hundred men--the two additional
companies A and I, did not swell the total effective to six hundred men.
All of those were large ones, but many men (from four or five of them)
were on furlough. When the flag of truce returned, Captain Morgan gave
me such an account of the enemy that a desire, previously conceived, to
visit him was greatly increased. Morgan could, of course, see but
little; he was, however, vigilant and shrewd, and drew accurate
inferences from what he saw. He was satisfied that, while careful and
systematic guard was kept, the troops were all green and could be easily
surprised. He said that so far as he could learn, there was no attempt
made at scouting, and that a total ignorance prevailed among them of
what was going on, a few hundred yards even, beyond the outposts. This
latter information was confirmed by the reports of all my scouts, and
was in accordance with the habits of raw men and officers. He thought,
moreover, from something he had heard, that cavalry were encamped a mile
or two from the infantry, and the country people, some of whom from that
neighborhood visited us, stated that the cavalry were encamped a mile
and a half from the main body, and nearer Walton. We had tried in vain
to get hold of the cavalry on the day we were driven away from Walton;
it kept carefully behind the infantry.

Moving from Falmouth late in the afternoon, with nearly the entire
command, I marched until about twelve o'clock at night, and halted at a
point on the Independence road, about ten miles from the enemy's
encampment. Scouts were immediately sent out to ascertain as nearly as
possible the exact location of the pickets, and the condition of every
thing about the encampments. They were instructed not to fire upon, or
in anywise alarm the pickets, or do anything which might make them
suspect our vicinity.

The scouts observed their instructions closely, and did not see the
pickets at all, but inquired of the people who lived near the
encampment, and were told that no change had occurred in the last day or
two, in any respect, in the posts on the different roads. After this
information I was satisfied that I would be able to get upon the
Georgetown and Covington pike, upon which the enemy was encamped, by a
country road which runs into it from the Independence pike, without
alarming the main body. I could then move rapidly to the point where
the cavalry was encamped, and defeat it before the infantry came to