erected a beast- work of the most elementary cahracter, consisting only of logs laid one on top of the other, and supported in their position by struts, as used in building wharves. There was no ditch nor any earthen parapet, the work evidently having been constructed in the most hurried manner. This breast- work was about one mile and a half in rear of the main work, which completely commanded the road, at a point seven miles an a half west of Beverly, the county seat of Randolph County, Va. The Federal forces, under major General McClellan, u. S . Army, left their camp, on the Middle Fork of Buckhannon River, on the morning of Wednesday, July 10, 1861. After marching about six miles, I left my position near the commanding general and rode to the front, taking my position in the advanced guard. As we debouched from the woods about half a mile west of the Roaring Run bridge we saw, a few hundred yards in front of us, a cavalry vedette, which exchanged shots with us and the fled, pursued by a detachment of our cavalry, but without catching them, the enemy having destroyed the bridge, a fact not known to us until our cavalry were upon its site and found it gone, while the enemy had crossed by a ford a few hundred yards below the bridge, and were already beyond our reach. From a knoll just in front of the woods alluded to the enemy could be plainly seen in his intrenchments some two miles to the eastward and on the line the road. I at once rode back and informed General McClellan of the condition of affairs and the necessity for rebuilding the bridge over Roaring Run before we could cross it wich our artillery and baggage. He rode forward himself to examine it, and, concurring in my opinion, ordered a halt, an afterward that tents be pitched. The next morning (it being too late to do so the evening before) he directed my to make a reconnaissance in force. For this purpose the brigade then under command of Colonel R. L. McCook was detailed. This brigade consisted of the Ninth Ohio and Fourth Ohio Regiments, commanded by Colonels McCook and Lorin Andrews, and the Coldwater (Michigan) Artillery, Captain Loomis,. All were there years' volunteers and formed the advanced guard of the army. Upon reaching the ground where the brigade was to form I found the two regiments mentioned and four field pieces withouo Colonels Lander (now brigadier- general) and Key, both of the general's staff, who accompanied me as volunteers. We moved forward at once until we reached our outer picket, when we halted and threw out our flankers, composed of six companies of the Ninth Ohio Regiment. And here I must allude to the admirable manner in which these troops performed their duty. I was totally without experience, yet it seemed to me that these men, under the immediate direction of Lieutenant- Colonel Sondershoff and Major Willich, of the Ninth, did their duty in the most perfect manner. The accompanying sketch will show the manner in which the flankers were disposed. In a few minutes we came upon the enemy's pickets and were fired upon, t he field pieces in the intrenchments throwing canister and spherical case- shot to dislodge us from the woods, but our march never faltered until we reached a position some 200 yards in front of the enemy's works, where the troops were halted and remained quietly under cover of the woods while I obtained such information as was deemed necessary.

The works of the enemy were plainly seen, together with the obstructions in front (we were at the outer edge of them) and the whole disposition for defense. The troops were then recalled, and we returned to camp with a loss of 1 man killed and 2 wounded. We captured two