enemy in that direction, while the low bushes to his front concealed from him every obstacle, till developed by a close discharge of the enemy's musketry from his well-concealed rifle-pits.

General Hovey was wounded in his arm by a shell, but continued and still continues to command his brigade; and the loss in his brigade was the heaviest in my corps, as will be seen by his list of killed and wounded herewith.

I most cordially indorse his favorable mention of the Seventy-sixth Ohio, Colonel Woods; the Third Missouri, Colonel Shepard; the Seventeenth Missouri, Colonel Hassendeubel, and Colonel Stone of the Twenty-fifth Iowa. I myself witnessed, and on the spot bore willing and open testimony to, the compact ranks and handsome soldierly bearing of the two first-named regiments, of Colonels Woods and Shepard, and have no hesitation in saying that officers who thus, by their personal labor and close attention, have made good regiments should be advanced to higher command.

At the same time I must call attention to General Hovey's report as to the behavior of the major of the Twenty-fifth Iowa, whose name is not given. I trust he will forthwith be ordered to quit this army, and not be allowed another hour to taint it with his presence. Our young and inexperienced soldiers have a right and must have brave and confident leaders.

I now subjoin a statement of the killed and wounded in my corps:

Killed Wounded

Divisions and Offi Men Offi Men Aggre

brigades cers cers gate

First Division - - - 9 9

[Steele's]: First

Brigade [Blair's]

Second Brigade 2 36 19 160 217

[Hovey's]

Third Brigade 2 16 1 98 117

[Thayer's]

Second Division 2 15 10 73 100

[Stuart's]: First

Brigade [G. A. Smith]

Second Brigade - 6 4 66 76

[T. Kilby Smith]

Aggregate loss* 6 73 34 406 519

This is not absolutely correct, as reports have not been made full and explicit, but is substantially so. It will be observed our loss is small compared with the great results of the victory. Indeed, I must attribute our success to the display of an adequate force on the true lines of attack, rather than to the actual fighting. When we entered the lines of the enemy, although all their artillery horses lay dead in their traces by the side of their shattered carriages, I saw but few of the enemy's dead, not over 40; but subsequently burial parties detailed to inter the dead reported as many as 100. Their wounded, however, were more numerous, and still remain in their hospitals. Still, their aggregate loss in killed and wounded cannot exceed ours.

I also append to this a well-prepared sketch of Arkansas Post, made by Captain Jenney, of my staff; the memoranda of the effects of the bombardment are very interesting. Also a topographical sketch of the country over which we passed from the Notrib farm to and embracing the nameless bayou west of the Post. This sketch, made by Captain

---------------

*But see revised statement, p.717.

---------------