HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY,
Near Bryantsville, Ky., October 12, 1862.

Colonel JOHN S. SCOTT, Commanding Cavalry:

COLONEL: The commanding general instructs me to say to you that he hopes you can hold your present position. If compelled to fall back you will retire slowly toward Nicholasville. In any case send frequent reports to these headquarters.

Your obedient servant,

J. F. BELTON,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY,
Bryantsville, Ky., October 12, 1862-7 p.m.

Major D. S. PRINTUP,

Commanding Post at Richmond, Ky.:

SIR: Major General E. K. Smith directs that, in accordance with the instructions given you this afternoon, you will move at once with your whole command on the road to London via Big Hill, bringing with you all the wagons loaded with breadstuffs and driving all the cattle you can collect ahead of the trains. You will halt with the provision train at Rockcastle River.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JNumbers PEGRAM,

Chief of Staff.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF EAST TENNESSEE,
Knoxville, Tenn., October 12, 1862.

General BRAXTON BRAGG, Commanding, &c.:

GENERAL: Your letter of the 25th ultimo was not received until yesterday. I received a few days earlier your order (No. 130) of the 27th ultimo. When you issued that order (No. 130) I presume you had not received my letter of the 20th ultimo, informing you that the Secretary of War had directed me to move my headquarters to this place and assume command of this department. He has since, in the absence of orders from you extended my command to include all the country between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. My orders from the Secretary of War were such that I did not feel at liberty to leave this place and transfer my headquarters to Murfreesborough or its vicinity. I immediately forwarded a copy of your order to the Secretary of War and await his orders. A few hours after receiving your order of the 27th I received a telegram from Brigadier-General Forrest, then at Murfreesborough, informing me that you had ordered him to that point to take command of all organized troops he could find and to organize six new regiments, and with the force thus got together to operate against Nashville. From this telegram from Forrest I inferred that after issuing your order of the 27th you had received my letter of the 20th, and finding from it that I had been assigned to the command of this department, you had ordered General Forrest to the duty you had designated for me. It seems, however, from your letter of the 25th that Forrest was assigned to this duty before the promulgation of your order of the 27th. On the 30th you issued an order and directed it to General McCown at this place, and I do not know if you have yet been informed that I had