The scouts brought in the news that the Union army in great force was at hand.

They had met some of their cavalry patrols in the night, on the very edge of the city.

Resistance to the great Union force was out of the question, because Bragg had committed the error that the Union generals had been committing so often in the east.

He had been dividing and scattering his forces so much that he could not now concentrate them and fight at the point where they were needed most.
The division of the Southern army that occupied Frankfort hastily gathered up its arms and supplies and departed, taking with it the governor who was never inaugurated, and soon afterward the Union men marched in.

Both May and Powell had the satisfaction of entering their homes by the front doors, and seeing the parents who did not know until then whether they were dead or alive.
Dick had a few hours' leave and he walked about the town.