having been relieved. As soon as I ascertained the fact of the picket having left their post I ordered out new pickets, but before they had gone out to their posts the rebels made their appearance in force on the north side of the town. I got my men in line as soon as possible and sent Captain Beaty out to ascertain who they were. He came back with the information that they were Confederates and that they demanded an unconditional surrender of the town, with but fifteen minutes' time to consider. I then rode out and met one of their officers. He made the same demand of me, telling me that they were regular Confederates, of Shelby's brigade, and that they had the artillery planted to shell the place in case of refusal. I then rode back to my men and ordered them to remain in line and be ready for battle. About this time my pickets came in from the south side of town and reported 200 at the Wakenda bridge, south of town. I then rode back and met the Confederate officer, and the demand for surrender was renewed. He told me that they had 600 men north of town. I refused to make an unconditional surrender, telling him that I would fight them as long as I had a man left rather than surrender under such terms. The rebel officer then went back to their command and held a consultation with the officers and came back to me, and I agreed to make the surrender under the following conditions: First, my entire command, officers and men, were to be paroled in Carrollton, Mo., and allowed to go to their homes and receive protection against bushwhackers so long as the Confederates should remain in the country, and the officers to retain their horses and side-arms. Second, all private property was to remain unmolested and no private citizen was to be arrested or maltreated in any way whatever. These were the terms of surrender. I though I was greatly outnumbered and was short of ammunition, and seeing no prospect of re-enforcements I thought I was doing the best for my men that could be done under the circumstances.

After agreeing upon the terms, my men grounded their arms, and the rebels took possession of the town. The men were marched into the court-house and placed under guard and the officers were taken to headquarters and paroled, each signing a written obligation not to bear arms against the Confederate States until legally exchanged. Each officer then received a written parole signed by J. C. Cravens. signing himself major and paroling officer C. S. Army. I then insisted on the commanding officer to have my men paroled immediately as agreed upon. He replied that since taking a second thought it had occurred to his recollection that owing to a late agreement between the two Governments the men could not be legally paroled except at the brigade headquarters, and that he should have to take them as prisoners of war to Waverly, Mo. At that place he said that General Shelby had his headquarters and as soon as they reached that place the men should be paroled without fail. They violated their agreement in many instances. In the first by not paroling these men as agreed upon. Nearly all the officers lost their horses and side-arms. The town was plundered of everything they could carry off. Captain Beaty was arrested (after having been paroled) on the charge of having killed a Colonel Peery of the Confederate army, and two other commissioned officers, one of whom was said to have been a brother of Captain Williams the man that had Captain Beaty arrested. They took Captain Beaty to their camp that night. and kept him under guard until next morning, when they relieved him. They them marched the prisoners in the direction of Brunswick. I went with them to try to have the prisoners paroled as early as possible. They crossed the Mis-