to post it as a guard against surprise.  At that time I had no staff officer who could be trusted with that duty.  In the woods, at a short distance below the clearing, I found a depression, dry at the time, but which at high water became a slough or bayou.  I placed the men in the hollow, gave them their instructions and ordered them to remain there until they were properly relieved.  These troops, with the gunboats, were to protect our transports.

Up to this time the enemy had evidently failed to divine our intentions.  From Columbus they could, of course, see our gunboats and transports loaded with troops.  But the force from Paducah was threatening them from the land side, and it was hardly to be expected that if Columbus was our object we would separate our troops by a wide river.  They doubtless thought we meant to draw a large force from the east bank, then embark ourselves, land on the east bank and make a sudden assault on Columbus before their divided command could be united.

About eight o’clock we started from the point of debarkation, marching by the flank.  After moving in this way for a mile or a mile and a half, I halted where there was marshy ground covered with a heavy growth of timber in our front, and deployed a large part of my force as skirmishers.  By this time the enemy discovered that we were moving upon Belmont and sent out troops to meet us.  Soon after we had started in line, his skirmishers were encountered and fighting commenced.  This continued, growing fiercer and fiercer, for about four hours, the enemy being forced back gradually until he was driven into his camp.  Early in this engagement my horse was shot under me, but I got another from one of my staff and kept well up with the advance until the river was reached.

The officers and men engaged at Belmont were then under fire for the first time.  Veterans could not have behaved better than they did up to the moment of reaching the rebel camp.  At this point they became demoralized from their victory and failed to reap its full reward.  The enemy had been followed so closely that when he reached the clear ground on which his camp was pitched he beat a hasty retreat over the river bank, which protected him from our shots and from view.  This precipitate retreat at the last moment enabled the National forces to pick their way without hinderance through the abatis—­the only artificial defence the enemy had.  The moment the camp was reached our men laid down their arms and commenced rummaging the tents to pick up trophies.  Some of the higher officers were little better than the privates.  They galloped about from one cluster of men to another and at every halt delivered a short eulogy upon the Union cause and the achievements of the command.