Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-08-29
OPERATIONS oN rnn KAz0o.
Report o cepta''. .uai'he's'.


sESAroBIa, Miss, August 81 ls52
Msior-General 7. c. Topper;
In obedience to your order to my company 70
90 into immediate service, / hasteaed home RON
jackson, when I arrived on the 3lst of July
proceeded Immediately TO organize my company
and on the 9Th Of August set cut on an expsdf
ton to Tunica county, the leading purpose OF
which was to destroy a quantity Of cotton that
toe enemy was hauling off to the river. From
p O'clock on the 9TH to 10 A. N. on the 5th Au-
gust, | visited nine plantations and burnt 757
bales of cotton, 10000 pounds Of seed cotton
and $500 pounds Of lint cotton.
This we did in the hearing Of She drums and
firing Of the guns Of the enemy, perhaps not
more than a mile distant.
About 10 o'clock, A. NJ. on the 6th, a detach-
ment Of seven Of my men, who were proceeding
to burn 300 bales on the plantation of the late
DR.. John w. King, suddenly came upon q force
of the enemy, said 10 have been two hundred
and fifty strong, and although within hfsy yards
Of them when FIRST discovered ,Shey made good
their retreat without loss, aud Joined my com
pany, three miles distant. They were pursued
some two miles, but eluded the pursuit by fling
off through the woods from the road.
As we had about 500 bales in flames in thai i'm
mediate neighborhoOd Of the Zoe, / deemed 1t
prudent to withdraw my little force Of only
thirty-three men, and returned to this place to
solicit aid from Col. Jackson, commanding the
Confederate forces at this place. lie immedi-
ately detached Col. PensOn with $50 OF his cav
airy, whom l joined with 80 of my men, making
our united force $40 men. On the 18th instant
we reached the swamp, and on the I4th ap-
preached a force Of the enemy v~ariou5ly reported
to us at from 500 to 1900 men. We formed IN
line Of battle within half a mile Of them, but
while we were making a reconnaissance IN order
to fpd ont their position and force, they ned
with precipitation toward Helena and did not
halt, as have since learned, until they placed
the river between US. We should have pursued,
but were informed that they had a large add
tional force at CAMS farm, one and a touth miles
distant. Under these circumstances, we deemed
it ~imprudent to pursue them. we have SINCE
from rekable information, ascertained taat the
force which ran from rs amounted to @4U cav
airy and $50 infantry-490 in all.
We then proceeded to barn the cotton II thai
neighborhood and all along the Yazoo Pass, and
during the three days that we remained, we
burnt 1914 bales, 1905 pounds lint cotton, eno
462. 900 seed cotton, and closed our work by
burning the bridge withiatwo and a half miles
of Helena across Phillips bayou, erected BY the
enemy to enable him to convey the negroes sna
cotton stolen by them to the river.
[ found that they had desolated the country
wherever they have gone, taking off all the cot
ton, and negroes except the aged and infrm
throwing down the fences and turning the stock
on the growing crops and burning the gins
mills, and dwellings Of the planters. My hear
siekened st the scene Of desola.ion and ruiz
which we found all around Us. Families were
sent flying from their homes, nearly al the ne
groes are run off, and such planters as coulC
not get of in time are either prisoners IN the
hands of the enemy, or at home on parole @n(
dare not leave. Most respectfully,
JAMES E. MATTHEWS,
CaDtain Sanafohia Ranpsrs.