Gen. Frazier immediately ordered them out of his lines which order was complied with.
That night they returned, not by the picket post however, and burned the mill inside the rebel lines, thus cutting off their rations, which may have had something to do with his sudden surrender.
They came back to camp unmolested and without the honor of a rebel escort.
On the next morning after the surrender, the 7th started back to Knoxville, and on the third day reached that city and went into camp. Remaining there only a few days they started eastward on the railroad, but meeting with no resistance until reaching Johnson’s Station, a distance of one hundred miles.
The command moved on to Zollecoffer, and not being able to capture the garrison there guarding the bridge across the Watauga river, they returned to Jonesboro, remaining there one week, one batallion under Capt. Copeland, doing the provost duty of town scouting and pressing horses.
The enemy attacked the command on the 28th of September and compelled it to retreat down the railroad as far as Bull’s Gap, where we stayed several days.
On the 10th of October, we started eastward again and had a fight at Blue Springs, losing several men killed and wounded, among them, Captain Higly, a most valuable officer, who was commanding a battallion and was killed in the thickest of the fight while encouraging and leading on his men.
The rebels held their ground until a detachment of the 9th army corps came up, charging them and driving them from the field at dusk.
They retreated during the night, and our command pursued them in the morning, following closely all the next day, and had a spirited skirmish at Raytown in which several were lost on both sides. Night coming on, we went into camp, continuing our pursuit in the morning as far as Jonesboro, and on the following day we moved toward Bluntsville, camping for the night, a few miles from town.
One battallion under Capt. Copeland, was ordered to make a scout to this place, but meeting the rebel pickets, he returned to camp, losing one man killed, James Barnes of Co. E.