t be
agreed upon. These men in New York were in constant communication with
those in Canada; also, with leading men in Richmond. He managed to
obtain a letter of introduction from McMasters to the leading Knights
of the Golden Circle in Canada; this letter introduced him as William
Jackson, of Memphis, Tenn., and was directed to the Hon. Jacob
Thomlinson. With this letter and the information he had now obtained,
he made his way home, feeling that he could not undertake the further
prosecution of his mission without returning and consoling his mother
and the family as much as he possibly could in their distress. Knowing
his mother's feeble condition he feared the consequences of the heavy
affliction that had fallen upon her during the battle of Pageland--with
one son a prisoner and another killed outright.

"I wrote the President, and promised that later on I would have the
Canada mystery solved. Our people were in desperate straits. Our
army had been outnumbered and forced back to the position in front of
Pageland; defeated there, and forced to shelter itself in the rear of
Cow Creek. It was now broken and shattered, lying in defenses near the
Capital, discouraged and worn down by fatigue, wounds and disease. The
outlook was anything but bright. Commanders had been changed. Some of
our best fighting generals had lost their lives at Pageland. The country
had but little confidence in the staying or fighting qualities of the
commander, Gen. McGregor, as he had made no success heretofore. The
rebel commander, well understanding the situation, was moving rapidly
up and along the south line of the Grand River, evidently intending an
invasion of the loyal States by penetrating our lines and crossing at
or near Brown's Ferry. Our lines were held at this point by Gen. Milo,
having in his command 10,000 men, who were all surrendered at the demand
of Gen. Wall without very much resistance. Wall had slipped through the
mountains like a cat, and was upon Milo before he knew of his approach.
This was very strange though, and hard to understand, and only increased
the fears and suspicions already existing that something was out of
joint, so that the machinery was working badly in that army.

"'The enemy now had no impediment in the way of a rapid movement except
high waters, which seemed to interpose as the only power that could stop
their advance into the interior of our country and to the rear of our
capital, cutting off all commun