arrison held out until
I arrived. I accordingly marched with three hundred men, arriving at
Seven-mile Ford at nightfall on the 19th. I halted until one o'clock at
night, and then pressed on, over terrible roads, and reached the
vicinity of Saltville at daylight. The night was bitterly cold, and the
men were so chilled that they were scarcely able to sit on their horses.

Passing through Lyon's gap we discovered indication, scarcely to be
mistaken, that Saltville had indeed fallen. Still it was necessary to
make sure, and I moved in the direction of the southern defenses.
Shortly afterward, the sight of the enemy and a skirmish which showed a
strong force in line, convinced me that I could not enter the place.
Scouts, sent to reconnoiter, returned declaring that the enemy held all
the entrances. I lost one man killed. Falling back three miles I went
into camp to await the time when the enemy should commence his retreat.
This he did on the 22nd, and marched toward Kentucky. We immediately
followed. At Hyter's Gap the forces of the enemy divided. Those under
Gillem moving in the direction of Tennessee, those under Burbridge going
straight toward Kentucky. We followed the latter. There is no word in
the English language which adequately expresses how cold it was. Our
horses, already tired down and half starved, could scarcely hobble.
Those of the enemy were in worse condition, and it is scarcely an
exaggeration to say that for ten miles a man could have walked on dead
ones. They lay dead and stark frozen in every conceivable and revolting
attitude, as death had overtaken them in their agony. Saddles, guns,
accouterments of all kinds strewed the road like the debris of a rout.
We picked up many stragglers. Some pieces of artillery were abandoned
but burned.

When we reached Wheeler's ford, fifty-two miles from Saltville, I had
left, of my three hundred, only fifty men. Here we had our last skirmish
with the enemy, and gave up the pursuit. More than one hundred prisoners
were taken, many of them unable to walk. The Federals lost hundreds of
men, whose limbs, rotted by the cold, had to be amputated. Such
suffering, to be conceived, must be witnessed. The raid had accomplished
great things, but at terrible cost. Soon after this, my brigade went
into winter quarters. Forage was scarcely to be had at all in the
department, and I sent my horses, with a strong detail to guard and
attend to them, to North Carolina. The men could s