as soon as possible. The news from
there indicated that a big battle was imminent. It also indicated that
the Eleventh ran some risk of capture if it went through alone. But
there was no way to avoid that risk. I therefore drew some extra horses,
sent mounted cannoneers forward as an advance guard, and started for
Corinth on the morning of October second. I felt very uneasy at starting
on that march for I knew that, if I met one of the numerous strong bands
of guerrillas or a Confederate force, I might be shot up first and
court-martialed afterward.

Nothing unusual happened during the day's march. By four P. M. we were
inside our own lines and a little later the battery was assigned to a
strange brigade. By the morning of October third I managed to secure an
order sending us to our old brigade. It looked much smaller than before
Iuka but that made us think all the more of it.

After the failure of his Napoleonic tactics at Iuka, General Price
retreated to Ripley, Mississippi, where he united with a still stronger
rebel force, under General Van Dorn. Van Dorn assumed command of the
united forces and pushed forward toward Corinth with intent to overwhelm
Rosecrans.

Corinth was surrounded by extensive works constructed by Beauregard when
he held that position against Halleck's army. Rosecrans had too few
troops to man these works but had taken the precaution to hastily
construct an inner line of fortifications, which was traced about a mile
west from the center of the village.

The cavalry had promptly notified Rosecrans of the formidable rebel
movement northward and he had hurriedly prepared to receive it. About 10
A. M. on October third we moved from our camp east of Corinth, marching
through the town to a designated point at the right of the Federal
lines. These lines occupied the outer line of works built by Beauregard.

At about 2 P. M. we received the order to fall back to the new line,
nearer Corinth. In executing this movement I saw several heavy columns
of rebels approaching, en route with the same objective. It looked for
a time as if we might be surrounded, but nothing resulted except a few
singing bullets which did no harm. It was evident that the rebels felt
that we were in a trap and they were pursuing a prearranged plan in
springing it. As we reached the northwestern suburb of Corinth we swung
to the left and continued until we reached the right wing of the new
line, where we selected a fine position