twelve hundred infantry, with four pieces of artillery, to Pine Bluffs for supplies for the army. The expedition was under the command of Lieut.-Col. Drake, of the 36th Iowa. On the 25th, an attack was made on the train, within six miles of the Saline River, by a cavalry force under Maj.-Gen. Fagan, which result ed in the capture or wounding of all the officers, nearly all the men-of whom two hundred and fifty were killed and wounded-four brass guns, and the wagon trains.

On the 26th Gen. Steele determined to evacuate Camden, and before daylight of the 27th the army had crossed, the pontoon bridge was secured, and the Washita River put between him and the forces of the enemy. The army was pushed forward over bad roads, and on the 28th camped at Princeton crossing, and on the next evening at the Saline crossings, Jenkins Ferry. During the night the enemy showed themselves in the rear. Whether they were in force, or only sufficient to harass by cavalry attacks until Gen. Kirby Smith's main force could intercept the march to Little Rock, was uncertain. Dispositions were, however, made by Gen. Steele to resist a large force. The bad condition of the roads, and the heavy rain which commenced, and the darkness, prevented the crossing of the Saline during the night. The pontoon bridge, however, had been laid, and a small portion of the force passed over. The remainder of the army encamped in the bottom lands of the river, to which it descended from a considerable elevation about four miles west of the stream. Gen. Salomon's division camped about two miles from the hill, and the line which it was to hold in the morning was protected on the left by the Saline and swampy bottom lands, and on the right by a bayou skirting the base of the uplands. In the morning the rain poured in torrents. The artillery, the trains, and men were to cross over the river. Soon after daylight skirmishing commenced in the rear, and a general engagement soon succeeded. The enemy consisted of all their forces in southwestern Arkansas, with some from Louisiana, under Gens. Smith, Price, Walker, Churchill, and others. Under Gen. Steele, the commands of Gens. Salomon, Thayer, Rice, Ingleman, and Col. Benton were engaged. The battle continued about seven hours, and resulted in the repulse of the enemy, and a loss to Gen. Steele of seven hundred in killed and wounded, although several stands of colors were captured and three pieces of artillery. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was also severe. The effect of the battle was not only to secure a safe retreat to Little Rock for Gen. Steele, where he arrived on the 2d of May, but also to relieve, for some time, that portion of Arkansas, and also Missouri, from the presence of the enemy. The following is Gen. Steele's address to his troops:

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF ARKANSAS. LITTLE ROCK, May 9. To you troops of the 7th army corps, who participated in the recent campaign designed to co

operate with Gen. Banks' movement against Shreve port, the Major-General Commanding tenders his earnest and grateful thanks. Although you were compelled to fall back without seeing the main object of the expedition accomplished, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have beaten the enemy wherever he has met you in force, and extricated yourselves from the perilous position in which you were placed by the reverses of the cooperating column. This let loose upon you a superior force of the enemy, under one of their best generals, causing the loss of your trains and the total interruption of your communications, rendering it impossible for you to obtain supplies. You have fallen back over rivers and swamps, while pressed by a superior force of the enemy. This you have done successfully, punishing the enemy severely at the same time.

The patience with which you have endured hardbattle-field, have been brought to the notice of the ships and privations, and your heroic conduct on the Government, and will furnish a page in the history of this war of which you may well be proud.

F. STEELE, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. For further details of military affairs under Gen. Steele, see ARKANSAS.

The withdrawal of the forces of Gens. Sherman and A. J. Smith from Vicksburg to engage in the Red River expedition, afforded an opportunity for the irregular command of Gen. Forrest, with other detached forces of the enemy in Northern Mississippi and Southwestern Tennessee, to concentrate for an attack on the Federal posts in West Tennessee and Kentucky. Accordingly, on March 23d, Gen. Forrest left Jackson, Tennessee, with about five thousand men, marching north to Union City. Jackson is a station on the railroad from Cairo and Columbus to New Orleans, and about one hundred and seven miles from Cairo, and sixty miles from Union City, another station on the same railroad, where the line to Paducah and the one to Hickman commence. On the next day he arrived before Union City and summoned Col. Hawkins, with four hundred and fifty men of the 11th Tennessee Union cavalry, to surrender. The surrender of the place was made after resisting an assault, and also two hundred horses and five hundred small arms. This surrender was opposed by the officers under Col. Hawkins' command, and only one man had been injured when it was made. A force under Gen. Brayman, from Cairo, advanced within six miles for its defence; but on learning that it had surrendered, Gen. Brayman retired. Gen. Forrest next occupied Hickman, and then moved immediately north with Bu ford's division of his forces, direct from Jackson to Paducah. This place was occupied by Col. S. G. Hicks, 40th Illinois regiment, with six hundred and fifty-five men. Col. Hicks retired into Fort Anderson and there made a stand, assisted by the gunboats Peosta and Paw-Paw, belonging to the command of Capt. Shirk of the navy. Gen. Forrest then sent the following demand for a surrender:

HEADQUARTERS FORREST'S CAVALRY CORPS, PADUCAH, March 25, 1864. To Col. Hicks, commanding Federal forces at Paducah: Having a force amply sufficient to carry your works and reduce the place, in order to avoid the unnecessary effusion of blood, I demand a surrender of the

that he would not surrender. Immediately after the second flag of truce retired, the rebels made a rush from the positions they had treacherously gained, while the flags of truce were sent in, and obtained possession of the fort, raising the cry of no quarter. But little opportunity was allowed for resistance. The Federal troops, black and white, threw down their arms, and sought to escape by running down the steep bluff near the fort, and secreting themselves behind trees and logs, in the bushes, and under the brush, some even jumping into the river, leaving only their heads above the water as they crouched down under the bank. The scenes which now followed became a subject of investigation by a Committee of Congress, who state in their report as follows:

The rebels commenced an indiscriminate slaughter, sparing neither age nor sex, white or black, soldier or civilian. The officers and men seemed to vie with each other in the devilish work. Men, women, and even children, wherever found, were deliberately shot down, beaten, and hacked with sabres. Some of the children not more than ten years old, were forced to stand up and face their mothers while being shot. The sick and wounded were butchered with out mercy, the rebels even entering the hospital buildings, and dragging them out to be shot, or killing them as they lay there unable to offer the least resistance. All over the hillside the work of murder was going on. Numbers of our men were gathered together in lines or groups and deliberately shot. Some were shot while in the river, while others on the bank were shot and their bodies kicked into the water, many of them still living, but unable to make any exertion to save themselves from drowning. Some of the rebels stood upon the top of the hill, or a short distance down its side, and called to our soldiers to come up to them, and as they approached shot them down in cold blood; if their guns or pistols missed fire, forcing them to stand there until they were again prepared to fire. All around were heard cries of "No quarter, no quarter;' "" "Kill the d-n niggers;" "Shoot them down." All who asked for mercy were answered by the most cruel taunts and sneers. Some were spared for a time only to be murdered under circumstances of greater cruelty. No cruelty which the most fiendish malignity could devise was omitted by these murderers. One white soldier, who was wounded in the leg so as to be unable to walk, was made to stand up while his tormentors shot him. Others who were wounded and unable to stand up were held up and again shot. One negro who had been ordered by a rebel officer to hold his horse was killed by him when he remonstrated. Another, a mere child, whom an officer had taken up behind him on his horse, was seen by Chalmers, who at once ordered the officer to put him down, and shoot him, which was done. The huts and tents in which many of the wounded had sought shelter were set on fire both that night and the next morning, while the wounded were still in them, those only escaping who were able to get themselves out, or who could prevail on others less injured than themselves to help them out; and even some of them thus seeking to escape the flames were met by these ruffians and brutally shot down, or had their brains beaten out. One man was deliberately fastened down to the floor of a tent, face upwards, by means of nails driven through his clothing and into the boards under him so that he could not possibly escape, and then the tent set on fire. Another was nailed to the side of a building, outside of the fort, and then the building set on fire and burned. The charred remains of five or six bodies were afterwards found, all but one so much disfigured and consumed by the flames that

they could not be identified, and the identification of that one is not absolutely certain, although there can hardly be a doubt that it was the body of Lieut. Akerstrom, quartermaster of the 18th Virginia cavalry, and a native Tennessean. Several witnesses who saw the remains, and who were personally acquainted with him while living here, testified that it is their firm belief that it was his body that was thus treated. These deeds of murder and cruelty closed when night came on, only to be renewed the next morning, when the demons carefully sought among the dead lying about in all directions for any other wounded yet alive, and those they killed. Scores of the dead and wounded from some of our gunboats, who were permitted to were found there the day of the massacre by the men go on shore and collect the wounded and bury the dead. The rebels themselves had made a pretence of burying a great many of their victims, but they had merely thrown them, without the least regard to care or decency, into the trenches and ditches about the fort, or the little hollows and ravines on the hillside, covering them but partially with earth. Portions of heads and faces, hands and feet, were found protruding through the earth in every direction even when your committee visited the spot two weeks afterward, although parties of men had been sent on shore from time to time to bury the bodies unburied, and re-bury the others, and were even then engaged in the same work. We found evidences of this murder and cruelty still most painful. We saw bodies still unburied, at some distance from the fort, of some sick men, who had been fleeing from the hospital, and beaten down and brutally murdered, and their bodies left where they had fallen. We could still see the faces, and hands, and feet of men, white and black, protruding out of the ground, whose graves had not been reached by those engaged in reinterring the victims of the massacre; and although a great deal of rain had fallen within the preceding two weeks, the ground, more especially on the side at the foot of the bluff where the most of the murders had been committed, was still discolored by the blood of our brave but unfortunate men, and the logs and trees showed but too plainly the evidences of the atrocities perpetrated there. Many other instances of equally atrocious cruelty might be enumerated, but your committee feel compelled to refrain from giving here more of the heart-sickening details, and refer to the statements contained in the voluminous testimony herewith submitted. Those statements were obtained by them from eye-witnesses and sufferers. Many of them, as they were examined by your committee, were lying upon beds of pain and suffering; some so feeble that their lips could with difficulty frame the words by which they endeavored to convey some idea of the cruelty which had been inflicted on them, and which they had seen inflicted on others. In reference to the fate of Major Bradford, who was in command of the fort when it was captured, and who had, up to that time, received no injury, there seems to be no doubt. The general understanding everywhere seemed to be that he had been brutally murdered the day after he was taken prisoner. How many of our troops thus fell victims to the malignity and barbarity of Forrest and his followers cannot yet be definitely ascertained. Two officers belonging to the garrison were absent at the time of the capture and massacre. Of the remaining officers but two are known to be living, and they are wounded, and now in the hospital at Mound City. One of them (Capt. Porter) may even now be dead, as the surgeons, when your committee were there, expressed no hope of his recovery. Of the men, from three hundred to four hundred are known to have been killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least three hundred were murdered in cold blood, after the fort was in possession of the rebels, and our men had thrown down their arms and ceased to offer resistance. Of the survivors, except the wounded in the hospital at Mound City, and the few who suc

ceeded in making their escape unhurt, nothing definite is known, and it is to be feared that many have been murdered after being taken away from the fort. When your committee arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, they found and examined a man (Mr. McLogan) who had been conscripted by some of Forrest's forces, but who, with other conscripts, had succeeded in making his escape. He testifies that while two companies of rebel troops, with Major Bradford and many other prisoners, were on their march from Brownsville and Jackson, Tennessee, Major Bradford was taken by five rebels, one an officer, led about fifty yards from the line of march, and deliberately murdered in view of all those assembled. He fell, killed instantly by three musket balls, and while asking that his life might be spared, as he had fought them manfully, and was deserving of a better fate. The motive for the murder of Major Bradford seems to have been the simple fact that, although a native of the South, he remained loyal to his Government. On the other side is the following statement by Lieut.-Gen. S. D. Lee, who was in command of the Confederate department. It is part of a letter on the subject, dated June 28th:

As commanding officer of this department, I desire to make the following statement concerning the capture of Fort Pillow—a statement supported in a great measure by the evidence of one of your own officers captured at that place. The version given by you and your Government is untrue, and not sustained by the facts to the extent that you indicate. The garrison was summoned in the usual manner, and its commanding officer assumed the responsibility of refusing to surrender, after having been informed by Gen. Forrest of his ability to take the fort, and of his fears as to what the result would be in case the demand was not complied with. The assault was made under a heavy fire and with considerable loss to the attacking party. Your colors were never lowered and your garrison never surrendered, but retreated under cover of a gunboat, with arms in their hands and constantly using them. This was true particularly of your colored troops, who had been firmly convinced by your teachings of the certainty of slaughter in case of capture. Even under these circumstances many of your men-white and blackwere taken prisoners. I respectfully refer you to history for numerous cases of indiscriminate slaughter after successful assault, even under less aggravated circumstances. It is generally conceded by all military precedent that where the issue had been fairly presented and the ability displayed, fearful results are expected to follow a refusal to surrender. The case under consideration is almost an extreme one. You had a servile race armed against their masters, and in a country which had been desolated by almost unprecedented outrages.

I assert that our officers, with all the circumstances against them, endeavored to prevent the effusion of blood; and as an evidence of this, I refer you to the fact that both white and colored prisoners were taken, and are now in our hands. As regards the battle of Tishimingo Creek, the statements of your negro witnesses are not to be relied on. In their panic they acted as might have been expected from their previous impressions. I do not think many of them were killed-they are yet wandering over the country, attempting to return to their masters. With reference to the status of those captured at Tishimingo Creek and Fort Pillow, I will state that, unless otherwise ordered by my government, they will not be regarded as prisoners of war, but will be retained and humanely treated, subject to such future instructions as may be indicated.

Your letter contains many implied threats; these, of course, you can make, and you are fully entitled to any satisfaction that you may feel from having

made them.

It is my intention, and that also of my subordinate

officers, to conduct this war upon civilized principles, provided you permit us to do so; and I take this occasion to state that we will not shirk from any responsibility that your actions may force upon us. We are engaged in a struggle for the protection of our homes and firesides, for the maintenance of our national existence and liberty; we have counted the cost, and are prepared to go to any extremes; and though it is far from our wish to fight under a black flag, still, if you drive us to it, we will accept the issue. Your troops virtually fought under it at the battle of Tishimingo Creek, and the prisoners taken there state that they went into battle under the impression that they would receive no quarter, and, I suppose, with the determination to give none. I will further remark, that if it is raised, so far as your soldiers are concerned, there can be no distinction, for the unfortunate people whom you pretend to be aiding are not considered entirely responsible for their acts, influenced, as they are, by the superior intellect of their white brothers. I enclose for your affair, which were procured from the writer after the consideration certain papers touching the Fort Pillow exaggerated statements of your press were seen. I am, general, yours, respectfully,

S. D. LEE, Lieutenant-General.

Forrest and Chalmers "both entered the fort The report of the enemy stated that Gens. from opposite sides, simultaneously, and an indiscriminate slaughter followed. One hundred prisoners were taken and the balance slain. The fort ran with blood. Many jumped into the river and were drowned, or shot in the water. Over $100,000 worth of stores were taken, and six guns captured. The Confederthe 5th Mississippi, was mortally wounded." ate loss was seventy-five. Lieut.-Col. Reed, of

A party of the enemy on the capture of Fort Pillow made an advance against Columbus, Gen. Buford being in command of their force.

On the 13th he sent the following summons to the commander of the fort:

HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY, BEFORE COLUMBUS, KY., April 18, 1864. To the Commander of the United States forces, Columbus, Ky:

Fully capable of taking Columbus and its garrison by force, I desire to avoid shedding blood. I therefore demand the unconditional surrender of the forces under your command. Should you surrender, the negroes now in arms will be returned to their masters. Should I be compelled to take the place by force, no quarters will be shown negro troops whatever; white troops will be treated as prisoners of war. I am, sir, yours,

A. BUFORD, Brig.-Gen.

This demand was refused, and Gen. Buford retired without making an attack. At the same time an excitement arose at Paducah, under apprehension of another attack of the enemy. The entire forces, however, retired to Bolivar, Trenton, and Grand Junction. For further military operations in this part of the country, see KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI.

Some active operations took place in North Carolina. The important ports on the sounds, as Newbern, Washington, Plymouth, &c., had been held since their capture by the forces under Gen. Burnside. On the 1st of February, a force of the enemy under Gen. Picket, consisting of Gen. Hoke's brigade, with a part of Gens. Corse's and Clingman's, made an assault