Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 4.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

The following day, at daybreak, preparations are making on both sides for the struggle. Forrest, with his usual audacity, wishes, in order to annoy the Federals, to make them believe that they are surrounded by enemies in greater numbers than they are. Pushing, then, Barteau on their right flank, and reserving to himself the harassing of their rearguard with only McCulloch's brigade, he directs his brother to take a road on the left and to make a forced march to overtake the head of the enemy's column and cut off his retreat between Okolona and Pontotoc. He knows that this head is the weak point of the column, since it escorts the train and the fugitives, and that it will be easy to interrupt its progress. If Sooy Smith had remembered Sherman's advice, before continuing a retreat that had become necessary he would have endeavored to put Forrest in such a condition as might prevent his being annoyed by him. Everything seemed to invite him to this. He had behind him a woody, rolling country, and only one road on which he had to stretch his whole column—a ground very favorable to surprises and very difficult to clear. Around Okolona, on the contrary, was a vast plain, well cultivated, very open, which was therefore well suited for the evolutions of a numerous cavalry. It was in this plain that Smith, availing himself of his superiority, should have waited for and fought Forrest, even should the latter have united all his forces to attack him. The opportunity was the more favorable as these forces were divided, and as he might have been able to crush successively Barteau and McCulloch, beginning with either the one or the other. He did nothing of this, and, thinking of nothing but of accelerating his retreat, he began at nine o'clock in the morning to move his troops in a single column, without even endeavoring to feel for the enemy and estimate his forces. The soldiers, whom Grierson had not accustomed to serve a campaign in that manner, seeing this march, which resembled a flight, and hearing musketshots now behind them, now on the right, now on the left, naturally believed that their chief was concealing himself in front of overwhelming forces, and hence they lost all their ardor, and discouragement was not long in taking possession of them. This