11/10/61 HQs, Pocahontas, Col Borland cdg to Gen Polk-Since my dispatch of the night of the 5th I have continued my steps of precaution and preparation for defense without intermission. Details in respect to them are at present unnecessary.
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I have stopped here in passing and retain for the present Captain Roberts' company, about 60 men, nominally artillery, but without a battery, but armed and pretty well drilled as infantry, and about 150 recruits for the army, brought here by Major McCray and Captains White and Kykendall, and retained here by me, as is Captain Roberts' company; altogether about 1,286 men. Of these, owing to much sickness; casualties, necessary details for guards, nurses, &c., as you will readily apprehend, I cannon, as I have ascertained by careful examination, count on more than 600 for fighting service.
All even of these must be regarded as raw, inexperienced, and poorly disciplined, and indifferently armed. I may say that I have no artillery, for, although there are six pieces - four iron 6-pounders and two brass 4-pounders - here, they were repudiated by Gen Hardee as worthless, and are, so far as I can judge, quite so for any active or reliable service. They are so ill mounted, &c., that they cannot be used at all for flying artillery. In my destitution of such things and for this emergency, however, I shall do what I can with them by placing them in positions to cover the approaches to this place; and as Capt Roberts is the only officer here who knows anything at all about artillery, I have put him in charge of them.

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