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April 19th.--All the cavalry at this post was inspected, after which we returned to camp; and as we were returning, we heard the distant sound of artillery off on the Washington road, showing that some portion of our forces were fighting the enemy in that direction. Later, at two o'clock, we learned that a courier had came in from the battlefield with the intelligence that the forage train sent out some time during the day previous, had been attacked at a point about 12 miles from this place, by a force of rebels numbering about 8000, and asked of General Steele reinforcements; but for some cause unknown to us, none were sent. The escort accompanying the train was detailed from Thayer's division, and composed entirely of colored troops from the 1st and 2d Kansas colored regiments, with the exception of about one hundred men of the 2d Kansas Cavalry, and the cannoniers accompanying a section of Rabb's Battery. The whole strength of the escort could not have been more than 2000 men all told. Our men fought with desperation, expecting to be reinforced at every moment; but in this they were disappointed, and the result was that after about one hour and a half desperately contending against a vastly superior number of the enemy, they were overpowered by fatigue and the thinning of their ranks, until what few of them that were left surrendered unconditionally. Our loss in this sad affair was reported to be 100 killed and 50 wounded. It will be seen that the number of our killed exceeds the number of wounded in this engagement, an unusual occurrence in warfare of the present day, as it is generally found from the reports of the many battles being daily fought in our land, to be just the contrary. This can be accounted for when it is known, as we were informed by one of the 2d Kansas cavalry who made his escape a few moments prior to the completion of the struggle, that the inhuman and blood thirsty enemy, when he left, was engaged in killing the wounded wherever found. Our loss in property amounted to two heavy pieces of field artillery, two howitzers, and one hundred and eighty teams and wagons. This was the first disaster that had occurred to our forces since leaving Little Rock, and where to lay the blame would be a difficult matter. One thing, however, we will venture to assert, that sending as large a train as the one in question, the distance of two day's travel from camp, with the small escort of two thousand men, directly in the vicinity of a force of twelve thousand of the enemy, showed in our judgment, a lack of military knowledge on the part of the officer by whose order it was sent out; altogether inexcusable.