the road extending from Cherokee Hill through Silk Hope to Litchfield as our first position. Your corps should be at or near Cherokee Hill. The Twentieth, and Fifteenth near Litchfield. The Twentieth Corps will be at Monteith to-night.

Yours, very respectfully,

H. W. SLOCUM,

Major-General.

This dispatch was directed on the envelope to General Jeff. C. Davis.

Numbers 158. Report of Major General Gustavus W. Smith, C. S. Army, commanding First Division, Georgia Militia, of operations October 12-November 30, including engagement at Honey Hill, S. C.

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, Georgia MILITIA,
Savannah, December 6, 1864.

GENERAL: On the 12th of October last I received at Macon a telegram from General Hood directing me to assemble as rapidly as possible all our available forces in that vicinity and make a demonstration on Atlanta so soon as the necessary transportation could be procured. Under this order, I in a short time had at Lovejoy's Station a force numbering about 2,800 effective muskets, three batteries of Confederate artillery, and between 200 and 300 local reserve cavalry. The whole force was under my command, much the larger portion of infantry belonging to the First Division of Georgia Militia. Finding this force inadequate to make a direct assault upon Atlanta, garrisoned as it then was, General Hood suggested that I should, if practicable, cross the Chattahoochee and destroy the line of railroad between that river and the Etowah. For various reasons, which were submitted to Generals Beauregard and Hood (and by them approved), it was deemed neither practicable nor expedient to make a direct attack upon Atlanta, or upon the railroad line, as suggested; so my command continued in observation near Atlanta, preventing the enemy from foraging and keeping them in their line of works, supporting Brigadier-General Iverson, who had just in advance of us two brigades of cavalry.

On the night of the 12th of November Major-General Wheeler, of the cavalry, reached my headquarters, and soon after the advance of his forces from Alabama began to arrive. On the 15th of November the enemy moved out from Atlanta and advanced upon as with his whole force, viz, the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Twentieth Corps, with artillery and cavalry, which was soon after joined by the Fourteenth. Our cavalry were driven that afternoon from Jonesborough to Lovejoy's and at dark I moved my force back to Griffin, at which place we had fortifications, and I felt we could there check the enemy should be advance directly upon us.

On the afternoon of the 16th it was ascertained the great mass of the enemy's forces had moved through McDonough, on the direct road from Atlanta to Macon, at which latter place there was at that time no garrison. At dark on the same day I left Griffin and marched my command to Forsyth, a distance of thirty-five miles in twenty-four hours. Learning that the enemy were crossing to the east bank of the