No. 4. Report of Major Eugene Kielmansegge, Fourth Missouri Cavalry.

CAMP MOSQUITO, NEAR SEARCY LANDING, ARK.,

May 20, 1862.

COLONEL: The following report of the skirmish on the 19th instant I hereby respectfully submit:

On the morning of the 19th instant I was ordered by you to report myself, with Companies A, B, and C, of the Fourth Missouri Cavalry, Fremont, Hussars, to Lieutenant-Colonel Cramer, of the Seventeenth Missouri Infantry, encamped on the other side of the Little Red River, from whom I would receive a detachment of infantry and directions where to go for forage. Reporting myself at 8.30 o'clock a.m. I was informed that the forage wagon of Company D, Fremont Hussars, and of the artillery, together with two companies of infantry as guard, were already sent out; that one company of infantry was ready to go with me, and that I should march on the main road leading from Searcy to West Point, where I would find the foraging party sent in advance. Having marched on this road about 2 miles to a place about 3 miles from the camp near Searcy Landing I met the foraging party, under command of Captain Wilhelmi, of the Seventeenth Missouri Infantry, who reported that on the farm of one Whitten, about half a mile on the main road toward West Point, and also on the farm of one Hopper, about half a mile to the left of the main road, forage enough could be found to load all of the wagons.

Considering it safer to send the cavalry to Whitten's far, more adapted to cavalry movements, as an open field was between this farm and the place where the road leading to Hopper's farm intersects the main road, I ordered the cavalry, under command of Captain Rose, of Lieutenant Fischer, with five forage wagons, to march to Whitten's farm and load forage there; Company G, of the Seventeenth Missouri Infantry, under command of Captain Wilhelmi, to march to Hopper's farm, surrounded in front and in the rear by woods; and Company H, of the Seventeenth Missouri Infantry, under command of Lieutenant Neun, to remain at this place, ordering him at the same time to post a double guard about 60 or 80 paces in front of his command, in the woods along the main road, to keep the road to Hopper's farm open and to stop all wagons loaded with forage in the main road leading back to Searcy Landing until the different detachments should have assembled there all together. The position of the different detachments was triangular, having between them an open field inclosed by a common rail fence.

My orders having been carried out, I rode to Captain Wilhelmi's detachment on Hopper's farm. Found him loading the four wagons sent there, and ordered him to post guards for the protection of the detachment while loading. The guards having been posted in my presence, I rode to Captain Rose's detachment on Whitten's farm. Arriving there and seeing that the forage did not suffice to load five wagons, I ordered Company A, of the Fremont Hussars, to go with one wagon to Hopper's farm to load there. Returning with this detachment of Company A, of the Fremont Hussars, and the wagon to the place where Company H, of the Seventeenth Missouri Infantry, under command of Lieutenant Neun, was ordered to remain as guard