains to take 16 men of their respective squads aboard, making an aggregate of 52 men including myself. The 27 men that were left I sent to the general to follow in his boat, and join us as soon as possible. We now shoved out and proceeded to cross the river, and float quietly down. I will say here that the men that were left to work the boat knew nothing about it, and Captain T. J. Williams had to take the steering oar and pilot us down. I had the boat to proceed slowly and quietly, thinking it would be best not to get too far from the other boats. We arrived opposite the gap without any accident, except the knocking into the river of one man by the top of a tree, where we had run too close to shore. He was picket up by the first following boat.

On arriving opposite the gap we proceeded straight across the river; on nearing there we were fired into by the enemy's pickets. I do not know how much of a force was here; there were several shots fired, and I am sorry to say that some of our men returned the fire. I had them to cease immediately. I had given orders before starting that this would be only a small party, and we were to receive their fire and march on and take possession of the house. In a few minutes we struck the shore, landing a little below the point where the road strikes the river; at this point we had to scramble up a very steep bank, the men forming as soon as they gained a bench of land that runs along the river at this place. As soon as I had about 20 men up the bank we proceeded to the house. I directed Captain Williams with his squad of men to take possession of the house, while I remained outside awaiting the balance of my party. In a few moments Captain Boden, with the rear squad of 48 men by the front. After proceeding about 500 yards, and as far beyond the crest of the hill as I thought our skirmishers would come, I ordered halt, and gave the order for the rear rank to hold the guns of the men in the front rank, and to proceed to build breastworks, but the first thing I did was to throw out skirmishers to our front and well to our right. The men took hold of the work with a will, and we soon had a tolerable protection thrown up.

In a few minutes word was brought to me that our skirmishers could hear the enemy approaching. I proceeded to where our skirmishers were, and I could distinctly hear them giving orders, evidently coming down on our right. I now went back to the breastworks,