Question. Do you know whether their parole was properly taken or not?

I do not. I talked with the major on the subject and told him what I thought about the parole, and he said he understood it in the same way, and paroled them.

Question. Do you know whether Colonel Forsyth and the officers considered themselves under parole or whether they resumed their duties subsequently?

I have no information on that subject, except that Forsyth resumed his duties on Bragg's staff on the ground that he was a citizen and not a soldier, which fact he did not intimate to me when I had him in custody. He said he was a colonel and on Bragg's staff, and I treated him, of course, as an officer of the army, and never had a suspicion that he was anything else. Major Flynt, on General Thomas' staff, told me that Forsyth had resumed his duties on Bragg's staff on the ground stated. I only heard that down in the neighborhood of Nashville lately.

Question. Do you recollect the officer's name who paroled them?

I do not, but I am sure I could learn who he was.

Question. Do you not consider the paroling of these officers at that time and under the circumstances very imprudent?

It did not occur to me that it was so. I almost thought it was a very good thing they came into our lines. I was not of opinion that we could attack and drive Bragg from his position at Munfordville without the loss perhaps of half our army; and I did not agree with the implied censure of Colonel Fry for sending them into camp. Our troops were all along the road and had fires, and exhibited evidences of a very large force-very large; and I am of opinion to-day that it was the information gotten by Bragg from these men that started him from Munfordville, though that is a mere guess of mine. If Forsyth was really a citizen, which fact he concealed from us, and broke his parole, I suppose he have whatever information he had. I do not think we had anything to lose one way or another by it. They seemed, however, to be very honorable gentlemen all of them, and I did not doubt they would keep the parole given. When speaking of "our troops." I mean the two divisions under my command. I do not know how the others were encamped, but believe the larger portion of them were not, perhaps, seen by these officers, as they were beyond General Buell's headquarters and up toward Cave City. My own campfires made a great show, and I allude to them in what I have said.

Question. Did not your advance, general, at Chaplin Hills, from the position assigned you by General Buell, really bring upon you that attack?

I cannot say that it did. We were not much in advance of where we first halted and where I supposed General McCook believed he was directed to go. We were attacked while on the march, before the column had barely been put in motion. It had not gone 200 yards, and in fact had not passed the position occupied by Hotchkiss' guns, under the command of Gay. My impression was then that the enemy had planned that attack. I thought so from the fact that the rebel scouts before referred to carried the information and soon after the attack was begun, though of course I cannot tell what induced the attack. It was not announced by General McCook that we would halt permanently there, and at the time I felt that the march was merely interrupted by the appearance of the enemy. I did not know and was not informed how much farther we could have to go to get to the point or position designed by General Buell; hence I thought it was right to advance and get water, though before the advance had progressed more than 200 or 300 yards, as before stated, the shelling by the enemy began and the attack by the infantry followed.

Question. Your men were suffering for want of water at that time were they not?

A good deal.

Question. When this movement was made in the direction of the water was there not some confusion naturally arising from the anxiety of the men to get there?

Not in the least. I should have left that they had very little discipline if it had been so. The men stood up and fought all day afterward in the heat without water and without grumbling.