ascertain
what occasioned it, found that Colonel Smith had unexpectedly come upon
a Federal force advancing upon this road. He attacked and dispersed it,
taking forty or fifty prisoners and a piece of artillery, and killing
and wounding several. This force turned out to be General Judah's
advance guard, and his command was reported to be eight or ten thousand
strong, and not far off. Among the wounded was one of his staff, and his
Adjutant-General was captured. I instructed Colonel Smith to bring the
men back to the ground where they had been formed to attack the work,
and rode myself to consult General Morgan and receive his orders. He
instructed me to hold the enemy in check, and call for such troops as I
might need for that purpose. This valley which we had entered the night
before, and had bivouacked in, was about a mile long, and perhaps eight
hundred yards wide at the southern extremity (the river runs here nearly
due north and south), and gradually narrows toward the other end, until
the ridge, which is its western boundary, runs to the water's edge. This
ridge is parallel with the river at the southern end of the valley, but
a few hundred yards further to the northward both river and ridge
incline toward each other. About half way of the valley (equi-distant
from either end) the road, by which we had marched from Chester, comes
in.

Colonel Smith had posted his men, in accordance with directions given
him, at the southern extremity of the valley, with the ridge upon his
right flank. At this point the ridge, I should also state, bends almost
at right angles to the westward. As I returned from consultation with
General Morgan, I found both of the regiments under Colonel Smith in
full retreat. When the main body of the enemy (which was now close upon
us) appeared, an order had been issued by some one to "rally to horses."
While doing this, the line was charged by the enemy's cavalry, of which
they had three regiments, two of them, the Seventh and Eighth Michigan,
were very fine ones. A detachment of the Fifth Indiana (led by a very
gallant officer, Lieutenant O'Neil) headed this charge. The men rallied
and turned, as soon as called on to do so, and had no difficulty in
driving back the cavalry, but a portion of the Fifth Kentucky was cut
off by this charge, and did not take part in the fight which succeeded.
These two regiments were not more than two hundred and fifty strong
each, and they were dismounted again, a