Corps, under General Willcox, and a portion of the Twenty-third Corps, under General Hartsuff. On my arrival at Lexington, I received an order to send the Ninth Corps to General Grant, and to hold my present line with the remaining troops. Upon receipt of this order, I at once returned to Cincinnati. The troops of the Ninth Corps were rapidly dispatched to General Grant, under command of Major General John G. Parke, where they rendered most effective service.

About this time I received a proposition from General Willcox to send a raiding party, under Colonel W. P. Sanders, into East Tennessee. I approved of his proposition, and directed him to make the necessary preparations, but before it was started some trouble with some disloyal people in Indiana rendered it necessary to transfer General Willcox to the command of that district, where he performed the most difficult services tot he satisfaction of the State authorities and myself. General Hartsuff was now in chief command of the troops in Kentucky, with General S. D. Sturgis as chief of cavalry.

General White was ordered to move with his expedition at about the same time with Colonel Sanders; and General S. P. Carter was directed to cross the Cumberland and move in the direction of Monticello, with a view to attracting the attention of the enemy from Colonel Sanders' movements. Soon after this, General Lee's army threatened the invasion of Maryland, and the enemy on all portions of our line was particularly active. A raiding party reached as far as Maysville, but was afterward broken to pieces by Colonel [J. F.] De Courcy with four regiments of cavalry.

Colonel Sanders continued his movement; reached the Tennessee Railroad at Loudon; moved up the road, destroying portions of it; threatened Knoxville, and destroyed the railroad bridge at Strawberry Plains, one of the most important on the road. He captured ten pieces of artillery, some 400 prisoners, and destroyed a vast amount of public stores. His loss was only 1 killed, 2 wounded, and a few stragglers taken prisoners. This was one of the boldest raids of the war. He returned to our lines the 26th of June. Owing to the extreme roughness of the country, and the almost impassable condition of the roads over which General White had to pass, he did not accomplish as much as Colonel Sanders, but his movements drew the attention of the enemy from Sanders, as did the movement of General Carter in the direction of Monticello for the same purpose.

Preparations were still continued, in the hope of being able to spare sufficient force to the rebel General John H. Morgan, with a large cavalry force, which he had crossed at and near Burkesville, on the Cumberland River, about the 1st of July, and was moving in the direction of Columbia.

Immediate dispositions of all the troops were made, with a view to checking the advance of the enemy. He moved with great rapidity, destroying railroads and telegraph lines, so that our means of ascertaining his movements were necessarily much restricted.

General Hartsuff at once ordered all his available forces in pursuit.

Morgan's command passed through Columbia, and moved in direction of Lebanon, reaching Green River on the 4th of July, where he was met by Colonel [O. H.] Moore, with four companies of the Twenty-fifth Michigan, who were guarding the ford. He demanded the surrender of this force, but Moore replied that "the 4th day of July was not the day for United States troops to surrender." Soon after, the enemy charged his position, but were repulsed with great loss.