he enemy, ten killed and a number of prisoners.

I joined General Lyon at Boonville on June 26, and began duty as
his adjutant-general. Preparations were now made as rapidly as
possible to push operations into the southwestern part of Missouri.
A force consisting of about 1500 infantry and one battery of four
guns, under Colonel Franz Sigel, was sent from St. Louis, via Rolla,
to Springfield; while a force of regular troops under Major Samuel
D. Sturgis, 1st Cavalry, consisting of one company of the 2d
Dragoons, four companies of the 1st Cavalry, Du Bois's battery of
four guns, three companies of the 1st Infantry, two companies of
the 2d Infantry, some regular recruits, the 1st and 2d Kansas
Infantry, and one company of Kansas Cavalry Volunteers, was ordered
from Fort Leavenworth to join General Lyons's immediate command,
en route to Springfield. General Lyon's march was begun on July
3, and Major Sturgis joined him at Clinton, Mo., on the 4th. The
command reached Springfield on July 13, and there met Colonel
Sigel's brigade, which we learned had pushed as far to the front
as Newtonia, but, meeting a superior force of the enemy at Carthage
on July 5, had fallen back to Springfield. General Lyons's intention
was, upon effecting this junction with Sturgis and Sigel, to push
forward and attack the enemy, if possible, while we were yet superior
to him in strength. He had ordered supplies to be sent from St.
Louis via Rolla, but they remained at Rolla, the railroad terminus,
for want of wagon transportation. The troops had to live upon such
supplies as could be obtained from the country, and many of them
were without shoes. A continuous march of more than two or three
days was impossible. General Lyon's force was rapidly diminishing,
and would soon almost disappear by the discharge of the three
months' men, while that of the enemy was as rapidly increasing and
becoming more formidable by additions to its supplies of arms and
ammunition. General Lyon made frequent appeals for reinforcements
and for provisions, but received little encouragement, and soon
became convinced that he must rely upon the resources then at his
command. He was unwilling to abandon southwestern Missouri to the
enemy without a struggle, even though almost hopeless of success,
and determined to bring on a decisive battle, if possible, before
his short-term volunteers were discharged. Learning that the enemy
was slowly advancing from the southw