Hardee, moving out in advance, in the afternoon of Thursday, halted Friday forenoon at Mickey's house, about seventeen miles from Corinth. Bragg's corps bivouacked Friday night in rear of Hardee. Clark's division of Polk's corps followed in due order on its road. Cheatham's division, on outpost on the railroad at Purdy and Bethel, under orders to defend himself if attacked, otherwise to assemble at Purdy, march thence to Monterey, and thence to position near Mickey's, did not leave Purdy till Saturday morning, and reached his position Saturday afternoon. Breckenridge, who marched from his station at Burnesville through Farmington without entering Corinth, using a cross-road, could not pull his wagons through the mud, and failed to get as far as Monterey Friday night. While Hardee was lying near Mickey's house, his cavalry felt the National outposts, and a reconnoitring party from the National camp struck Cleburne's brigade. The order issued at Corinth required the columns to be deployed by seven o'clock, Saturday morning, and the attack to begin at eight o'clock. Hardee began his movement at daybreak, Saturday, deployed about ten o'clock, and waited. His line being too short to extend from Owl Creek to Lick Creek, Gladden's brigade was moved forward from Bragg's corps, and added to Hardee's right. The rest of Withers' division moved into position behind Hardee's right; but Ruggles' division, constituting the right of Bragg's line, did not appear. Successive messengers bringing no satisfaction, General Johnston rode to the rear with his staff, till he found Ruggles' division standing still, with its head in an open field. It was set in motion, Polk followed; Cheatham arrived from Purdy; Breckenridge extricated his command from the deep mud, and, by four o'clock in the afternoon, the deployment and formation of the army was complete. It was too late to attack that day. Beauregard urged that it was too late to attack at all, that it would now be impossible to effect a surprise, that the expedition should be abandoned and the troops march back to Corinth. Johnston directed the troops to bivouac, and attack to be made next day at daylight.