that Davis was making his way toward the south with an escort, I directed my command to take possession of the railroads, and to send scouts in all directions in order that I might receive timely notice of the rebel movements. The armistice was declared null and void by the President, but at least one day before I had been advised of this through General Thomas and General Gillmore, I received from General Sherman a cipher dispatch informing me of the formal termination of hostilities by the surrender of General Johnston and all the forces under his command east of the Chattahoochee. This was on the 27th day of April. I had already taken precautions to prevent persons of importance from escaping by the railroads, and immediately upon the receipt of the final surrender I made disposition of my command for the purpose of taking possession of the important points in Georgia and paroling the rebel prisoners which might have to pass through them in order to reach their homes. I felt certain that Davis and his cabinet would endeavor to escape to the west side of the Mississippi River, notwithstanding the armistice and surrender, and therefore gave instructions to the different detachments of my command to look out of and capture him and all other persons of rank or authority in the rebel Government.

On the 28th of April Brevet Major-General Upton was ordered with a detachment of his division (the Fourth) to proceed by rail to Augusta, while the balance of the division, under Bvt. Brigadier General E. F. Winslow, was ordered to march by the most direct route to Atlanta-a regiment under Colonel B. B. Eggleston having been sent by rail to that place immediately after the receipt of General Sherman's telegram. General E. M. McCook, commanding the First Division, with a detachment of 700 men, was directed to proceed by rail to Albany, Ga., and march thence by the most direct route to Tallahassee, Fla., while General Croxton, with the balance of the division, was held at Macon, with orders issued subsequently to with the line of the Ocmulgee River from the mouth of Yellow Creek to Macon. Bvt. Brigadier General R. H. G. Minty, commanding the Second Division (General Long having been wounded at Selma), was directed about the same time to send detachments to Cuthbert and Eufaula, to with the line of the Ocmulgee from the right of the First Division to Abbeville, and as much of the Flint and Chattahoochee to the rear as practicable. The ostensible and principal object of this disposition of troops was to secure prisoners and military stores and to take possession of the important strategic points and lines of communication; but the different commanders were directed to keep a vigilant watch for Davis and other members of the rebel Government. The first direct information I received of Davis' movements was on the 23rd of April from a citizen who had seen him at Charlotte, N. C., only three or four days before, and had learned there that he was on his way with a train and an escort of cavalry to the south intending to go to the Trans-Mississippi Department. This information was regarded as entirely reliable, and hence the officers in charge of the different detachments afterward send out were directed to dispose of their commands so as to have all roads and crossings vigilantly watched. It was first thought that Davis would call about him a select force and endeavor to escape by marching to the westward through the hilly country of Northern Georgia. To prevent this Colonel Eggleston was directed to watch the country in all directions from Atlanta. Bvt. Brigadier General A. J. Alexander, with the Second Brigade of Upton's division, having reached Atlanta in advance of the division, was directed by General Winslow to scout the country to the northward as far as