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necessarily entail some delay in the revision of them.
The admirable conduct of Brigadier-General Parsons, not only upon the field, but upon the march merits my earnest commendation, whilst his skill and gallantry, as well as his long and uninterrupted active service as Brigadier-General, first in the Missouri State Guard, and more recently in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, are, in my opinion, worthy of recognition on the part of the government.
I must also commend the excellent discipline which General McRae maintains at all times in his brigade; the marked good sense and energy with which he conducted its march to Helena; the promptitude with which he has always obeyed my commands, and the earnest efforts which he made to reinforce General Fagan towards the close of the attack.
I have not in my former reports mentioned the officers of my staff, though most of them have beem eminently deserving of praise for gallant and meritorious conduct upon more than one hard-fought field.
Justice requires that I should not permit the present occasion to pass without placing upon record my sense and appreciation of the worth and merits of those of them, at least, who participated in the present movement.
Major Thomas L. Snead, Senior Assistant Adjutant-General of my command, to whom I have been often indebted for vigorous support in hours of perilous trial (apart from the intelligent and faithful performance of the responsible and onerous duties of his office), surpassed himself this day in the intrepid manner with which he bore himself throughout the conflict, rallying the troops again and again, and urging them forward to the scene of action.
In this work, under the hottest fire of the enemy, and until we had swept their intrenchments and carried the hill, he was faithfully, fearlessly, and gallantly assisted by Major L. A. Maclean, A. A. G.
My thanks are due to my Aids-de-Camp, Lieutenant Richard T. Morrison and Lieutenant Celsus Price, for their willing assistance promptly rendered upon this, as upon other hotly contested fields.
I commend all these officers to the Lieutenant-General commanding, and through him to the President, for promotion, on account of gallant and meritorious conduct in the field.
Acting Engineers, John Mhoon, of Alabama, and D. C. Cage, of Mississippi, not only deserve honorable mention for their gallantry upon the field, but for the skill and energy with which they overcame the difficulties that obstructed my road from Cache River to Helena.
I have repeatedly recommended Mr. Mhoon for appointment in the Engineer corps, and again respectfully urge the President to recognize the worth of so excellent an officer.
Mr. Cage's services demand a similar recognition.
Nor should the less conspicuous, but equally useful, services of Major Isaac Brinker and Major John Reid be passed over in silence.
To the practical good sense and untiring and well directed energy of the former, as Chief Quartermaster of my division, I am greatly indebted for the accomplishment of the march to Helena and back to this point; while the latter, as Chief Commissary of Subsistence, has, in spite of many difficulties, continued to subsist the troops both regularly and well.
Lieutenant-Colonel Clay Taylor, Chief of Artillery and acting Chief of Ordnance, discharged the onerous duties of both those offices with laborious fidelity and to my entire satisfaction.
To my Chief Surgeon, Thomas D. Wooten, to Surgeon William M. McPheeters, and to Assistant Field Purveyor R. M. Slaughter, my constant thanks and commendation are due for the sedulous manner in which they have at all times devoted themselves to the sick and wounded, but never more humanely or more conspicuously than upon this occasion.
These gentlemen tell me that they owe their grateful acknowledgments to the Reverend Mr. Marvin for the very important services which he rendered at their hospitals, not only offering the consolation of his holy office to the dying, but ministering assiduously to the wants of the wounded.
Major John Tyler, C. S. A., acting, for want of an appropriate command, as volunteer Aid-de-Camp, remained by my side in view of special contingencies, which might fittingly task his valuable accomplishments.
Mr. Charles T. Perrie, volunteer Aid-de-Camp, is also entitled to my thanks for the activity which he displayed at the opening of the attack.
I would refer particularly to the gallant conduct and bearing of Mr. Gustavus A. Dyer, Clerk in the office of the Assistant Adjutant-General, and of Orderly Daniel M. Kavanaugh, both of whom have, by their conduct in the field, merited commissions in the army, and both of whom have borne themselves equally well in more important battle fields.
Major Henry M. Clark, Assistant Inpector-General, was detained from the field by serious illness; Major E. C. Cabell, Paymaster, by duties elsewhere.
I am, Captain, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Sterling Price, Major-General.
Report of General Parsons.
Major: I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by my brigade in the battle of Helena, on the fourth instant:
On the evening of the third of July the army bivouacked on the Little Rock and Helena road, and six miles from the latter place.
It having been determined to attack the enemy at dawn next morning, the disposition of the troops for
