officers to bear witness that I do not claim credit for intentions that I did not entertain, or for efforts that I did not make vigorously and in good faith, and finally successfully, and that I traced up crime, and made restitution and punished the of fending wherever it was possible. I hesitated not to inflict punishment upon delinquent officers, too, such punishment as was well calculated to strike terror home to evil-doers. Your own paper or the Democrat mentioned the matter at the time, with commendation, and held it up as worthy of imitation.

bridge had been destroyed, and the prisoners captured and paroled, a messenger left the neighborhood and came down to Lebanon Junction, and communicated the fact to me. I never saw an officer or man of the captured after they arrived in Kentucky-the word did not come from them. We had heard no firing, not a single shot-and had not had the slightest intimation that an enemy was about, until the arrival of the messenger, and all the mischief had been done. The doctor was not notified until the patient was dead and cold. Indeed, I am The remaining charge to be noticed is: "That, told that not a shot was fired, or if any, not to when the little band of sixty men at Shepherds- exceed one from a small mountain howitzer, that ville, three months ago, was attacked by three could not be heard at the distance we were offhundred guerrillas, armed with flying artillery ten miles. I do not know, but have been credand small arms, he (Dumont) was at the head of ibly informed, and suppose such to be the truth, ten thousand men, only nine miles off, when he that no one was killed, no one was wounded. I heard the firing, but instead of hastening to the know that was the general understanding at the relief of the beleaguered handful of men, he time. It was published at the time, that, before drew up his whole force in line of battle and the officer commanding the sixty men would sur-gallantly awaited the attack of the three hun-render, he was taken out and shown the enemy's dred!!! artillery, and, seeing that the enemy had three guns and some six hundred mounted troops, and that he could make no resistance against such a force, he surrendered without a fight. If the enemy had opened his artillery, and you say small arms, too, upon him, so that I, at the distance of ten miles, could have heard it, he would have had unmistakable evidence of the presence of artillery, without going out and examining the guns. The enemy, six hundred strong, or even three hundred, as you state it, with small arms and three pieces of artillery, would have been apt to have hurt somebody, if there had been that kind of firing that would have notified a camp ten miles off.

If he was at Hartsville, let the nightcap be to him in place of the laurel

crown.

I object not to your abhorrence of such conduct, if the facts in regard to the matter were as stated by you. It would be abhorrent in the last degree, but you have been misinformed, imposed upon. The whole story is a wicked fabrication, with no particle of truth in it. It is now, I suppose, as you state, three months since the transaction to which you allude, and until now I have never heard that I was blamed for, or that any one supposed that I could have prevented what happened. I have never before heard my name mentioned in connection with the matter in the remotest degree. If as stated in your article, it Lest what I have said may be construed as would be a terrible dereliction, one that would be censuring somebody, I will say that I have never known to the officer under whose command I heard that any body blamed Captain Tinker, who was, one calling for exemplary punishment, and commanded the company, or his men, for the yet the officer then in command at Louisville has surrender. I presume it is true that he could never intimated to me, nor has any one else, that not have fought his assailants without the loss of I was to blame in the matter. I was as much to all his men; but be this as it may, it is immablame as if I had been at the north pole, no more. terial to my purpose. The probability is, that The captured men did not belong to me. You the enemy arrived near the bridge at Shepherdsdo not state they did. You state that I had ten ville as soon as my troops did at Lebanon Junc thousand men. I had but one fourth that num- tion, and only awaited the dawn of day to make ber, but that is immaterial, as the facts stand, the assault or demand a surrender. It was two and I doubt not an unintentional misstatement. hours or more after all the mischief had been What are they? I had been stationed at Lebanon, done before I got the word, and then I had not a fifty miles from Shepherdsville. I had not been mounted man to give pursuit, nor did my cav notified and did not know there were any troops alry arrive until the afternoon. They had travelat the latter place. I was ordered to proceed by led all night and nearly all day without rest, and rail from Lebanon to Lebanon Junction, a dis- were in a bad condition to pursue an enemy with tance of about forty miles, and arrived after mid-eight or ten hours the start. Still I sent out a night with my infantry; my cavalry not coming squadron in pursuit, but the pursuit was unavailby rail, but guarding a train, did not arrive until ing, as the enemy had precipitately fled as soon the afternoon of the next day after leaving Le- as he had accomplished what he came for. The banon. It took my men pretty well toward enemy were all mounted; pursuit with infantry morning to unload the cars, to let them proceed after the deed was done would have been unavailto Louisville. These trains were the last that ing. Infantry could not have reached the place ever crossed that bridge. It was reduced to short of three hours, and the enemy would have ashes early that morning, before the morning then been fifteen miles off.

train from Louisville arrived; indeed, I do not The silly and absurd story that firing was know that that train started out. After the heard at my camp, and that I was thus notified

CHICAGO "TRIBUNE" ACCOUNT. COLUMBUS, OHIO, Dec. 16, 1862. The One Hundred and Fourth regiment Illinois volunteers arrived at Columbus, Ohio, this morning, and are now quartered in Camp Chase. I have heard their account of the Hartsville affair, and am sure many of your readers would like to see a narrative in which they are all agreed, and which I doubt is wholly reliable.

eight remaining pieces were placed over against the One Hundred and Fourth.

At the first fire, the One Hundred and Eighth Ohio broke and fled, leaving our flank exposed. Following up their advantage, the rebels at length found themselves in a position to pour in a crossfire upon the One Hundred and Fourth Illinois and the One Hundred and Sixth Ohio. The fire became so hot, that an order was at length given to fall back. Until then not a man of the One Hundred and Fourth flinched. Every officer and man stood up bravely to the work and fought most effectively. But the order to fall back, which under the circumstances was doubtless a military necessity, threw our men into considerable confusion, from which they never recovered.

At this juncture Col. Moore, perceiving that it was useless to contend longer against a force so greatly superior to his own, raised the white flag The camp at Hartsville was more than a mile and surrendered. Capt. Ludington, with his comfrom the town, and upon the bank of the Cumber-pany, who had held a position on the opposite land, on ground which, according to the statement side of the camp, continued to fight for some conof the Adjutant of the One Hundred and Sixth siderable time after the surrender, doing most adOhio, "though it might be called a strong position mirable execution. Company A, Capt. Leighton, for an adequate force, was a most dangerous one was acting as provost-guard of the town, and was for a small command like ours." The whole Fed-surrounded at the beginning by one thousand eral force at this point did not exceed over one horsemen, and compelled to surrender, though not thousand nine hundred effective men of all arms. before his men had killed five and wounded eight Against this little army, Morgan in person led not of the rebels, with a loss of only one killed and less than four thousand men, of whom, probably, three wounded. Capt. Collins, with a part of his not less than two thousand were veteran troops, own and two other companies, was at Gallatin, said to be the best in the confederate service, con- acting as escort of a wagon-train, and was not in sisting in part of two Kentucky regiments, who the fight at all. The One Hundred and Sixth were engaged in the battle of Donelson, and were Ohio, when the One Hundred and Eighth Ohio there captured. The remaining one thousand fled, was compelled to fall back, but did so fightwere guerrillas and bushwackers, who joined his ing and in good order. The losses of that great command on the way, and who, after the surren- regiment show that they fought gallantly. Cut der, dropped out at every cross-road and at almost off from the One Hundred and Fourth Illinois, every house, and returned to their peaceful occu- they acted independent in the surrender. pations, resolved doubtless to deport themselves as loyal citizens henceforth. In addition to this large force, he brought with him twelve pieces of artillery to overcome the two six-pounders of the Federals. The two forts near Hartsville, one three quarters of a mile and the other three miles from our camp, were guarded by our men. Consequently, Morgan selected a spot about seven miles distant, where no one ever suspected an army could effect a crossing, on account of the steepness of the banks; but by sloping the ground and literally sliding down his horses, which, as they reached the river, were seized and mounted by his men, he accomplished his purpose. Passing up by a by-road, he succeeded in getting inside of our pickets, nearly all of whom he captured. But one discovered the enemy, and emptied a rebel saddle, alarming the camp and bringing our men to their feet instanter.

The line of battle was formed with the Indiana cavalry, One Hundred and Fourth on the left, the One Hundred and Eighth Ohio in centre, and One Hundred and Sixth Ohio on the right, before a single shot was fired. The battle began an hour and a half later than Morgan intended, in broad daylight, by a shot from one of the four rebel reserve guns, on the opposite side of the river. His

Such are the main features of the fight, from which it does not appear that our men were easily surprised, as before a shot was fired they were in line of battle. Perhaps there was not sufficient precaution taken to guard against a surprise, and perhaps there might have been a better disposition of the Federal troops; but there could hardly have been better fighting than was done by the One Hundred and Fourth for more than an hour. They contended with the best troops of the confederate army, and only yielded to overwhelming numbers. The casualties of the regiment, and the heavy losses of the enemy which exceeded our own, being not less than one hundred and twentythree killed, are a sufficient proof that if the One Hundred and Fourth did not fight long, it fought well, and under the circumstances, was not at all disgraced by the surrender.

The fight over and the spoils gathered, the prisoners were mounted on horses, two on each horse, and transported over the Cumberland, and marched thence on foot rapidly toward Murfrees boro. Twenty-five miles were made the first day between one o'clock in the afternoon and nine o'clock in the evening, and our men encamped without having tasted food for twenty-four hours

most of the men stood during the whole night

around the camp-fire in the snow. The next day they marched again, and not until nine o'clock in the evening did they taste any food. Two ounces of flour and four ounces of fresh meat, without salt, were then doled out to each man. The flour was made into dough, wrapped upon a stick and baked, while the meat was roasted.

The day following, at about meridian, they reached Murfreesboro, where they were paroled. On Wednesday morning, they were sent under guard to Nashville. Before their arrival at Murfreesboro, their overcoats were taken from them, and within three miles of our lines on the return their blankets were demanded and given up. The distance of thirty miles to Nashville was made that night.

The men of the One Hundred and Fourth think they have had a pretty hard time of it; but it is harder for them to rest under the suspicion that they have not done their duty, or have done it indifferently well. They point to their decimated ranks and their honorable wounds as proofs of their untarnished honor. They are eager to be exchanged; and when they are, wo unto that rebel regiment that encounters them on the battle-field.

Col. Moore, Lieut.-Col. Hasseman, and Major Wedman, are still prisoners, and are doubtless regarded by the rebels as a rare specimen of what they are pleased to term, "the blue-bellied Yanks." W. C. S.

REBELS REPORTS AND NARRATIVES.

GENERAL BRAGG'S REPORT.

MURFREESBORO, December 8, 1862. An expedition sent under acting BrigadierGeneral John H. Morgan, attacked an outpost of the enemy at Hartsville, on the Cumberland, yesterday morning, killed and wounded two hundred, captured eighteen hundred prisoners, two pieces of artillery, and two thousand small arms, and all other stores at the position. On the previous day a small foraging train was captured by General Wheeler, near Nashville, with fifty prisoners, and on the fifth Colonel Reddy's Alabama cavalry also captured a train near Corinth, with its escorts and a number of negroes. Our loss at Hartsville about one hundred and twentyfive killed and wounded. None at either of the above places. BRAXTON BRAGG, General Commanding.

General S. COOPER, Richmond.

GENERAL BRAGG'S ORDER.

MURFREESBORO, December 12, 1862.

GENERAL ORDER No. 156.

detachments from the Second and Ninth Kentucky regiments of infantry, under Col. Huntthe whole under Brig.-Gen. Morgan. After a remarkable march of more than forty miles through snow and ice, they forded the Cumberland under cover of darkness, and at daylight precipitated themselves upon the enemy. Our success was complete. With a force of not more than one thousand two hundred men in action, we inflicted a loss upon the enemy of five hundred killed and wounded, and captured eighteen hundred prisoners, with all their arms, munitions, and other stores. Our own loss was small, compared with the result-not exceeding one hundred and twen ty-five in killed and wounded. The memory of the gallant men who fell to rise no more, will be revered by their comrades, and forever honored by their country.

To Brigadier-General Morgan and to Colonel Hunt, the General tenders his thanks, and assures them of the admiration of his army. The intelligence, zeal, and gallantry displayed by them, will serve as an example and an incentive to still more honorable deeds. To the other brave officers and men composing the expedition, the General tenders his cordial thanks and congratula tions. He is proud of them, and hails the success achieved by their valor as but the precursor of still greater victories.

Each corps engaged in the action will in future bear upon its colors the name of the memorable field. By command of GGneral BRAGG. GEO. G. GARNER,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

MURFREESBORO "REBEL BANNER" ACCOUNT.

The more that we learn of the battle of Sun day last, the greater is our astonishment at the wonderful success that attended this daring exploit. It is another evidence of the superior sagacity and military skill of General Morgan, who projected the expedition and carried it to a successful issue. His plans were well matured, and though there were delays of an unavoidable character, every detail was promptly and faithfully executed. There has been, we dare say, no feat of arms so brilliant or so completely triumphant in the Western department as this; indeed, we doubt if the annals of the war can present another instance of equal daring.

The forces engaged in the affair on our side were the Ninth and Second Kentucky infantry, commanded by Col. Thomas H. Hunt, numbering six hundred and eighty men, and the cavalry HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT NO2 262 regiments of Chenault, Cluke, Bennett, and Huffman, with Cobb's Kentucky battery. All told, our forces were about one thousand three hundred. The enemy was the Thirty-ninth brigade of Dumont's division, composed of three regi ments, one battalion, a squadron of cavalry, and section of artillery. It was commanded by Col. Abraham B. Moore, of Peru, Lasalle County, Illinois, whose commission, we are authorized to say, is now in possession of Corporal Whelan, company K, Second Kentucky.

With pride and pleasure, mingled with gratitude to the Supreme Source of all our victories, the General Commanding has the satisfaction of announcing to his troops the signal triumph of our arms at Hartsville, Tennessee, on the seventh

instant.

This brilliant exploit was achieved by a portion of Morgan's cavalry brigade, together with

The attack was made just after sunrise, but in- rich bottom in a bend in the river, where an stead of surprising the Yankees, they were found abundance of corn, fodder, and oats was found. strongly posted on the top of a steep hill, and in The wagons were sent to the various cribs, pens, perfect line of battle. Our line was formed under and stacks near by to load, while Col. Mathews the fire of the enemy, but it was done with great led the whole command or escort to Dobbins's precision and perfect accuracy. After our boys Ferry, a mile off, and satisfied himself that there had commenced the forward movement there was would be no attack from the enemy at that point. no delay or hesitancy. The abolitionists were Returning to the wagons, he placed the artillery, driven from their position, then through their Fifty-first Ohio, and Thirty-fifth Indiana in line camps, then their battery of fine Parrott guns of battle, as guards, while the Eighth and Twencaptured, and finally hemmed in on the river-ty-first Kentucky loaded the forage. bank, where they surrendered. The fight lasted for one hour and twenty minutes; but in that brief period the firing was rapid and the contest severe. Many gallant spirits fell on our side, but we heaped the field with thrice the number of Yankee slain.

Cobb's battery sustained an important part in the fight, and lost severely. Lieut. Gracey was, as he is on all similar occasions, conspicuous for his gallantry and good conduct. It was the ninth engagement in which he has participated, and out of all he has escaped unharmed, save at Shiloh. David Watts, a private of this battery, who was killed, was an intelligent and promising young man, the son of the well-known merchant of Paducah.

The town of Hartsville and some four hundred of the enemy were captured by Colonel Bennett's

FIGHT NEAR LA VERGNE, TENN.

IN CAMP NEAR NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,
Saturday, December 13, 1862.

I PROPOSE to give full particulars of the fight at La Vergne, as witnessed by a participant in the exciting scene.

The Thirty-fifth Indiana, Fifty-first Ohio, Eighth and Twenty-first Kentucky infantry, with two guns of Swallow's Seventh Indiana battery, went out beyond our picket-lines to escort fifty wagons on a foraging expedition. They ventured as far as Stone's River, four miles from La Vergne, and in sight of the enemy's videttes. We halted in a

Before our object was half attained, a sharp crack from several rifles arrested our attention, and in a moment the enemy's cavalry was descried in a dense cedar thicket in our rear. About thirty dismounted skirmishers attacked a squad of men (belonging to the Twenty-first Kentucky) who were loading a wagon with fodder. This squad repulsed the skirmishers and checked the entire force until relieved by the Thirty-fifth Indiana and Fifty-first Ohio, who charged on the enemy, making him scamper through the bushes, like a dog with a piece of tin tied to his tail.

By this time the wagons were loaded and started off, with the cannon, Fifty-first Ohio, and Thirty-fifth Indiana in advance the Twenty-first Kentucky placed at intervals along the train, and the Eighth Kentucky in the rear. We had not proceeded far before rapid firing was heard again in the rear. In a short time the Twenty-first Kentucky was formed in line and advanced to the line of skirmishers at a right angle with the wagon-train. Here there was some detention for fear of doing injury to our own side by cross-firing. Standing where they could see the enemy, our boys' attention could hardly be held long enough to change direction, and the word "Forward!" was again given; they dashed ahead, firing a volley and raising a yell that terrified the rebels, and caused them to retreat precipitately into a ravine that hid them entirely from our view.

Then the cannon was brought forward, planted on a site in a corn-field, and directed to shell the woods in front of us. A company of skirmishers were called for to prevent the enemy from turning our right, and company E was thrown forward, and advanced within two hundred yards of the enemy, amidst a rapid shower of grape-shot and shell from two of their guns. This movement, if not disastrous, turned the enemy's left, relieved the Eighth Kentucky, and saved the train from capture. The enemy disappeared, and the brigade returned to camp without the loss of a wagon. All concur in according to Col. Mathews the most gallant conduct throughout the engagement. He received a slight wound in the left cheek, and was considerably bruised by a fall from his horse, which is wild and at times very unruly.

A pestiferous but not dangerous disease affects the noble Colonel of the Eighth (Col. Barnes) in such a way as to render him unfit for duty, and, in his absence, Lieut.-Col. May assumed command of the Eighth Kentucky, which deserves the highest encomiums of praise for resisting the enemy at great odds — maintaining their position under a

-

Thirty-Fifth Indiana - killed —Adjt. Bernard R. Mullen, private Cormick Conohan. Wounded I directed the battery to move up the road be-Lieut.-Col. John E. Bolfe, badly, privates An-hind the infantry. Captain Pease, of Gen. Davis's drew Hays, badly, William O'Donnell, Thomas staff had meantime joined the command with a Burke, slightly, Chas. F. Reese, Mike Harrigan, small force of cavalry, and was doing valuable slightly. service in skirmishing to the right and front.

FREDERICKSBURGH, VA., Thursday Night, Dec. 11 I LOCALIZE this letter Fredericksburgh, but it is FIGHT NEAR BRENTVILLE, TENNESSEE. assuredly "living" Fredericksburgh "no more."