road; thence down it to Womack's place, and from there by dim country roads to the Bayou Bartholomew road. Arriving at Clay's brick-yard, near the edge of the town of Pine Bluff, I dismounted the Texas brigade and Wood's battalion, and all of Bull's brigade except 100 men. My instructions were to place my troops in position and wait until the signal-gun should be fired on the road on which Colonel [Colton] Greene's column was moving, when I should press forward vigorously toward the court house in town. I accordingly sent Captain [W. B.] Anderson with the 100 men whom I had retained mounted, with instructions to attack the 100 men whom I had retained mounted, with instructions to attack the Federal picket at the edge of town on the Bayou Bartholomew road, and after driving it in to push a small party over toward the Arkansas River, to give me early information should the enemy attempt to leave the town. At the same time I ordered Wood to move onto the Bartholomew road and form there, and deploy a line of skirmishers in front of him. While this order was being executed, the signal gun was fired, and I immediately moved Wood on up the Bartholomew road to the southeast corner of town, and advanced Chenoweth's brigade up onto his right, and at the same time advanced [J. H.] Pratt's battery to the front, and opened with it upon the court-house. The enemy's sharpshooters now commenced firing upon me form the different houses along the lower edge of town, and, ordering Pratt to turn his fire upon them, I advanced Wood's and Chenoweth's skirmishers, and soon drove the Federal sharpshooters out of the houses in which they had first concealed themselves. They fell back to the houses on the next street, and, being strengthened from toward the court-house, they kept up a brush fire upon me. Finding that they would have me at disadvantage should I waste time in sharpshooting with them, I pushed forward my skirmishers and charged with Wood's and Chenoweth's commands, driving the enemy through the houses and inclosures in the town, until I reached the block upon which the residence of Anthony Rodgers stands, where I halted to give the men breathing time and to reform my line. I found that the enemy had constructed a cotton breastwork around the court-house square, and my line being within one block of it, I concluded, inasmuch as the firing had ceased in the direction of Greene and [J. C.] Moore, to push my sharpshooters up as close to the enemy as could be done without too much exposure, and not charge, if at all, until I could be done without too much exposure, and not charge, if at all, until I could rely upon being supported by at least Greene's column. Nevertheless, in order to extend my line to the river, I ordered up Bull's brigade (which had been withheld as a reserve up to this time), and directed him to take position on an extension of Chenoweth's line in the block of buildings upon the river street, and to push his skirmishers well up toward the enemy's works. Brisk skirmishing continued all the time between my sharpshooters and those of the enemy. I ordered up Pratt's battery, and put it in position at the southwest corner of Rodgers' inclosure, and opened with it upon the court-house and the adjoining buildings, in which the enemy's sharpshooters were posted. In a short time he had silenced such of them as were firing from the cupola of the court-house and those in Rodgers' store-house, but the shots seemed not to do other very great good. Pratt was, therefore, by General Marmaduke's direction, sent around the lake to where Colonel Greene's artillery was, near the Methodist church, and was not with me any more during the day.

I remained in the position above indicated, considerable skirmishing going on, as stated, almost continuously, until above 2.30 p. m., when, in obedience to General Marmaduke's order, I withdrew my command, bringing away with me a number of horses and mules captured in the