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Rh disabled and was drawn off; that of the enemy was not less than two thousand men, with six pieces of artillery. Our loss was one killed and twenty-seven wounded; that of the enemy could not accurately be ascertained, as they removed many of their dead and wounded from the field while the fight was going on, but it is reported by reliable persons, who had an opportunity of knowing, to have been forty-seven killed and one hundred and three wounded, besides five prisoners, whom we brought off.

Colonel Richardson joined me on the night of the 8th instant with his brigade, consisting of the Twelfth Mississippi cavalry (Colonel Inge), Twelfth Tennessee cavalry (Lieutenant-Colonel Green), Thirteenth Tennessee cavalry (Colonel Neely), Fourteenth Tennessee cavalry (Colonel Stuart), the Reneau battery of two six-pounders (Captain Palmer), and the Buckner battery of four steel breech-loading two-pounders (Lieutenant Holt), the whole amounting to about nine hundred and fifty men. The enemy were reinforced at La Grange by the Sixth and Ninth Illinois and Third Michigan cavalry, and on the following evening (9th) the whole force, amounting to nine regiments of mounted men and nine pieces of artillery, under the command of Captain Hatch, moved out against us. At the same time a force of infantry and artillery was sent to Davis' mill on Wolf river, which was between our position and La Grange, and within supporting distance of their cavalry.

During the greater part of the day we remained drawn up in line of battle at Harnan's house, two miles from Salem, and there was some slight skirmishing between the advancing parties, but the enemy did not make their appearance in any force. Late in the afternoon, the enemy having entirely disappeared, we moved ten miles towards Holly Springs, in order to obtain forage and water, and on the next day we moved into that place, where we remained during the day to obtain a supply of ammunition and rations, of both of which we were in much need. While there four detachments of one hundred men each—commanded respectively by Major Mitchell, Eighteenth Mississippi battalion; Major Cozzins, Second Mississippi; Major Burrows, Twelfth Tennessee; Lieutenant-Colonel Marshal, Fourteenth Tennessee—were sent out with instructions to tear up the Memphis and Charleston railroad and destroy the telegraph wire so as to prevent the passage of troops or intelligence. Mitchell and Cozzens were ordered to cut the road east of Colliersville, Burrows and Marshall west of it. The first two were