marched, the character of the country, and the condition of the roads are taken into account, this may be considered a most remarkable feat in concentration.

From Montgomery the entire column except one brigade of cavalry, was projected upon Kingston, having Loudon for an objective point. At the Indian tavern, 45 miles from Knoxville and 8 from Montgomery, one brigade of cavalry was detached, and, by a rapid movement, succeeded in occupying Knoxville on September 2.

At the crossing of the Kingston road over the Big Emery the infantry left the route pursued by the cavalry and marched by way of Waller's Ferry, over the Clinch River, to Lackey's whence, after hearing of the destruction of Loudon Bridge by the enemy, they proceeded to Knoxville, reaching that point on the evening of September 4.

From this point portions of the troops, after but slight respite from their arduous march, proceeded to Cumberland Gap, and after the surrender of the forces of the enemy at that point, they returned to Knoxville.

All these operations, brilliant though they were, gave little scope for the display of military engineering. Their success depended more particularly upon the alacrity and endurance of the troops, which qualities were displayed in a most wonderful degree.

Meanwhile, the force at my disposal was engaged upon reconnaissances, surveys, &c., until the 15th of September, when I was directed by the major-general commanding the Army of the Ohio to erect at Knoxville earth-works for a garrison of 600 men. These works were to be of such a character that they could not be carried by a dash of cavalry. Having made examination of the ground in anticipation, I at once submitted the plans for two works, one one College Hill and the other on Temperance Hill, which were approved by the major-general commanding, and the Engineer Battalion, together with a small number of contrabands, immediately commenced work. This was necessarily slow on account of the difficulty in getting suitable material at Knoxville.

On the 27th of September, I was relieved from duty with the Twenty-third Army Corps and assigned as chief engineer Army of the Ohio.

Until the 9th of October, I remained in Knoxville, superintending the work at that point. On the morning of the 9th, the general commanding and staff started for Bull's Gap.

On the morning of the 10th, an advance was made toward Greeneville. The enemy was encountered, posted on the high ground east of Blue Springs, and between the Greeneville road and the railroad, and offered a stubborn resistance to our cavalry, holding them in check for some hours.

By direction of the major-general commanding, I made a reconnaissance to ascertain the position of the enemy's line and to determine upon the proper point and manner of attack. The reconnaissance was made very leisurely as it was my understanding that it was desirable that the enemy should continue to occupy the position he then held until a brigade of cavalry, under command of Colonel Foster, which had been detached to pass the enemy's rear, had reached a certain point.

After having passed over the greater part of the line occupied by our skirmishers, I decided that the best attack could be made directly in front, and that, owing to the broken nature of the ground,