HEADQUARTERS SEVENTEENTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY,
Rolla, Mo., November 17, 1864.

SIR: In pursuance of instructions from district headquarters I have the honor to submit the following report:

The regiment, two battalions, marched from Rolla October 4, 1864, and arrived at Jefferson City, sixty-five miles, on the morning of the 6th. Before daylight on the morning of the 7th the regiment took its position on the right of the line for the defense of the city, and was here joined by Companies C and D, making total strength 22 officers and 623 enlisted men. Companies C and D were thrown to the front in line of skirmishers and remained in that position till late p. m. of the 8th. The other companies, men and officers, dismounted, worked faithfully and cheerfully for thirty-six hours in fortifying the line of defense, and all seemed to regret the enemy did not appear to test the strength of their works and the valor of their arms. Late p. m. of the 8th the regiment marched out of the city with the other forces in pursuit of the enemy. From the 8th to October 19 I was in command of Second Brigade, U. S. Cavalry force, and the regiment was under the immediate command of Major L. C. Matlack. During this time it performed its share of field duty, marching, picketing, and scouting. Major Matlack with the regiment made a reconnaissance from Cook's Store toward Lexington, and Major Fisher with 500 men from Higgins' Store to Marshall. October 19 Brigadier General John McNeil assumed command of the brigade at Kirkpatrick's Mill. The regiment marched with the other forces to Lexington and westward to Independence, and at the engagement near Independence was dismounted and took its position upon the left of the line, on the left of the Thirteenth Missouri Cavalry Regiment, the men falling promptly into line and moving rapidly forward for two miles across fields and through woods. October 23, marched from Independence at midnight on the Little Santa Fe road to the Little Blue, and while the enemy was passing to the southward on the opposite side of the creek, the regiment deflecting to the right, was moved upon the enemy's flank. The route was through thick brush, and the bottom of the Little Blue from 50 to 100 feet below the surface, with banks steep and rocky. Companies L and M, under command of Captain Austin, in line of skirmishers, moved through the brush across the creek, and, undiscovered, up to the very flank of the enemy, awaiting the support of the column before attacking. The head of the column had reached the bottom of the Blue when ordered to retire.

On the 25th, after the battle of Mine Creek, when the brigade was ordered to the front, the regiment occupying the center of the column in the order of march, where the ground would permit by doubling up the column was ever at the front, and made one gallant charge upon the enemy with sabers drawn, in column of squadrons. The enemy did not wait to receive the charge and no damage was done to either party. In the line of battle, upon the large prairie near Fort Scott, the regiment was upon the extreme left, and was moved in advance and to the left of the line in order to strike the advance line of the enemy upon the right flank, and was on the point of charging the enemy when ordered to connect with left of line, and when late in the day the whole line was ordered forward the regiment moved rapidly forward in advance of the entire brigade, occupying the position where the brigade encamped for the night. The regiment followed, with the brigade, in pursuit of the enemy to Newtonia and Cassville, and returned thence