Resuming our march eastward by the large road, we soon reached Elk River, which was wide and deep, and could only be crossed by a ferry, a process entirely too slow for the occasion; so I changed the route more by the north, to Elkton, Winchester, and Deckerd.  At this point we came in communication with the Army of the Cumberland, and by telegraph with General Grant, who was at Chattanooga.  He reiterated his orders for me and my command to hurry forward with all possible dispatch, and in person I reached Bridgeport during the night of November 13th, my troops following behind by several roads.  At Bridgeport I found a garrison guarding the railroad-bridge and pontoon bridge there, and staid with the quartermaster, Colonel William G. Le Due (who was my school-mate at How’s School in 1836).  There I received a dispatch from General Grant, at Chattanooga, to come up in person, leaving my troops to follow as fast as possible.  At that time there were two or three small steamboats on the river, engaged in carrying stores up as far as Kelly’s Ferry.  In one of these I took passage, and on reaching Kelly’s Ferry found orderlies, with one of General Grant’s private horses, waiting for me, on which I rode into Chattanooga, November 14th.  Of course, I was heartily welcomed by Generals Grant, Thomas, and all, who realized the extraordinary efforts we had made to come to their relief.  The next morning we walked out to Fort Wood, a prominent salient of the defenses of the place, and from its parapet we had a magnificent view of the panorama.  Lookout Mountain, with its rebel flags and batteries, stood out boldly, and an occasional shot fired toward Wauhatchee or Moccasin Point gave life to the scene.  These shots could barely reach Chattanooga, and I was told that one or more shot had struck a hospital inside the lines.  All along Missionary Ridge were the tents of the rebel beleaguering force; the lines of trench from Lookout up toward the Chickamauga were plainly visible; and rebel sentinels, in a continuous chain, were walking their posts in plain view, not a thousand yards off.  “Why,” said I, “General Grant, you are besieged;” and he said, “It is too true.”  Up to that moment I had no idea that things were so bad.  The rebel lines actually extended from the river, below the town, to the river above, and the Army of the Cumberland was closely held to the town and its immediate defenses.  General Grant pointed out to me a house on Missionary Ridge, where General Bragg’s headquarters were known to be.  He also explained the situation of affairs generally; that the mules and horses of Thomas’s army were so starved that they could not haul his guns; that forage, corn, and provisions, were so scarce that the men in hunger stole the few grains of corn that were given to favorite horses; that the men of Thomas’s army had been so demoralized by the battle of Chickamauga that he feared they could not be got out of their trenches to assume the offensive;