destination upon the railroad east of that place. Complaint was made by the chief quartermaster that the cars were unnecessarily detained in East Tennessee by the military, but I am convinced that the managers of the railroad are alone responsible for the delay, which was after all probably unavoidable, as no side-tracks or other accommodations were provided beyond Knoxville for the large number of trains that became jammed up on that part of the road. Seven soldiers were killed during the movement of the troops of whom three lost their lives by unavoidable accident, the remaining four by reckless running on the part of the railroad officials. On the part of the railroad officials. On the 3rd of April Colonel Kirby's brigade was sent on an expedition with ten day's rations up the French Broad, with instructions to capture Asheville N. S., if this could be effected without serious loss of life. The object of the expedition was principally to make a demonstration in favor of General Stoneman, who had crossed the mountains in command of an expedition into North Carolina. Colonel Kirby marched to the place and drove the enemy into his works, but being unprovided with artillery, and being but little superior to the rebels in point of numbers, very properly decided, not to assault the position the enemy being protected by two inclosed field works. During the occupation of the upper valley of East Tennessee every assistance was given the construction corps in repairing and rebuilding the railroad our men getting out all the cross-ties and bridge timbers and placing all the wooden material on the track. On the 18th of April orders were received from department headquarters to concentrate the corps by railroad at Nashville. The infantry was marched to Bull's Gap and embarked on the cars at that point. All the artillery, the transportation, and the pontoon, train moved to Knoxville, taking the cars from that city. The ambulance trains continued the march to Chattanooga, where they look the cars. The entire movement was made in fourteen days, with the loss of only two men accidentally killed on the cars. The corps occupied their present camps upon reaching this place. It is at present nearly 20,000 strong effective force, in good condition in arms and equipments, and in my opinion is to-day more efficient and better prepared for campaign than when they commenced last May the Atlanta campaign.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

D. S. STANLEY,

Major-General, Commanding.

Brigadier General WILLIAM D. WHIPPLE,

Chief of Staff, Department of the Cumberland.

Numbers 2. Journal of the Fourth Army Corps.*

HUNTSVILLE, ALA.

February 1.-The Third Division, in accordance with orders from department headquarters, left Huntsville, via railroad, for Nashville, from which point it will embark on transports and be sent to Eastport, on the Tennessee River.

February 2.-Third Division reaches Nashville and goes into camp south of the city, where it will await transports.

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*Kept by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph S. Fullerton, assistant adjutant-general and chief of staff. See explanatory foot-note, Vol. XXXVIII, Part I, p. 839.

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