bush in a ravine or hollow that crosses the line of the road some 300 yards in advance of where my main force formed in line. After firing a volley into my advance guard, the enemy, about twenty-five or thirty in number, formed a line apparently for the purpose of making a charge, which purpose we forestalled by sending a platoon around on their right and left, and charging down on them with my main force, putting them to precipitate flight. We chased them at full speed to the Half-way House, over a mile from where we first discovered them, firing on them at every opportunity. They were still running so far as we could see them. They being better mounted than my men I though it useless to follow farther. And not having sufficient material to repair the line (over a mile of which we found down) I concluded to return to camp, where we arrived at 8.30 p. m. same evening without further encounter.

Our casualties are 1 man mortally and 1 severely wounded. That of the enemy I do not know, if any. Our mortally wounded man I was obliged to leave at a house some three miles from the Half-way House this way, he being unable to sit on his horse longer. The men under my command behaved well and deserving of praise; also of --, telegraph repairer, I must say that he is a man well fitted for the dangerous occupation which he follows, and I can but congratulate the superintendents of the line in their good fortune in procuring the services of a man so well calculated to perform his duties at any and all times regardless of consequences.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

G. W. DAVIS,

Captain, Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry, Commanding Escort.

Lieutenant S. MONTE CAMBERN,

Actg. Asst. Adjt. General, Post Pine Bluff, Ark.

Numbers 7. Report of Captain Joseph G. Tilford, Third U. S. Cavalry.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK., October 28, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to state that, in obedience to orders (verbal) received from Second Brigade, Cavalry Division, Seventh Army Corps, I left this city about 12 m. of the 26th instant, with 10 officers and something near 400 men, and proceeded down the river to the steamer Annie Jacobs. I reached this point about one hour by sun, and finding the steamer safe, and being told by negroes in the neighborhood that I would find a small party of rebels most likely at the plantation of a Mr. Irving, about five miles farther down, I pushed on and encamped there, but found no rebels. The negroes told me that the day before in the afternoon their former young master, Mr. Jeff., Irving, had been there with some twenty or thirty rebels, and told them his farther wanted all the young negroes to come South. The negroes ran off. They also told me that Irving them that Colonel Logan had 1,200 rebels on the river road. The negroes seemed to think there were not more than 300 or 400 of them. They understood they had robbed a tan-yard, and carried off some stock. From all I could learn this seems to have been their object. The only party that came near the boat was the small one that visited Irving's plantation, and their object seems to have been