must state yet that Captain Eitzen, after he left the first night, came back after midnight with four men; they kept coming in, and at roll-call Captain Eitzen reported thirty-four men for duty.

FRANCIS ONKEN,

Captain Company A, Thirty-fourth Regiment Enrolled Missouri Militia.

Colonel POSER,

Thirty-fourth Regiment Enrolled Missouri Militia.

Numbers 24. Report of Captain Charles D. Eitzen, Thirty-fourth Infantry Enrolled Missouri Militia.

CAMP COLLEGE HILL,

Jefferson City, October 6, 1864.

I have the honor to report that I have returned with my command to Jefferson City, after many trials and difficulties, and give you below a condensed statement of my affairs. Under orders from you I started on the 3rd day of this month with my company to the Gasconade bridge. Before starting I was very anxious to have my company properly clothed, but there being no time for it it could not be done. Most of my men were placed on open flat-cars in a heavy rain, which rain kept up all day. My men were perfectly drenched, and complained bitterly that the Government had not furnished them with proper clothing. Several of the men got sick; one was in a dying condition when we arrived at the bridge. As soon as I could get the men to quarters I sent my first lieutenant (the second lieutenant had been cut off at Franklin, to which place I had sent him to get provisions for the men then stationed at the Gasconade bridge, which orders were received from headquarters at Saint Louis, that I should draw my provisions there) in charge of the sick men to Hermann, there being no hospital at the Gasconade bridge. In doing this he was also cut off and has not returned to duty up to this time, which left me without a commissioned officer. About an hour after I had sent off the sick men to Hermann we heard cannonading in the direction of Hermann. We then moved all into the fort and I ordered everybody to carry water into the fort so that we could stand a siege, unless we were attacked by artillery, which the fort was unable to withstand, being only a log-house. After making all preparations for a regular siege, I lay down to rest a little, not having slept any the night before. I barely had lain down and gone to sleep when there was a great commotion in the fort, which was on account of some scouts coming in from Hermann, stating that Hermann had gone up and the whole town burnt, and that a train with two cannons was then coming up to attack us. This made a perfect uproar among the men, some of them throwing down their arms and said that they did not intend to stay at the bridge and save it, as Hermann was destroyed and their families would be brutally treated by the rebels, and as the fort could not stand artillery we would all be cut to pieces unless we evacuated it. It was impossible for me to stop the panic which seized the men; they ran out of the fort with Captain Onken's men. Of course I could not leave my men, and had to follow them. We formed in front of the fort on the railroad and were consulting what to do. One of Captain Onken's men, Mr. Ricketts, told me that we could tear up the culvert close by. We marched a short distance and intended to destroy the culvert, but could not get any tools for this purpose. The rain pouring down in torrents