“I wrote the President, and promised that later on I would have the Canada mystery solved. Our people were in desperate straits. Our army had been outnumbered and forced back to the position in front of Pageland; defeated there, and forced to shelter itself in the rear of Cow Creek. It was now broken and shattered, lying in defenses near the Capital, discouraged and worn down by fatigue, wounds and disease. The outlook was anything but bright. Commanders had been changed. Some of our best fighting generals had lost their lives at Pageland. The country had but little confidence in the staying or fighting qualities of the commander, Gen. McGregor, as he had made no success heretofore. The rebel commander, well understanding the situation, was moving rapidly up and along the south line of the Grand River, evidently intending an invasion of the loyal States by penetrating our lines and crossing at or near Brown's Ferry. Our lines were held at this point by Gen. Milo, having in his command 10,000 men, who were all surrendered at the demand of Gen. Wall without very much resistance. Wall had slipped through the mountains like a cat, and was upon Milo before he knew of his approach. This was very strange though, and hard to understand, and only increased the fears and suspicions already existing that something was out of joint, so that the machinery was working badly in that army. “'The enemy now had no impediment in the way of a rapid movement except high waters, which seemed to interpose as the only power that could stop their advance into the interior of our country and to the rear of our capital, cutting off all communications to the North with the loyal States. “The administration was now in a position of great danger, in many respects, not before contemplated. “The rebel sympathizers and Golden Circles were loud in their denunciation of the war and the party sustaining it. Thos. A. Strider and Dan Bowen were traversing the state of Indiana, making inflammatory speeches, and all over the North the same policy was being pursued by the anti-war party. They alarmed the people by declaring that unless the war was stopped our homes North would be invaded; that our armies could not cope with the rebels. The only thing that seemed to put a check to their hopes, operations and denunciations was the fact that our armies in the West were having a continuation of victories.