what would the relative success of the two armies depend upon with such a system of supplying them?

Energy and pluck.

Question. In anything else?

That would be the main dependence, living in that way.

Question. Would it depend upon the strength and efficiency of their cavalry force at all?

It would depend upon the strength and efficiency of all the army, cavalry as well as infantry;but I would depend mainly upon the infantry if I were doing the foraging.

Question. Would it depend upon the disposition of the people?

I do not think they would have a great deal to say about it.

Question. Would their disposition have any effect upon the ease with which supplies could be obtained in that way?

The disposition of the people to favor the Confederate army would, of course, embarrass sending out foraging parties by our army, on account of the rebels getting information of our movements of that character more readily and frequently than we could of their movements.

Question. Do you suppose that such a system of supplying an army might have been a matter of so much more difficulty for one than for the other as to determine the success of the campaign, other things being equal?

I have already stated that the disposition of the people of the disloyal States would favor the Confederate cause, would throw obstacles in the way of our foraging, on account of their giving information to the enemy whenever we attempted to send out any such parties. Of course, if all other things were equal, that would be an advantage to the rebels which might, if they were exactly equal in all other respects, give them success in a campaign. I will add that I am not in favor of subsisting an army in that way, on account of the demoralizing effect on our own troops. I would only do it an emergency, when I think a great advantage would accrue to our cause from doing it, when I could deal the enemy a deadly blow.

Question. What would be the consequence of defeat to an army depending upon such a system for subsistence?

Well, I can only speak from what I understood to be the effect upon the Confederate army when they were defeated; they would run away and reorganize at some other point.

Question. Is it true the rebel army ever has been defeated and driven from its supplies and thrown from day to day upon what it could gather upon its line of march?

Yes, it is true that some portions of the rebel army have been in that situation. That was especially the case at Mill Springs. They lost everything they had there.

Question. What was the strength of the army that was defeated at Mill Springs?

It was supposed to be about 10,000.

Question. Would the consequences to that army have been the same had it been 40,000 defeated under the same circumstances?

There would perhaps have been rather more suffering had the army been larger. It was at a very inclement season, in the midst of rain and mud. The roads were almost impassable, and they were certainly in a made worse condition than our army would have been had it been defeated at McMinnville, where the roads were good.

Question. In retreating from Mill Springs did not the rebel army fall back along the rear of its line of supplies?