December 20.—Holly Springs, Miss., was this day entered and sacked by the rebel army under General Van Dorn. An immense amount of public and private property was carried off or destroyed. The garrison surrendered after a very short resistance.—(Doc. 79.)
—A skirmish occurred near Halltown, Va., between a detachment of Union cavalry, under the command of Captain Vernon, and a body of rebel guerrillas. After a short fight the rebels were routed, leaving three of their number in the hands of the Unionists.—Frederick (Md.) Examiner.
—Trenton and Humboldt, Tenn., were this day entered and captured by the rebel forces under General Forrest. They burned the depots, and all the Government stores they could not carry off— (Doc. 80.)
—A train of wagons, twenty-seven in number, laden with provisions for the army of the Potomac, and a guard of one hundred and seventy men, were captured near Occoquan, Va., by a detachment of rebel cavalry under the command of General Wade Hampton.—Richmond Dispatch, December 24.
—The expeditionary army under command of Major-General W. T. Sherman, embarked at Memphis, Tenn., in over one hundred transports, for Vicksburgh.— (Doc. 91.)
