"HEAD-QUARTERS, CAMP AT PRESTONBURG, "Having this day occupied the town of Prestonburg with the forces under my command, I declare to all whom it may concern: That the jurisdietion of the State of Kentucky is restored in this section of the State, and that the regular fall terms of the courts will be held in those counties in which the time for holding the same has not passed. All the civil officers are ordered to attend at the times and places of holding said courts, and attend to the duties of their respective offices. "Given under my hand, this 5th day of November, 1861. "By command of Brigadier-General NELSON, “Jno. M. Duke, Aide-de-Camp." "W. NELSON. A Confederate force at this time occupied Piketon, the capital of Pike County, on the west fork of the Big Sandy River, under Colonel John S. Williams. It numbered about one thousand men, but was expecting to be re-enforced by artillery, and had in charge a large amount of public property. On the 8th of November, General Nelson sent a considerable force, by way of John's Creek, to turn the left of the Confederate position, while with three Ohio regiments, a battalion of Kentucky volunteers, and two sections of artillery, he himself proceeded on the direct road to Piketon. But Colonel Williams, by skilful manoeuvring, delayed the Federal advance until the property in his charge could be hurried off, when he retreated rapidly with slight loss. On the 17th of December, four companies of the Thirty-second Indiana, thrown cut in advance of Mumfordsville, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, forty-two miles north of Bowling Green, encountered a party of Texan Rangers, who charged them, and were received with a sharp fire. The infantry were then ordered to rally upon an adjoining wood. In the act they were charged by the Texan horsemen, and a desperate hand-to-hand encounter ensued, the Indianians making use of their sword-bayonets. They soon gained the woods, and were re-enforced by two other regiments, when the Texans fled, leaving many dead, including their colonel, upon the field. The Federal loss was thirteen killed and as many wounded. The main operations of this season were in Western Kentucky, where the Northern troops were being organized with the view of opening and defending the navigation of the Mississippi. The State of Illinois furnished a large portion of the men who fought in Missouri and Kentucky, and in September had already sent into the field over fifty thousand infantry, four thousand cavalry, and ten batteries of artillery, besides over ten thousand men in squads and companies, who had enlisted in other States. It had also furnished the following general officers to the army: Major-General David Hunter. Brigadier-General John A. McClernand. Brigadier-General S. A. Hurlbut. Two of these generals, Pope and Hunter, were in command in Missouri, and General Grant at Čairo, where Illinois troops had assembled in April. This city, situated in Southern Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, is surrounded with levées forty-two feet above low water, to protect it from the overflow of the rivers, which rise, at ordinary floods, thirty-five feet, and is entirely commanded by Bird's Point, Missouri. Troops can cross from Kentucky to Missouri from old Fort Jefferson, four miles below Cairo, and have easy access to Bird's Point without being seen from Cairo. On the Kentucky shore there is a ridge which also commands Cairo. The width of the Mississippi and the Ohio at this point is about threequarters of a mile each. Cairo, on its occupation, became an important point of concentration for men and gunboats in the expedition against the Confederates in Kentucky and Tennessee. In August the railroads in Western Tennessee were taken possession of by the State authorities, as was alleged, for the purpose of conveying troops towards Cairo. This movement had caused the difficulty between Tennessee and Kentucky. About eight thousand troops, however, crossed the river to New Madrid, in Southeastern Missouri, where they were joined by others from Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, the whole of whom, it was asserted, were about to attack Cairo. It was this intended expedition which engaged General Fremont's attention soon after his arrival at St. Louis, in July, 1861. The troops sent by Fremont raised the Union force at Cairo to eight thousand men, and Illinois troops were subsequently added, under the command of General Grant. The Confederates, upon taking possession of Columbus, September 4th, immediately commenced to fortify it with all the means at their disposal, the position being regarded in the Confederacy as the northern key to the mouth of the Mississippi. It is situated in Kentucky, on the Mississippi River, eighteen miles below Cairo by water, fortyseven miles from Paducah, and forty-five miles above Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, and is the terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Nine miles below, at Hickman, the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad terminates. The town lies on the slope of a high bluff on the Mississippi bank, and commands the stream for five miles. Here were placed in battery three one hundred and twenty-eight pound guns, seventy-five feet above the water. Farther up were fourteen rifled guns; on the northern slope of the bluff were two light batteries, and a rifle-pit one mile in length. These were designed to protect the place against a land attack from the north. On the summit of the hill was a strongly intrenched work commanding the position in all directions, and armed with eight guns on the south side; and to protect the town from a rear attack, was a small battery of eight guns. The guns in position were estimated at over one hundred. On the river was a floating battery of twenty guns, capable of being moved to the most exposed points. The number of troops occupying and manning these batteries was probably not far from thirty thousand, under General Leonidas Polk. While these movements were in progress, Paducah was seized by the Union troops under General Grant, barely in time to anticipate General Polk, who had already moved with the same intention. It is a place of considerable military importance, and its position near the mouth of the Tennessee River, fifty miles from Cairo, made it a desirable rendezvous to the Unionists for expeditions down the Mississippi; while by the Confederate general it was considered necessary to the defence of his rear on the Mississippi. By the 6th of September about five thousand Federal troops were concentrated at Paducah, who could thus assail the Confederate position in the southwest, by a line shorter and less exposed than from Missouri. The closing of the railroad also stopped the departure of large supplies of provisions and military stores, which for months previous had been going to the South. As the place commands the Tennessee River, the commerce of that stream was also stopped. The surface of the country presented no means of defence against expeditions either on the line of the railroad or up the river. On both sides great accumulations of troops continued to be made through the month of November. On the 1st of December, the Federal troops in Kentucky were estimated at over fifty thousand, consisting chiefly of Western regiments. At the same time, according to the official returns of the State military board at Frankfort, Kentucky, the number of recruits from that State in the United States army was upward of twenty-five thousand. These large preparations were crowned with such success, that by March 1st, 1862, every Confederate soldier had left the State. When, about the middle of November, General Zollicoffer made his camp at Mill Spring, on the southern bank of the Cumberland, he determined also to occupy the opposite, or northern bank, at Camp Beach Grove. This he fortified with earthworks, and placed there five regiments of infantry, twelve guns, and several hundred cavalry--keeping at Mill Spring two regiments of infantry, and a few hundred horse. About the first of January General George B. Crittenden arrived and took command, and soon after the brigade of General Carroll came from Knoxville. On the 6th of January General Crittenden issued a proclamation calling upon the people to join the Southern standard and repel the invaders, and denouncing in strong terms what he called the duplicity and falsehood of the Federal Executive. His address does not appear to have been followed by any very important results. He seems to have been, at this very time, far more in want of food than of men. At the same time a Union force was at Columbia, twenty-five miles northwest of Beach Grove Camp, and Schoepf held Somerset, fifteen miles east. Between these two positions runs Fishing Creek, then so much swollen by rain that it could not be crossed. On the 17th of January, pursuant to orders from General Buell, General Thomas advanced and occupied Logan's Cross-Roads, ten miles north of the Beach Grove camp. The enemy were in a position which was untenable, for want of provisions. They were on short a'lowance, and the neighboring country had been exhausted. The Union troops at Columbia commanded the Cumberland River, by which supplies might have been drawn from Nashville. In every direction the roads were so bad that wagons could not be serviceable. In this state of affairs it was determined to attack the Union troops at Cross-Roads before the force at Somerset should be able to join them, and, if possible, before the reserve at Columbia could be brought up. Accordingly, on the 19th the brigade of Zollicoffer moved in advance, followed by that of Carroll and the reserve, and about two miles from their camp encountered and drove in the Federal cavalry. The enemy advanced rapidly up the road, Zollicoffer leading, with two Mississippi companies deployed as skirmishers, one on each side of it, and soon encountered the main body of the Federal troops, with whom was commenced a sharp engagement. The Confederate general, surrounded by his staff, was leading his men, when Colonel Fry, of the Fourth Kentucky, shot him dead with a pistol. This circumstance had a very depressing effect upon the enemy, and a correspondingly favorable one upon the Federals. In the confusion of the moment the Ninth Ohio charged with the bayonet, turning the enemy's flank, and driving him from the field. The enemy then fell back to his intrenchments on the Cumberland, where he was cannonaded until dark. In the evening General Schoepf came up with additional regiments, and on the following morning the cannonading was recommenced, with Parrott guns, which were also directed upon the ferry across Fishing Creek, to prevent the enemy from crossing. Upon approaching the intrenchments, it was found that the enemy had retired during the night, abandoning every thing-twelve guns, with caissons filled, one hundred and fifty wagons, one thousand horses, and many stores. After crossing, they had burned the ferryboats, so that pursuit was impossible. As they could not hold the camp, there was no alternative but to abandon every thing, save the army, and retreat to the most accessible point of supply. The Union loss in the battle was thirty-nine killed, and two hundred and seven wounded. The enemy lost Generals Zollicoffer and Baillie Peyton, and one hundred and ninety killed, sixty-two wounded, and eightynine prisoners, besides a large number drowned in crossing the Cumberland. The enemy at the same time sustained another loss. Early in January, Humphrey Marshall, with four regiments and four guns, held an intrenched position five miles south of Paintsville, in Eastern Kentucky. A movement was made, January 7th, to dislodge him. For this purpose, Colonel Garfield, with two thousand five hundred men, advanced upon him from Muddy Creek, while a smaller force approached by way of Paint Creek. Learning of the approach of these two bodies, Marshall burnt large quantities of grain, broke up his camp, and retired to the heights of Middle Creek, two miles from Prestonburg, leaving some troops at the mouth of Jennis Creek. These being attacked vigorously by Federal cavalry, retired upon the main body. The Union loss was one killed and thirteen wounded; that of the Confederates was stated at twenty-seven killed, sixty wounded, and twenty-five prisoners. Marshall retreated towards Abingdon, Virginia, and Colonel Garfield occupied Prestonburg. Thus two Confederate forces were driven out of Kentucky at nearly the same time. The enemy, however, still held four formidable positions in Kentucky, viz.: Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland, about seventy miles from the mouths of those rivers, and closing the way by water into Tennessee and Alabama; Bowling Green, near the middle of the State; and Columbus, on the Mississippi. The Union forces held Mumfordsville, between Mill Spring and Bowling Green, and various less important points. The two great rivers, the Tennessee and the Cumberland, both fall into the Ohio near the western corner of Kentucky, and, for a distance of seventy miles from their mouths, run nearly parallel, about ten miles apart. Otherwise, however, their courses are different; the Cumberland rising in Kentucky, and flowing through that State and Northern Tennessee, while the Tennessee rises in Eastern Tennessee, and, after passing through Northern Alabama, flows for the last three hundred miles nearly due north. The Cumberland is navigable for steam to Nashville, two hundred miles, and for boats three hundred miles farther. The Tennessee is navigable for steam two hundred and seventy-five miles, to Florence, Alabama, and for boats two hundred and fifty miles farther. These two great arteries afforded the means of not only penetrating into the interior of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, but also of causing the rebels to abandon the defences of the Mississippi, which had been so elaborately prepared by the enemy. Early in the summer the necessity of preparing a fleet of gunboats at Cairo, for the purpose of commanding the navigable waters of the West, became apparent, and before the succeeding spring the Government had in readiness twelve gunboats, to carry, in all, a hundred and twenty-six guns, viz.: the Benton, sixteen guns; Mound City, Cincinnati, Louisville, Carondelet, St. Louis, Cairo, and Pittsburg, each thirteen guns; the Lexington, Essex, Conestoga, and Tyler, each nine guns. They were for the most part river steamboats converted into war vessels, and several were iron-clads. The guns, many of them rifled, were thirty-two-pounders, forty-twopounders, sixty-four-pounders, and the Essex threw a shell of one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. Thirty-eight mortar boats, each sixty feet long and twenty feet wide, surrounded by iron-plate bulwarks, seven feet high, were also ordered, but only a part were built. This fleet was placed under the command of Flag Officer A. H. Foote.* The completion of the fleet and the organization of the land force delayed the expedition until February, 1862. On the 20th of January, the Conestoga, Captain Phelps, felt its way up the Tennessee and shelled a battery just below Fort Henry, but receiving no response, withdrew. This work, situated on the right bank of the river, near the boundary-line between Tennessee and Kentucky, mounted seventeen guns and a number of mortars, and was specially intended by the rebels to defend the railroad communications between Memphis and Bowling Green. On the 6th of February the fleet, under Flag-Officer Foote, proceeded up the river, to the fort, which |