expected volley.

Driving back the foremost assailants, Colonel Smith advanced in turn and
pressed his success for an hour. Then the entire hostile force coming
up, he was forced back slowly and in good order to Dublin, which had
already been evacuated by the troops of Colonel McCausland.

Colonel Smith followed thence after Colonel McCausland to New River
bridge, crossing the river just before sunset, and encamping on the
opposite bank.

After some skirmishing on the next morning, the Confederates retreated,
giving up the position. The fight on the 10th was a most gallant
one--highly creditable to the commanding officer, subordinates and men.

Among the killed was C.S. Cleburne (brother of General Pat Cleburne),
one of the most promising young officers in the army. General Morgan had
made him a captain, a short time previously, for unusual gallantry.

In the latter part of May, General Morgan undertook the expedition known
as the "last" or "June raid" into Kentucky. He had many reasons for
undertaking this expedition. He was impatient to retrieve, in some
manner, the losses of the Ohio raid, by another campaign of daring
conception, and, he hoped, successful execution. He wished to recruit
his thinned ranks with Kentuckians, and to procure horses for the men
who had none. Moreover, there were excellent military reasons for this
movement.

Averill and Cook were not far off, and could pounce down at any moment,
but were supposed to be awaiting reinforcements, without which they
would not return.

These reinforcements were coming from Kentucky under Burbridge and
Hobson, and consisted of all or nearly all the troops in Kentucky,
available for active service.

General Morgan despaired of successfully resisting all these forces if
they united and bore down on the department. But he believed that, if he
could move into Kentucky, and gain the rear of the forces coming thence
before the junction with the other Federal forces was affected, he could
defeat the plan. The Kentucky troops would turn and pursue him, and the
attack upon the department would not be made. In short, he hoped to
avoid invasion and attack by assuming the offensive--to keep the enemy
out of Southwestern Virginia by making an irruption into Kentucky.

He wrote on the 31st of May to General S. Cooper, Adjutant General,
detailing his plan and the information upon which it was based.

In this letter, he said: "While General Buckner was in command of