At 8 o'clock Captain Campbell, of the THIRD Illinois Cavalry, captured that place, destroying the bridges on the railroad and on the public roads leading to it, and took some prisoners.

All reports and information obtained here confirmed the fact that large bodies of rebel forces were within a few miles of us and prepared to give us battle. They were formed east of Edwards Station, defending all the roads converging at that important railroad station. In order to take up the position assigned to me in the order of battle by the general commanding the army corps, I left Bolton, marching back on the Raymond road about 3 miles, where I took a road branching off there for Edwards Station, and bivouacked on the same ground which the enemy's cavalry had just left. Cavalry vedettes and patrols thrown forward developed the enemy in immediate vicinity. His pockets fell back, but a large body of mounted infantry appeared soon after and pressed into the line of my infantry pickets. The regiment in reserve, forty-SECOND Ohio, advanced at once to support these pockets, and after a lively engagement the enemy's forces retired and left us without further annoyance for that evening.

The plan of attack for the next morning placed me in the center of our line; General Hovey, TWELFTH DIVISION, on my right, on the direct Bolton and Edwards Station road; General SMITH. Tenth DIVISION, on my left, on the Raymond and Edwards Station road; and General Carr, fourteenth DIVISION, following me as reserve on the same road I was marching on.

I left camp on the morning of May 16, o'clock, with all those safeguards in front and flank which the enemy's vicinity rendered indispensable. Captain Campbell, who had the advance, pushed rigorously forward. By 7. 30 o'clock the report of cannon on my left was heard, and cavalry patrols which I had sent out in that direction reported that General SMITH had engaged the enemy on the Raymond road. In order to co-operate with him. I advanced rapidly to a point where the road leaves the open fields and enters a very broken section of timbered land, behind which the enemy was formed, apparently in very strong numbers.

PART II. -The casualties on May 1 and the garrisoning of Raymond reduced my DIVISION as follows:

First Brigade, general T. T. Garrard commanding-The Seventh Kentucky Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel Lucas commanding; Forty-NINTH Indiana Infantry, colonel James Keigwin commanding; Sixty-NINTH Indiana Infantry, Colonel Thomas W. Bennet commanding; One hundred and eighteenth Illinois Infantry, colonel J. G. Fonda commanding.

SECOND Brigade, colonel D. W. Lindsey commanding. -The SIXTEENTH Ohio Infantry. Captain Botsford commanding; Forty-SECOND Ohio Infantry, major Williams commanding; One hundred and fourteenth Ohio Infantry, colonel Cradlebaugh commanding; Twenty-SECOND Kentucky Infantry, lieutenant-Colonel Monroe commanding.

Artillery. -The First Wisconsin Battery, six 20-pounder Parrotts; Seventh Michigan Battery, six 10-pounder Rodman.

Calvary. -Companies A, e, and K, THIRD Illinois Volunteers, captain Campbell commanding.

Infantry, 2,386; artillery, 218; cavalry, 100. Total, 2,704.

With this force of 2,704 men, I entered upon one of the most difficult terrains(grounds)for the passage of troops which can be imagined. A chaos of ravines and narrow halls, sloping very abruptly into sinkhole like valleys, diverge in all directions. All is covered densely by