Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 7.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[498] sunset on the 4th. On the same day General Walker camped three miles from Dunlop's, on Tensas. I had succeeded in collecting material for a bridge (there being but one flat, the one above mentioned, on the river), and on the morning of the 5th commenced the work, superintending it in person. At 4 P. M. a substantial bridge was completed, when I pushed on to this point, sending notice to General Walker of the completion of the bridge. Arriving at dusk, I soon met Major Harrison from below. He reported the parish of Tensas and Lower Madison clear of the enemy. One of his companies, under Captain McCall, attacked on the morning of the 4th a negro camp on Lake Saint Joseph. He found them some ninety strong; killed the captain (white), twelve negroes and captured the remainder. Some sixty women and children in the camp were also secured. Captain McCall had sixty men. Major Harrison brought off some few arms, medicines, etc., from Perkins, Surget's Basin and Carthage, all of which points he found abandoned by the enemy. At several places much property had been burned. To finish the operations of Harrison's cavalry: On the morning of the 6th,whilst awaiting Walker's arrival, the en emy's cavalry was reported to me to be approaching from Milliken's Bend. Major Harrison with a hundred men advanced to meet them. Three miles distant he found them drawn up, one hundred and forty strong, charged them at once, broke their line, killing eight and capturing a lieutenant and twenty-four privates, and pursued them until fired upon by infantry in sight of the Bend.

I cannot speak too highly of Major Harrison as a cavalry officer I do not think he has a superior in the service. Accordingly I have ordered some unattached companies to report to him to raise his command to a regiment. If furnished with anything like adequate means, he will protect thoroughly this section of the State. The night of my arrival at this place — viz: the 5th--was spent in procuring intelligence of the enemy's positions on this side the river. I found that this line of transit had ceased to be of importance to the enemy since he had established his right flank on the Yazoo at Hames' Bluff, and almost all the stores had been removed. Transports in large numbers were flying up the Yazoo. At Lake Providence the enemy had a few companies (perhaps four) and a large number of negroes drilling. Below that point to Milliken's he had a number of plantations at work under the new system. At Milliken's there was a negro brigade of uncertain strength, and. four companies of Tenth Illinois cavalry (the force encountered by Harrison). There was a deadly feud between these negroes and the cavalry, and their camps were considerably separated; the negroes up the river. Between Milliken's and Young's Point (opposite the mouth of Yazoo), a distance of eleven miles, tents were scattered in large numbers, most of them empty or occupied by sick and convalescents. At Young's were some five or six hundred men, detachments and convalescents. Some wagons and mules were immediadely on the river's bank, evidently for convenient shipment up the Yazoo. Below Young's, around the point to opposite