Question. What was the ostensible object in repairing that road, and by whose orders, if you know, were those repairs made?

I understood that the road was to be opened for the purpose of transferring that portion of the Army of the Ohio that was then at Corinth over to Decatur, and also that the road might serve as a line of communication afterward between the Army of the Ohio and the Union forces in Northern Mississippi and West Tennessee. I also understood that the road was to be repaired by order of General Halleck.

The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You need not state that unless it be of your own knowledge; the original order can be produced, if any such exists.

The WITNESS. I was told so by General Buell; that is all the knowledge I have of it.

By General BUELL:

Question. Do you know anything about the amount of rolling stock that was on the road and as to what practical use it was to the Army of the Ohio? If so, please state what you know it.

There were seven locomotive captured to the westward of Corinth, immediately after the evacuation of Corinth by the enemy, in a damaged condition; besides those there were perhaps half a dozen locomotives in and about Corinth, also in bad condition, but still in running order. Almost every one that was sent upon that part of the line under my charge broke down and became utterly worthless; scarcely any use could be made of them on our line. There was a very limited number of cars available, and not over a dozen were employed at any time on the line between Corinth and Decatur during my superintendence there.

Question. Who had the immediate control of this working stock?

General McPherson.

Question. Who was responsible for the limited amount of it that was employed in the service of the Army of the Ohio?

That was a result to some extent of the necessities of the case. I applied constantly to general McPherson for additional rolling stock, which he failed to furnish; whether he could have done so or not I do not know.

Question. Have you any professional knowledge and have you had any experience in railroad engineering?

I am a civil engineer by profession, and was actively engaged in the duties of my profession for six years previous to my entering the service. Bridge building was a specialty in my practice.

Question. Have you, by reading or other means of information, any knowledge of the country between Somerset, Ky., and the Tennessee River, along the line running through Jackson, Tenn.?

In conversation with those familiar with that region of country I have learned that it is a rough and barren country.

Question. Do you know anything of the character of the road from the mouth of the South Fork of the Cumberland River to Jacksborough and so on toward Knoxville?

The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. General Smith's answer to the previous question is objectionable; hereafter the general will confine himself to his personal knowledge.

General BUELL. I desire to say, in reference to the injunction of the judge-advocate, that the information to be derived in regard to the geography of a country from personal knowledge is very limited. The subject of geography is one that is within the reach of every man who can read, write, talk, and hear, and the knowledge derived in that way of such subjects is as legitimate and reliable as can be excepted, or as is necessary either for evidence or for practical purposes.