Oct. 10th we passed through the Gap towards Blue Springs, but very soon came up with our division, posted in line-of-battle along Lick Creek. Capt. Buckley reported his arrival, and was told to hold himself in readiness to move against the enemy.
Soon Gen. Burnside appeared and ordered the line to advance. Our cavalry encountered the enemy a mile or two south of Blue Springs, and a rattle of musketry ensued for a few minutes, when the enemy retired to their reserve line and maintained a fire upon our skirmishers.
It was Gen. Burnside's desire to capture as many as possible of the enemy, and for that purpose he sent Col. Foster's brigade of cavalry around to seize and hold the roads in the Confederates' rear. When sufficient time had been allowed for the colonel to reach his position, our troops in front attacked the rebels, and a sharp, hotly-contested battle upon both sides was continued until dark.
Our men had succeeded in driving the enemy from their position, and after forming in a new position were ordered to lay upon their arms during the night, prepared to assault the enemy at daylight. Next morning our line advanced at daylight, only to find that the enemy had abandoned his position—Col. Foster not having reached their rear in time to intercept their retreat.
Our battery had been in position all day, but did not open fire until nearly dark, when we threw a few shots at a rebel battery.
Our troops pursued the enemy nearly twenty miles, Battery D accompanying them. Cannonading was heard in the vicinity of Greenville soon after we started, showing that the enemy were some distance in advance of us. It was nearly noon when we passed Greenville, and four o'clock as we reached Rheatown, about nineteen miles from our bivouac of the previous night. Continuing for a mile further, we halted for the night.
On the 12th our cavalry reported the enemy so scattered that further pursuit would be useless. Early in the afternoon the battery moved back through Rheatown and encamped on the other side of the valley, in proximity to the troops of our division.
Next morning, Oct. 13th, the army started on its way back to Knoxville. Although there was no special haste in our return movements, it seemed to me that very good time was made by the battery. Our first bivouac was made at Blue Springs, near the battlefield, a distance of twenty miles; that of the 14th at Morristown, a distance of twenty-five miles; that of the 15th at New Market, a distance of twenty-three miles: that of the 16th at Armstrong's Ford, on the Holston River, a distance of twenty miles; and that of the 17th at Temperance Hill, Knoxville, a distance of eight miles, making ninety-six miles, which added to one hundred and seventeen, the distance from Loudon to Rheatown, gave a total of two hundred and twenty-six miles traveled by the battery between the 6th and 17th of October—an average of a little more than twenty-two miles for each of the eleven days. Oct. 18th and 19th, the battery lay in camp in Knoxville.
Late in the afternoon of the 19th orders were received to have the battery prepared to move at an early hour next morning. Requisition had been made for more horses, and the division quartermaster had promised Capt. Buckley that he should have them promptly; but as yet they had not materialized.
Next morning, the horses not having arrived, the battery left Knoxville with only four pieces, one section being left behind because of lack of motive power. During the march cannonading was heard in the direction of Kingston. We were getting rather used to that sort of thing, and would not have been much surprised had the sound of cannonading reached our ears from all points of the compass at one and the same time. We bivouacked that night near Campbell's Station, about seventeen miles from Knoxville.