continued to advance; General Taylor fell back before him. On april 6, his advance was at Pleasant Hill; General Taylor was at Mansfield, where the roads fork to Marshall and shreveport. Churchil's and Parson's divisions were sent to him. They reached Mansfield the night of the 8th. Green's cavalry had also arrived, having been obliged to make a long detour to get in front of the enemy. At 4 o'clock on the evening of the 8th, General Mouton, without the order or knowledge of General Taylor, attacked and repulsed the Thirteenth Army Corps and Cavalry Division, the advance of the enemy, from 8,000 to 10.000 strong, 3 miles south of Mansfield. The first news brought to General Taylor of the fight was, as I am informed, that General Mouton had attacked the enemy and been killed. Walker's and Green's divisions were then put into action, when the engagement became a running fight for 4 or 5 miles, our men double-quicking a considerable porion of the way.

The enemy got into a stampede and our men rushed after them pell-mell through the woods till dark. Four or five of their light batteries and the train of the Cavalry Division were in front. As soon as the fight commenced these vehicles blocked up the road, which was very narrow and ran through a thick pine woods. Most of the horses were carried off and the guns and wagons were left in our hands. Only one of their batteries was brought into action. About night, the Thirteenth Corps and the cavalry having been driven back about 4 miles, the Nineteenth Army Corps, General Franklin commanding, came up, and for awhile checked our advance, but it gave way also after a little, and was driven back some half a mile, when it became too dark for us to pursue farther. The enemy continued his retreat during the night. Our loss was about 1,000 killed and wounded; that of the enemy greater. He also lost 150 wagons, 22 pieces of artillery, and 1,800 prisoners. At this time General A. J. Smith, with one division of the Sixteenth and one of the Seventeenth Corps, was at Natchitoches. From Shreveport it is 42 miles to Mansfield, 65 miles to Pleasant Hill, and 98 to Natchitoches. On the night of the 8th, Churchil and Parsons came up. The pursuit was resumed at daylight on the 9th. In the evening the enemy was found in line of battle at Pleasant Hill, A. J. Smith, who had come up from Natchitoches, on the left, Franklin (Nineteenth Corps) on the right, the whole about 24,000. The Thirteenth Corps had gone on to Natchitoches. The enemy's right was in woods, his left in open fields. Walker and Polignac (commanding Mouton's division) attacked on our left, Parsons and Churchill on our right. The charge of the Arkansas and Missouri troops wa dashing. On their left the enemy had five brigades and several batteries. Part of their infantry was in advance of the artillery and part in rear for a support. The Missouri division was to have been supported on the left by Scurry's brigade (Walker's extreme right), but instead of cooperating the two went into action separately, and were whipped in detail. The Missouri division drove back the enemy's line in its front, and came up within 50 yards of their batteries, but having no support on their left, were flanked by the enemy from that direction, and meeting a heavy fire from the supporting force, retreated in confusion. About the time they had gotten away from the enemy, who repulsed after having driven back the enemy's line in his front a quarter of a mile. The enemy followed him some distance, capturing several hundred prisoners. Night put a stop to the fight,