Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1

[591] of us all, and on down river to Schofield, whom he was to aid and support till the remainder of his corps should arrive.

Something delayed King all that day, but the night of July 2d King was on hand, and McPherson was about to pull out the remainder of his troops from their lines, when Harrow, one of his division commanders, reported that when he tried to withdraw, the enemy advanced in column and were forming in line of battle near his picket line.

Sherman, watching this news by the wires, ordered Harrow to stay where he was, and in fact, all of Me-Pherson's men still there, to delay; and announced that all of us would do what we could during the night to get at the facts. But he said: “We must not attempt any night movement with large forces, because confusion would result, but must be prepared at break of day to act according to the very best information we can gather during the night.”

That Friday night was a feverish one on our lines, and, I doubt not, a troubled one on the Confederate side; for until after twelve midnight, I had kept on pressing skirmishers as near their wary foes as could be done, and here and there throwing a shell, but nothing definite could be found out, so many skirmishers did the Confederates keep in our front-nothing sure till about 2.45 A. M. of July 3d. The enemy then had gone, and Stanley's skirmishers were in their works! At three o'clock similar reports came from Wood and Newton.

Immediately my corps was assembled. At 5 A. M. it was light enough to move, without danger of running upon other troops. Stanley's division, full of excitement, the front covered by a good skirmish line, pushed