during which time our pickets were driven in and our camp surrounded on all sides.

The enemy sent in a white flag and demanded me to surrender, and gave me ten minutes to decide in. I consulted with my officers, and we decided that we would not be able to hold our position one hour longer, as we had but 23 rounds of canister for our artillery and my men were mostly armed with Colt's revolvers. I have had not do exceed 110 men; the enemy 1,750 cavalry and infantry, armed with revolvers, rifles, and carbines, and four 6-pounders, and, as I afterward learned, between 300 and 400 rounds of cartridges for their artillery. In the demand for a surrender the enemy agreed to parole all of us on the ground and allow us to keep our private; but after my surrender they refused to allow my men to keep their horses or anything but their clothing, which was generally retained by the soldiers. My loss was 7 killed and 2 wounded. The enemy's loss was 34 killed and a number wounded. The colonel commanding gave his name as J. Q. Burbridge. Colonel greene was second in command at the time of my surrender. All avenues of escape were cut off, and knowing they had 10 men to my 1, I considered it suicidal to attempt a retreat with my command. At the time I sent the messenger to Lawrence Mills and Marshfield I had no intimation that there were over 400 of the enemy, and had no intimation that they had any artillery until they fired on us. I them sent our feelers to learn, if possible, their strength, and in the course of an hour ascertained that they were not less than 1,000 strong, and had their men so posted as to cut off our retreat. If I had known at the outset that they had artillery of that size I should have abandoned the post when I returned from driving in their advance. We have been respectfully notified that there were large forces moving on us within the last forty days, and by sending out our scouts have found them to be false alarms, and thinking was but a small force, concluded to go out with my men.

Hoping you will approve the course I pursued, I remain, very respectfully, yours,

H. E. BARSTOW,

Captain Company C, 10th Ill. Cav., Commanding Post at Clark's Mill.

NOVEMBER 8-13, 1862.-Expedition into the southern part of Missouri and the northern part of Arkansas.

Report of Captain Milton Burch, Fourteenth Missouri Cavalry (Militia).

OZARK, Mo., November 13, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor of reporting to you the result of a scout made by me into the southern part of Missouri and the northern part of Arkansas:

On the evening of the 8th instant, by order of Captain S. A. Flagg, I took command of 80 men of the Second Battalion of the Missouri State Militia and proceeded to Lawrence Mills, a distance of 35 miles. We arrived at that place about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 9th. I sent scouts out in every direction, with instructions to find out the strength and position of any bodies of the rebels that might be found.

On the evening of the 10th the scouts all returned, reporting no strong bodies of the enemy nearer than Yellville. They reported a considerable number of provost guards in the neighborhood of Dubuque,