...ing one at Bridgeport, eastward of Stevenson, which was then the eastern extremity of Mitchel's occupation of the railway. At this time Mitchel's left was threatened by a considerable force under General E. Kirby Smith , that came up from Chattanooga; and the Confederates were collecting here and there in his rear in alarming numbers. His chief objective was now Chattanooga, from which point he might operate again...