Army of the Ohio was put in motion toward the enemy, and followed him slowly until the 9th, when our forces halted, the cavalry at Bean's Station and the infantry at Rutledge.

The enemy had halted at or near the Red Bridge, between Bean's Station and Rogersville. No attack was made by us, as the enemy was still in vastly superior force.

On the 11th, Major-General Burnside, having been relieved by

Major-General Foster, left for the North, and properly the close of this report.

To Lieutenant Colonel O. E. Babcock, assistant inspector-general of the Ninth Army Corps, and captain of engineers, I am under very heavy obligations. Always ready with the most practical advice, he cheerfully gave it, and never passed unheeded.

To Maj. S. S. Lyon, Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, and assistant engineer, I am under obligations for valuable reconnaissances. It is a matter or regret the the age and failing health of this officer impaired to a certain extent his usefulness as a topographer, for which branch of science he has such a wonderful talent.

Captain C. E. McAlester, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry, acting as chief engineer of the Twenty-third Army Corps; Captain G. W. Gowan,

Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers, as assistant engineer of the Army of the Ohio, and Captain O. S. McClure, Fiftieth Ohio Volunteers Infantry, in command of the Engineer Battalion, rendered important assistance.

The Engineer Battalion proved almost invaluable. Its members were always ready to work, day or night, and did it with an intelligence which directed the labor toward a result. My thanks are due and are freely given to its officers and men.

The siege of Knoxville passed into history. If mistakes were made in the defense they were covered by the cloak of success. That many were made in the attack apparent to us all. That the rebels made a great error in besieging is as evident as it now is that to accept siege at Knoxville was a great stroke of military policy. The results of the successful defense are, the defeat of Bragg's army and consequent permanent established of our forces at Chattanooga, with tolerably secure lines of communication; the confirmation of our hold upon East Tennessee; the discomfiture of and loss of prestige by the choicest troops of the enemy's service.

There is no language sufficiently strong which I can use to express admiration for the conduct of our troops. From the beginning of the siege to the end every man did his whole duty. The cheerful looks and confident bearing which met us at every turn made it seem as though we were sure of victory from the first. It is doubtful whether any man within our lines had at any time after the first forty-eight hours any fear of the result. All privations were borne, all hardships undergone, with a spirit which indicated as plainly as if written on the walls that success would attend our efforts.

And is there any man of that part of the Army of the Ohio which was in Knoxville who would exchange his nineteen days of service there for any other of the achievements of his life? Was there a regiment there which will not put Knoxville as proudly on its banners as they now bear Roanoke or New Berne, Williamsburg or Fair Oaks, Chantilly or South Mountain, Antietam or Vicksburg? The troops of the Ninth Army Corps and of the Twenty-third were chivalric rivals where duty was to be done. Never before had an engineer

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