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the middle of December.
This place was thirty-three miles above
Louisa, and sixty from the
Ohio River.
At and near the mouth of the Big Sandy, and in the intervening region, were clustered some half-dozen towns of from 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants each.
The industries supporting this population were chiefly the working of coal and iron, with capital furnished by
Ohio men. Hence, the people were generally hostile to the
South.
Marshall's force, when he reached
Paintsville, was 2,240 in number; but his effectives were only 1,967 on January 3, 1862.
The following is his force in detail:
| Triggs's Fifty-fourth Virginia Regiment | 578 |
| Williams's Kentucky Regiment | 594 |
| Moore's Twenty-ninth Virginia Regiment | 327 |
| Simms's Mounted Battalion | 360 |
| Jeffries's battery (four guns) | 58 |
| Worsham's company | 50 |
| Total | 1,967 |
This force was still further reduced to about 1,600 effectives, by mumps and measles, before the engagement with the enemy.
About the same time that
Marshall advanced into
Kentucky,
Buell organized an expedition up the Big Sandy, under
Colonel J. A. Garfield.
This officer moved up that river, on December 22d, with the Forty-second Ohio Regiment, the Fourteenth Kentucky, and
McLaughlin's battalion of Ohio Cavalry, about 1,500 strong.
After delaying a week at
George's Creek, he passed on to
Paintsville.
He was reinforced by
Bolles's West Virginia Cavalry, 300 men, and by 300 men of the Twenty-second Kentucky Regiment.
While this column was moving up the Big Sandy, another, consisting of the Fortieth Ohio Regiment and three battalions of
Wolford's cavalry, advanced from
Mount Sterling to take
Marshall in the rear.
To avoid this danger,
Marshall fell back some fifteen miles, and took position on
Middle Creek, near
Prestonburg.
On the 3d of January the
Confederates captured a sergeant and three men of
McLaughlin's cavalry, with their horses, in front of
Paintsville.
On January 7th
Bolles's cavalry engaged the Confederate cavalry-pickets, with a loss of two or three on each side.
On the 9th of January
Garfield advanced against
Marshall's position at
Prestonburg, and on the next day attacked him. The engagement was not a serious one.
Garfield reported that he fought all day, engaging only about 900 of his own men, inflicting a heavy loss on the
Confederates, and losing only one man killed and twenty wounded.
Garfield's report claimed a victory.
He says:
At half-past 4 o'clock he (Marshall) ordered a retreat.
My men drove him down the slopes of the hills, and at five o'clock he had been driven from every point.
