Men.

At Warrenton there are to be............................ 7,780

At Manassas, say........................................ 10,859

In the valley of the Shenandoah......................... 35,467

On the Lower Potomac.................................... 1,350

------

In all.................................................. 55,456

And there would be left for the garrisons and the front of Washington, under General Wadsworth, some 18,000.

In the above enumeration General Banks' army corps is included, but whether this force operating in the Shenandoah Valley should be regarded as part of the force available for the protection of the immediate front of Washington the undersigned express no opinion.

5. General Wadsworth's report of April 2 gives his force as follows:

Infantry................................................ 15,335

Artillery............................................... 4,294

Cavalry (six companies only mounted).................... 848

------

20,477

Deduct sick, in arrest, and confinement................. 1,455

------

Total for duty.......................................... 19,022

From this force General Wadsworth is directed to detach two good regiments to Richardson's division, Sumner's corps, which should e deducted from his command; one regiment to replace the Thirty-seventh New York in Heintzelman's old division, and one regiment to relieve a regiment of Hooker's division at Budd's Ferry; total, four regiments. He is also ordered to send 4,000 men to relieve Sumner at Manassas and Warrenton.

General Wadsworth represents that he has no mounted light artillery under his command; states there are several companies of reserve artillery still here, but not under his command or fit for service.

General Wadsworth further reports that nearly all the force is new and imperfectly disciplined; that several of the regiments are in a very disorganized condition, some of them having been relieved from brigades which have gone into the field in consequence of their unfitness for service, the best regiments remaining having been selected to take their places. Two heavy artillery regiments and one infantry regiment which had been drilled for months in artillery service have been withdrawn from the forts on the south side of the Potomac and their places supplied with new infantry regiments entirely unacquainted with the duties of that arm and of little or no value in their present position.

If there was need of a military force for the safety of the city of Washington within its own limits that referred to in the report of General Wadsworth would seem to be entirely inadequate.

In view of the opinion expressed by the council of the commanders of army corps of the force necessary for the defense of the capital, though not numerically stated, and of the force represented by General McClellan as left for that purpose, we are of opinion that the requirement of the President that this city shall be left entirely secure, not only in the opinion of the General-in-Chief, but that of the commanders of all the army corps also, has not been fully complied with.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

L. THOMAS,

Adjutant-General.

E. A. HITCHCOCK,

Major-General Volunteers, U. S. Army.