commanding, two and one-half miles out on the Adamsville road; Third Brigade, Colonel Charles R. Wood commanding, at Adamsville, five miles out from the river.  The first intimation you or any of your staff had of the battle was between five and six o’clock, A.M., when my attention was called by one of the men on the boat on which were your headquarters, to the heavy and continued firing in the direction of the camp at Pittsburg Landing.  You were at once notified of this, and being satisfied that there was a battle going on, directed me to go at once and order this division to get ready to move at a moment’s warning, and to instruct Colonel Wood to move his baggage and camp equipage to the river with the least possible delay, and march his command to the camp of the Second Brigade, midway between his (then) camp and that of the First Brigade, at the river.

After executing your order, as above, I returned to the Landing.  Soon after, you, together with your staff, went out to the camp of the second Brigade, when the division had been ordered to concentrate in order to be in position to take either one of two roads, intersecting the Adamsville road from Crump’s Landing to Pittsburg Landing; one leading to Pittsburg Landing, the other to the Purdy road from Pittsburg Landing, intersecting it at a point not far from the right of our army under General Sherman, as it was encamped when the battle began.

Before starting for Colonel Thayer’s camp, orders were given by you to Captain Lyman, A.Q.M., on your staff, for a horse to be saddled and kept in readiness, in case a messenger should come down the river with orders from General Grant to you.

Now for the order.  Badeau says that a staff officer was dispatched to General Wallace with verbal orders for him to march by the nearest road parallel with the river.  The order may have been given verbally by General Grant to his staff officer, but was not so delivered to you, nor did it direct you to march by the nearest road parallel with the river.  At about 11 o’clock, A.M., while at the camp of Colonel Thayer, I was directed by you to go to Colonel M.L.  Smith.  I met Captain Baxter, A.Q.M., who stopped me and handed me a paper saying, “I wish you would take this to General Wallace.”  I took the paper, read it and returned it to him, saying, I could not do so, as I was on my way under orders from General Wallace.  At the same time I turned in my saddle, and pointed out a group of horsemen, telling the Captain that you were among them.  I went to Colonel Smith, delivered my orders, and returning, met the Captain again.  I very distinctly remember that this order directed you to move forward and join General Sherman’s right on the Purdy road and form your line of battle at right angles with the river; and then act as circumstances would dictate.  Now the shortest possible route by which you could reach the point designated in the order was the one