of its disposition or of remuneration to its owners questions should arise.

You will employ negroes in picking, collecting, and packing the cotton, who on your volunteers, properly made out and certified to, will be paid by the Quartermaster's Department. Your service will be compensated by allowing you 6 per cent, on the market value of the cotton stored as above.

Very respectfully, &c.,

T. W. SHERMAN,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

OFFICE CHIEF QUARTERMASTER EXPEDY'S CORPS,

Fort Welles, S. C., December 6, 1861.

I hereby appoint James Adrian Suydam my assistant in the execution of the above orders from Brigadier-General Sherman and Captain Saxton and of all future orders from their departments to me as agent for the United States Government, his orders and directions to be obeyed as mine, and his acts as agent to be reorganized by me.

WM. H. NOBLES,

United States Agent.

HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF PORT ROYAL,
Beaufort, S. C., December 10, 1861.

WILLIAM H. NOBLES, ESQ., Collected of Cotton:

SIR: I have received your latter and inclosures of his date, claiming that you are authorized to the possession to the cotton in the deserted portions of South Carolina, and also of all other public property. The instructions of Brigadier-General Sherman clearly give you authority to collect, gin, and pack cotton. I am not advised of the extent of your authority on regard to quartermaster and commissary stores. The latter of instructions of Captain Saxton does not give the information, I have, however, to inform you that I have taken military possession of Ladies Island, and shall proceed to collect and take charge of such quartermaster and commissary stores as my parties may take possession of- not interfering, however, with your operations in collecting cotton on that island or the quartermaster or commissary stores you have already collected.

I shall not permit you to establish an agency at Beauford, or to interfere in any way with the steps already taken by the commanding general to collect the cotton and the quartermaster and commissary stores on Part Royal and its dependencies.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient,

ISAAC. I. STEVENSON,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

PORT ROYAL, S. C., December 10, 1861.

General MEIGS,

Washington, D. C.:

DEAR GENERAL: After the representation of the medical director and my own observations as to the great number of deaths here and the continued sickness among the troops, I gave the quartermaster directions to put a temporary hospital to accommodate 300 men. This