Davis. Vice-President Stephensen was not along, and is believed to be now at Crawfordsville, Ga., where he resides, and where he declares his intention of remaining, no matter what may be his fate. Jefferson Davis and his escort had remained at Charlotte during the armistice, but left there immediately omits termination and passed through Yorkville on the morning of the 28th. Davis, himself, with s small party, crossed Broad River at Pickneyville Ferry, but the cavalry went around by Smith's Ford. One of my regiments (the Twelfth Ohio) ran into the rear guard of his escort at that for and captured ten prisoners, from whom definite information was obtained. The specie was in wagons, and was contained in about 100 boxes, of gold, and 60 kegs, of solver. Prisoners thought there was about $10,000,000 of specie in all. The cavalry escort, numbering in all at that time from 3,000 to 4,000 men, had been promised their back pay in specie on arriving at the Mississippi River, as an indecent for them to remain true to their chief, but in spite of this bride as soon as they found we were on their track their men dropped out rapidly. Finding that the advance of Davis' escort had two days the start of us and were well mounted, and having but one brigade wit me, and there being several considerable rivers to cross on the way to Georgia, at which small parties could successfully hold the fords and ferries and destroyed bridges while the main body of the enemy was pushing on westward, I determined not to pursue on the direct line, but to strike by way of Spartanburg and Golden Grive for the head of the Savannah River, near Anderson, which would enable me to effect a junction with the other two brigades of the division which had marched from Asheville, N. C., toward Anderson, and also to cross the headquarters of the Savannah River at Hatton's Ford. Below this point there was no crossing of the Savannah except by ferries, and the pontoon bridge at Petersburg, at mouth of Broad River of Georgia. I felt satisfied that Davis and his party would cross at this pontoon, and I hoped to intercept them at Athens, Ga. The Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, which I had pushed toward Abbeville from Spartansburg on May 1 to reconnoiter and ascertain whether the enemy was aiming for Augusta or not, captured some of Davis' escort near the Saluda River, and ascertained from them and citizens that the enemy was with them, and that all would probably march via the pontoon bridge for Athens, Ga.

I reached Athens, Ga., on the afternoon of the 4th with my entire division, and found that I had succeeded in throwing the command entirely in front of the enemy, all of whom were between Athens and the Savannah River. I immediately pushed out a force to guard the fords and ferries of Briad River, and sent the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry to Lexington, with directions to send a detachment to Elberton and another to Washington, Ga., to guard the roads leading northwest and southwest from the pontoon bridge at mouth of Broad River. Fearing that Davis would abandon his escort and endeavor to make time by taking the railroad train at Washington for Atlanta or West Point, I sent a party to cut the railroad between Atlanta and Augusta at madison, and also to communicate with General Wilson, commanding the Cavalry Corps, at Macon. This party carried General Thomas' cipher dispatches to General Wilson. I also sent a small party by railroad to Augusta to communicate with General Upton, of Wilson's cavalry, who had just reached that point with his staff, but without troops. Yesterday afternoon I got reliable information of deserters from Davis' escort, just from Washington, confirmed by dispatches