Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 07.djvu/338

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,, May 16th, 1862.

Major, Assistant Adjutant-General:

Sir—I have the honor to report, for the information of the Commanding-General of the forces, that in obedience to instructions my division marched on the morning of the 9th of May along the lower road leading to Farmington, some four miles and a half distant, and reached there about 10 o'clock A. M., having encountered some small scouts of the enemy. Colonel McCullock, with about two hundred Arkansas cavalry, joined me some two miles distant from the trenches, and one-half of his force was thrown out as flankers to the right and left and the remainder in the advance.

In the vicinity of the town we discovered a body of the enemy's cavalry and dispersed it by a section of Captain Ducatel's guns of the Orleans Guards battery. Possession was immediately taken of the village of Farmington, where the enemy had established a telegraph station, and, as we subsequently learned, the Assistant Secretary of War of the Federal Government had just been engaged with it in urging the advance of the Federal troops. The brigades of my division advanced in separate columns in readiness to deploy into line of battle. Finding masses of the enemy apparently in line of battle some distance in front, I directed sections of Hodgson's, Ducatel's and Hoxton's batteries to open fire upon them, awaiting in the meantime the advance of General Van Dorn's division on my right. Having communicated with General Trapier's division, which had already arrived on my left, I then deployed the columns into line of battle—holding the Fourth brigade in