, and 15,000 prisoners to General
Grant. He hastened to Cairo, wrote his account on the cars, riding
eastward, till it was complete, then returning, and arriving in season
to jump on board the gunboat Boston for a reconnoissanceof Columbus.

Mr. Coffin continued with the fleet during the operation at Island No.
10. His knowledge of civil engineering enabled him to assist Captain
Maynadier of the engineers in directing the mortar firing. On one
occasion while mounted on a corn crib near a farm-house to note the
direction of the bombs, the Confederate artillerists sent a shell which
demolished a pig-pen but a few feet distant.

While at Island No. 10, the battle of Pittsburg Landing was fought.
Leaving the fleet he hastened thither, accompanied the army in its slow
advance upon Corinth, was present at the battle of Farmington and the
occupation of Corinth.

General Halleck, smarting under the criticism of the press, ordered all
correspondents to leave, and Mr. Coffin once more joined the fleet,
descending the Mississippi. During the engagement with the Confederate
fleet at Memphis, he stood upon the deck of the Admiral's despatch boat
with note-book and watch in hand--noting every movement. He was fully
exposed, aided in hauling down the flag of the Confederate ship, "Little
Rebel," and assisted in rescuing some of the wounded Confederates from
the sinking vessels.

He accepted an invitation from Captain Phelps of the Benton to accompany
him on shore when the city was surrendered, and saw the stars and strips
go up upon the flag-staff in the public square and over the Court House.

The Army of the Potamac was in front of Richmond, and he returned east
in season to chronicle the seven day's engagement on the Peninsular. The
constant exposure to malaria brought on sickness, which prevented his
being with the army in the engagement at the second Bull Run, but he was
on the field of Antietam throughout the entire contest, and wrote an
account which was published in the Baltimore _American_, of which
an enormous edition was disposed of in the army--and was commended for
its accuracy.

In October Mr. Coffin was once more in Kentucky, but did not reach the
army in season to see the battle of Perrysville. Comprehending the
situation of affairs there, that there could be no movement until the
entire army was re-organized under a new commander, he returned to
Virginia, accompanying the army in its march from the Potomac to
F