By permission of the colonel commanding Company A was left behind at the mills on the morning of the 15th, with Captain Bucke, to complete negotiations for the exchange of D. W. Kimbrough for the men his son had captured. The exchange was completed, and Company A joined the regiment this side of McDaniel's Gap.

We have had no men killed or wounded, but have lost, since November 24, 4; were last seen near Charleston, 1 at Gouldy's Mills, 1 at McDaniel's Gap, 1 near Cleveland.

No words of mine could fully express the merits of the officers and men of this command since the 20th of November. If there were an adjective in the language grander in its force of qualification that "heroic," then that adjective ought to qualify the word "endurance as applied to these officers and soldiers. As great a trial as the campaign has been to the bodies and souls of these men, each one esteems his experience in it as invaluable.

Respectfully submitted.

J. T. HOLMES,

Major, Commanding Regiment.

Captain E. L. ANDERSON,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

Numbers 156.

Report of Brigadier General Absalom Baird, U. S. Army, commanding Third Division.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, 14TH ARMY CORPS,
Chattanooga, Tennessee, December 9, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by this division in the recent operations of our forces in this vicinity:

On the 23rd of November, I received orders to move with my division from its camps within the line of works surrounding this place, and to display my force in a position near the Rossville road, immediately in front of the rebel intrenchments, strongly threatening attack, but to avoid becoming seriously engaged. During the afternoon of that day, Monday, this order was carried into execution, and, after driving back the pickets of the enemy, my lines were formed between the Rossville and Moore's roads, under the guns of our own works. My position was quite nearly in front of the enemy's center, and on the right of the troops composing our own center. The object of the demonstration I understood to be to aid in the execution of other movements on the extreme flanks. We bivouacked in our position on Monday night, and continued to maintain it during Tuesday and Tuesday night. On that day, while General Hooker on our right assaulted Lookout Mountain, gaining such a foot-hold upon it as to lead to its evacuation during the night, and while General Sherman on our left established himself upon the north end of Mission Ridge, we remained comparatively inactive, only skirmishing slightly with the rebel pickets, and using our artillery upon such points as seemed to promise the most for the object in view.

On the morning of Wednesday, the 25th, it was found that the enemy was no longer in heavy force upon our right, about Chatta-