We reached Shanghai, twenty-four miles from Fort Scott, and camped. 27th, left Shanghai at sunrise and marched to Lupis Point. Honorable James H. Lane and Colonel S. J. Crawford were relieved from further duty as volunteer aides-de-camp, and returned to Fort Scott. At Coon Creek, where we halted for supper, letters were received from General Pleasonton entirely satisfactory. McNeil's brigade joined us in column. Sanborn and Benteen ordered to join us, and General Pleasonton sends four pieces of artillery. At 9 o'clock the column moved forward, and at 10 the general and staff were on the way for a night march. We crossed Spring River and reached Carthage, Mo., before daylight on the 28th, and halted the command for rest and feed three hours, when the column was again in motion. Riding forward I reached the front at 11.30, at Diamond Grove, where the enemy with their train was in plain sight. General Blunt came up immediately and ordered an advance. We had overtaken Major McKenny, bearer of a flag of truce, but the flag was ordered back, and Major McKenny, taking his escort, advanced against the enemy as skirmishers. Colonel Ford's brigade, Major Ketner, of the Sixteenth, in the advance, went forward, and messages were sent to the rear by General Blunt to hurry forward the whole command. The enemy retreated rapidly out of sight, but at Newtonia the advance, under Colonel Ford, came upon them again. General Blunt came up immediately, about 3 o'clock, and ordered a charge, which was made by the Second Colorado and Sixteenth Kansas, the general leading in person. McLain's battery opened on the enemy at the same time, supported by the Fifteenth Kansas, under Lieutenant-Colonel Hoyt. This developed their whole line, which now threatened to burn both our right and left flanks. Orders were sent back to McNeil, who was supposed to be in our immediate rear, and to Moonlight, who had not yet come up, but both these commands had been halted to feed, and did not reach the ground in time to take part in the action. With the Second Colorado, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Kansas, altogether less than 1,000 men, we fought the whole of Shelby's division, and had succeeded in driving them in the center of their line, when General Sanborn unexpectedly arrived, and, rapidly forming on the left, charged the enemy's right, and our victory was complete. Night coming on pursuit was impossible, and the command return to Newtonia, where the remainder of our column had already arrived and gone into camp. Next morning (29th) we were all preparing for the "forward," when dispatches came from General Rosecrans, recalling his troops. This leaving us only Blunt's division of about 1,200 effective men, compelled us to give us the chase after the order of march had been published and a column in motion.

There is no reasonable doubt that with the troops thus taken from us we could have destroyed Price's panic-stricken, half-starved horde this day, and thus ended a brief but brilliant and arduous campaign most gloriously. The Army of the Border tread its first step backward and marched to Neosho, twelve miles. The following morning dispatches were received from General Halleck, that Lieutenant-General Grant directs the pursuit of Price to be continued to the Arkansas River or until met by Steele's or Reynolds' commands. Accordingly dispatches were immediately sent to Generals McNeil and Sanborn and to Colonels Philips and Benteen, directing them to proceed with their several commands to Cassville and report to the major-general commanding there. Lieutenant (now Captain) J. B. Pond, with forty men of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, was charged with the delivery of these several orders and was ordered then to proceed to Fort Scott and forward trains