Colonel HICKS, SAVANNAH, TENN., Commanding, Paducah: DEAR COLONEL: Before proceeding to business let me extend a kindly greeting to you, in memory of the dangers and trials we have shared. You have my best wishes wherever you may be, and my most earnest desire for your success in whatever you may undertake, for I know it will be laudable. I send you a lot of prisoners whom I can by no means recommend. Some of them are desperate characters, and all of them will bear the closest kind of watching. They are genuine guerrillas, most of them captured with arms in hands. Captain Biffles and one Hinson are especially guilty, and to be strictly guarded. I do not myself know just what the Government does with such prisoners. Please inquire and act accordingly. WM. SOOY SMITH, Brigadier-General, Chief of Cavalry. HEADQUARTERS SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS, Brig. Gen. J. D. STEVENSON, Corinth, Miss.: General W. S. Smith telegraphs that a part of his cavalry are crossing at Savannah. Send the following order by mounted force to Savannah : OFFICER COMMANDING CAVALRY, Savannah, Tenn.: West Tennessee is clear. Move your force down to Corinth, and report from there. S. A. HURLBUT, Captain SMITH, SAVANNAH, TENN., Aide-de-Camp, Nashville: Telegraph General Grant in my name as follows: I am crossing the Tennessee with six regiments. The last will be over to-day. We will reach Corinth to-morrow. I will communicate further movements from that point. WM. SOOY SMITH, Brigadier-General, Chief of Cavalry. SAVANNAH, TENN., January 8, 1864. (Received 10th.) Brig. Gen. GEORGE CROOK, Commanding Second Cavalry Division: SIR: The information contained in a communication just received from General Hurlbut renders it necessary for me to take as large a 4 R R-VOL XXXII, PT II force with me as possible. Instead of sending the Fourth Regulars back as I intended yesterday, I will take them with me and send your ammunition to Clifton, to be guarded by Major Murphy's command until you can send for it. The Fourth Regulars will draw such ammunition as they require from your supply that is here. I have recommended to General Thomas that you go into winter quarters in the neighborhood of Columbia to prepare for the spring campaign. There is an abundance of forage in that region, and in the possession of those who were the most prominent leaders among the rebels of this State. You would also be so near Nashville that you can readily procure horses, equipments, and ordnance stores of every kind. You can also collect a great deal of the finest kind of stock, which will cost the Government nothing. I will return in two or three weeks and aid all I can in procuring supplies of every kind for you and in getting your division together once more. I will make an arrangement with the gun-boats here before leaving to ferry your two regiments back across the Tennessee as soon as they can be spared from the other side. It will take about fifteen wagons to haul your ammunition to Clifton. Labor omnia vincit. Yours truly, WM. SOOY SMITH, Brigadier-General, Chief of Cavalry. HDQRS. SIXTH DIVISION, SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS, (Received 10th.) I arrived last night with a portion of my cavalry force at U[nion] City. The infantry will arrive to-day. I reached Jackson with the cavalry, and remained there three days, leaving the infantry and artillery at Huntingdon, to find that Forrest had left; crossed the Hatchie and the railroad by the 28th. The country in the vicinity of Jackson was thoroughly searched, and I returned to Huntingdon on the 3d. On the 4th I received your telegram of the 26th [ultimo], but as the object of my search was then in Mississippi I did not return, as I had had no previous intimation from you other than to rid, if possible, West Tennessee of Forrest, Faulkner, Bell, and others. I left one regiment of cavalry and one of infantry at Paris, with Hawkins at Huntingdon. The remainder of the troops are at Union City. I go immediately to work preparing all for the field, and request further instructions. I will send my report on the first steamer. My horses are in a very bad condition; quite all barefooted. Found the road in a very bad condition. Please pardon this hasty note. Very respectfully, A. J. SMITH, CORINTH, [January 8,] 1864-1.15 p. m. Major-General HURLBUT: My scout, just from Loring's headquarters, returned this morning. Loring's headquarters are at Canton. He has his division of infan try, 9,000 strong, and Jackson's cavalry, about 4,000 strong. All of his division, with the exception of one brigade, is at Canton; the other brigade is distributed on railroad north of Canton, at Way's Bluff and stations above Jackson. Cavalry is operating between Bolton and Canton. Forrest's command is at Oxford and Holly Springs; about 2,500 at Oxford, remainder between there and at Holly Springs. Loring has with him four batteries; Forrest several batteries, could not ascertain number. They are operating railroad as far up as Abbeville, from Abbeville to Oxford with horses, from Grenada to Oxford with engines. It requires nearly all day to make trips, 40 miles. The bridge at Grenada is down and have to change cars below. Road is operating without difficulty; the road above is in bad condition, and operated with great difficulty on account of scarcity of water and wood. Great abundance of corn. Troops are in winter quarters and generally well clad. Cavalry and artillery in fine condition. He says there is a general despondence prevailing, both officers and men, they considering that the rebellion is bound to be a failure. Had great difficulty in securing a late paper; represent that they are not to be had. I will send you latest he could secure by morning train-Mobile News, December 24. Loring came up with him on train on last Monday as far as Oxford. He was making preparations for distribution of his force to prevent raids on road. Rebels are repairing Mobile and Ohio Railroad above Okolona; pushing work with all speed. This embraces all news. JOHN D. STEVENSON, Brigadier-General. HEADQUARTERS SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS, Major-General STONEMAN, Commanding Cavalry Bureau, Washington, D. C.: GENERAL: I address you direct in relation to the cavalry of this corps. They have been constantly engaged in active service and hard service, covering the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, repeatedly penetrating far into Mississippi and Alabama, and frequently short of forage. Estimates of a remount, calling for 2,000 horses by January 1, were regularly forwarded in October. Nothing has been heard from them. I now have 1,800 trained cavalrymen dismounted, and the number is increasing with the severity of the weather. Below me there are about 8,000 Confederate cavalry, under Forrest and Lee. In this state of affairs I earnestly request that the quota of horses called for heretofore may be furnished at as early a date as practicable. Your obedient servant, S. A. HURLBUT, LA GRANGE, TENN., Brigadier-General GRIERSON: Intelligent citizen from Montgomery, Ala., via Brandon and Canton, arrived this evening; came by railroad to Oxford; no troops at Oxford, but cavalry passing from Okolona to Panola, where Forrest appears to be collecting all the cavalry. Citizens from Columbus, Miss., via Aberdeen, Pontotoc, and Hudsonville, report cavalry moving west from Okolona, and heard that Ferguson was at New Albany. Neither party encountered pickets at the Tallahatchie or saw any soldiers north of there, except 15 or 20 at Holly Springs. The party from Montgomery left Oxford Tuesday morning. J. K. MIZNER, Colonel, Commanding Brigade. The Quartermaster-General will give orders to send on the men to work on the railroads as you desire. I deem the opening of the road from Chattanooga to Knoxville of vital importance. H. W. HALLECK, HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Major-General FOSTER, Knoxville: Your telegram regarding small rations received. Will do all I can to help you out, but you must remember that I have but five small steam-boats to bring supplies for my troops from Bridgeport to this place. We have to stint ourselves to send you what we do. When the railroad is completed I will have more boats for the upper part of the river. GEO. H. THOMAS, Major-General, U. S. Volunteers. HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS, ARMY OF THE OHIO, New Market, January 9, 1864. Maj. Gen. JOHN G. PARKE, Commanding Troops in Field, Strawberry Plains: GENERAL: From information received to-day, Martin's division is encamped 4 miles above Dandridge on north side the river. Dibrell's brigade at mouth of Nola Chucky, and I believe Armstrong's division, or part of it, near Panther Springs. The rebels have accumulated supplies of various kinds along the south side the French Broad, and are only waiting an opportunity of getting it away. The river is fordable at various points, and Colonel Palmer is on the south side. The question of forage is becoming a very serious one with us. We now send 10 and 12 miles for it and have difficulty in obtaining sufficient even then. Besides, it is ruining our horses, for when they return to camp they have traveled some 20 or more miles over bad roads and their backs and the saddles are ruined by the packing of the load. To improve our condition and deprive the enemy of his accumulated supply, I am anxious to drive him away from the vicinity of the French Broad. The only question with me is as to the importance of holding Mossy Creek. If I leave it with all the cavalry, the infantry now there will not be strong enough and will have to be sent to this place. If I leave sufficient cavalry to aid in holding it, I will not have force enough to drive the enemy from the French Broad. I know of no special reason for holding Mossy Creek, beyond the fact that I have two saw-mills running getting out lumber for the bridge at Strawberry Plains. The infantry force can, of course, occupy it when it arrives, but in the mean time the lumber might be lost. I write this for the purpose of advising with you as to what is our best course in the premises. If you can inform me as to when we may expect a division to reach this vicinity I will be greatly obliged to you. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Brig. Gen. A. C. GILLEM, Nashville, Tenn. : Chattanooga, January 9, 1864. Your report on the Northwestern Railroad received. Colonel McCallum will have 700 of his construction corps in Nashville in a week ready to go to work on the Northwestern Road. I wish you to see that Innes uses them to the best advantage. That road should be in running order in one month. We have an abundance of work to do out here, and to enable us to accomplish it we must have every railroad convenience that it is possible to get. GEO. H. THOMAS, Major-General, U. S. Volunteers, Commanding. HEADQUARTERS ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CORPS, Lieutenant-Colonel WATTS, Commanding Second Kentucky Cavalry: I am directed by the major-general commanding to request that you will dispatch about 40 men up the valley for purposes of reconnaissance. He directs that the officer in charge be instructed, on reaching Trenton, to detach a portion of his command to cross the mountain in the direction of La Fayette, and another to go down it toward Valley Head, and for each to make inquiries of the Union residents concerning the movements of any portion of the rebel forces. It is reported that a force left its camp at Dirt Town to make a descent |