George W. Deitzler to William S. Rosecrans, June 26, 1862

General ROSECRANS :

Send two additional divisions on the road toward Holly Springs via Ripley. Hurlbut reports that Price, Van Dorn, and Breckinridge are at Coldwater with 30,000 men.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND BRIGADE, First DIvIsion, CENTRAL ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI,

lia Trenton, Tenn., June 26, 1862.

Brigadier-General QUINBY, Commanding District of the Mississippi, Columbus, Ky. :

GENERAL: I have the honor to report my arrival at this point yesterday with the First Kansas Regiment, cee Wisconsin alee and four companies of Sixth Illinois Cavalry. I have divided the Sixtysecond Illinois Regiment into three detachments and stationed them with a small cavalry force at Crockett, Kenton, and Rutherford Stations, with instructions to clear the weeds off the track between the stations, and also guard every bridge and trestle-work from Big Obion to and 3 miles south of Rutherford Station.

General Mitchell has ordered me to remain at this place with the balance of my command for the present. He refused to assign the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, Colonel Heg, to my brigade temporarily, as required by instructions from your headquarters at Columbus, dated June 13, 1862.

The Second Illinois Cavalry, Eighth Kansas Regiment, and Second Kansas Battery leave this a. m. for Humboldt.

I was compelled to halt for nearly three days at South Fork of Obion River in order to send some teams back to Union City for supplies.

I will send in a consolidated report of my command in a few days.

I feel it my duty, general, to inform you that the people complain bitterly of the outrages committed by a portion of General Mitchell’s brigade; they are charged with jayhawking horses, negroes, &c., from Union and disloyal citizens indiscriminately.

At Union City a foraging party under command of Captain Parrott, formerly a member of Congress from Kansas, arrested Rev. Mr. Koyle, a Union citizen of that locality, and were about to rob him of his mules and buggy, when he told them that he was then in charge of a funeral. They abused him very much, called him a d—d liar and broke open the coffin, and on discovering that it contained a corpse they told Mr. Koyle to go to hell with his d—d secession corpse. Captain Parrott did all he could to restrain the fiends, but failed. He reported the facts to General Mitchell, who declined to take any notice of the case. I have heard of other outrages equally atrocious perpetrated by these wretches. They ought to be punished or mustered out of the service to which they are a disgrace.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,