ments I have held with good reason for more than twelve months, but which for obvious reasons I have never made known except to General Smith and some of his friends, who could see as much as I. I have been as cautious and particular as I know a person occupying my position should be about such matters.

About the 1st of February last it became evident, from the movements of the enemy at New Orleans, Little Rock, and Fort Smith, that a combined offensive movement was preparing against the Trans-Mississippi Department. The Red River Valley was to be the theater of operations. This appeared both from the enemy's movements and from reports from his lines. The Northern papers stated that Sherman's force, which had just returned from its expedition through Mississippi, would also be sent for a time to this side of the river, and that Sherman, Banks, and Steele would make a combined movement on shreveport. Accordingly, every preparation was made for concentrating the troops. Green's division of cavalry was ordered from the Texas coast to Alexandria, while depots of subsistence and forage were placed on the important lines connecting Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Troops of all arms were ordered to be mobilized as well as possible and held in readiness to move with celerity to any point where they might be needed. This was a critical juncture. It was expected that Sherman would move from Vicksburg or Natchez. In stead of that, however, he sent only two divisions (one of the Sixteenth and one of the Seventeenth, in all about 10,000 men) to the mouth of Red River. From that point this command moved to DeRussy, when it again took transports and joined Banks at Alexandria on March 18. General a. J. Smith commanded the two divisions. It preceded Banks three or four days. It landed at Simsport March 12. At that time the distribution of our force was as follows: In Louisiana General Taylor had two divisions of infantry and 1,500 or 2,000 cavalry in detachments; Walker's division, consisting of Randal's, Waul's and scurry's brigades, was posted from Fort De Russy down the Bayon De Glaize to Simsport; Mouton's division, consisting of Polignac's and Gray's brigades, was divided-one brigade near Alexandria and the other on its way to Alexandria from Trinity, the junction of the Ouachita, Little, and Tensas Rivers. Banks was organizing his expedition at Berwick Bay. Colonel Vincent, with the Second Louisiana Cavalry and a battery, was near Opelousas watching him. General Liddell, with a brigade of cavalry and several batteries, was near Monroe watching the approaches from Natchez and Vicksburg. Green's cavalry, although ordered to move two weeks before this, did not leave the vicinity of Hempstead, Tex., till March 15, and did not reach General Taylor till between the 1st and 5th of April. The strength of the column which landed at Simsport was, as it usually is, overestimated. General Bayou De Glaize to a point near Fort De Russy, and thence moved to Evergreen, about 30 miles south of Alexandria, where he was joined by General Taylor with Mouton's division. Meanwhile General Walker had left the garrison at Fort De Russy to its fate, as he considered it impossible, from the nature of the ground and the preponderance of the enemy's force, to cover or support the place. It fell with its garrison on March 14, by a land attack. General Taylor estimated the strength of this column at 23,000 men. Immediately after the fall of Fort De Russy the enemy occupied alexandria. General Taylor was thrown off into the pine