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The dead rebels lay in the mud and rain until morning. At that time our infantry and artilery was a long way behind having been detained at the Tallahtchie where the rebels burned the bridge. The rebels had powerful fortifications at the crossing of the Tallahatchie but they abandoned them after making just stand enough to stop our advance of cavalry. The Tallah is about eighteen miles from Holly springs and sixteen miles from Oxford. On the 5th of Dec. the 7 Kansas, 3rd Mich., 5th Ohio, 2nd Iowa, 7 Ills. Cav. regs. advanced from Watervalley towards Coffeeville the mud being tremendous deep. The rest of the Coffeeville affair you know as well as I do. The rebels was too strong for us. Our advance was driving in their pickets when suddenly they formed themselves on a long line of rebel infantry which arose and poured in a volley. We continued to skirmish with them awhile when all at one the commenced to advance on the double quick and folowed us four miles or until after dark. Our cav. was formed in line after line but the rebels outflanked us farther than we could see so that ever line we formed gave way after delivering one tremendous round. Some of our regs. was armed with revolving rifles which shoot five times without reloading and when they delivered their fire it was awful to hear. I don't know how many was killed on either side. We fell back to Watervaley and at midnight just after we had gone to bed we were routed up (it was raining hard) and went back sevral miles farther. There was two men of our Company wounded at Coffeeville and the Captain and thirteen men was taken prisnors. I have just received a letter from George E. Edrington of Galesburg who was taken at Coffeeville he is at home and he sends me the power of attorney so that I may draw his pay if we are paid before he returns. Some of the boys dident get home but are in St. Louis. They complain of poore feed