But my campaigns had not yet begun, for while seated at my office door, with nothing further to do until it was time to start for the front, I saw an officer of rank approaching, who proved to be Colonel Jefferson C. Davis.  I had never met him before, but he introduced himself by handing me an order for him to proceed to Jefferson City and relieve me of the command.  The orders directed that I should report at department headquarters at St. Louis without delay, to receive important special instructions.  It was about an hour before the only regular train of the day would start.  I therefore turned over to Colonel Davis my orders, and hurriedly stated to him the progress that had been made to carry out the department instructions already described.  I had at that time but one staff officer, doing myself all the detail work usually performed by an adjutant-general.  In an hour after being relieved from the command I was on my way to St. Louis, leaving my single staff officer(6) to follow the next day with our horses and baggage.

The “important special instructions” which I received the next day, assigned me to the command of the district of south-east Missouri, embracing all the territory south of St. Louis, in Missouri, as well as all southern Illinois.  At first I was to take personal command of a combined expedition that had been ordered for the capture of Colonel Jeff.  Thompson, a sort of independent or partisan commander who was disputing with us the possession of south-east Missouri.  Troops had been ordered to move from Ironton to Cape Girardeau, sixty or seventy miles to the south-east, on the Mississippi River; while the forces at Cape Girardeau had been ordered to move to Jacksonville, ten miles out towards Ironton; and troops at Cairo and Bird’s Point, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, were to hold themselves in readiness to go down the Mississippi to Belmont, eighteen miles below, to be moved west from there when an officer should come to command them.  I was the officer who had been selected for this purpose.  Cairo was to become my headquarters when the expedition terminated.

In pursuance of my orders I established my temporary headquarters at Cape Girardeau and sent instructions to the commanding officer at Jackson, to inform me of the approach of General Prentiss from Ironton.  Hired wagons were kept moving night and day to take additional rations to Jackson, to supply the troops when they started from there.  Neither General Prentiss nor Colonel Marsh, who commanded at Jackson, knew their destination.  I drew up all the instructions for the contemplated move, and kept them in my pocket until I should hear of the junction of our troops at Jackson.  Two or three days after my arrival at Cape Girardeau, word came that General Prentiss was approaching that place (Jackson).  I started at once to meet him there and to give him his orders.  As I turned the first corner of a street after starting,