These notes may be of use in dealing with this army, giving the distribution of some sixty regiments, which must be nearly one-half of the whole Richmond army.

An intelligent writer of Branch's division, writing in the North Carolina Wilmington Journal of 8th July, claiming credit for North Carolina, says that Carolina and Georgia contributed full one-half the regiments engaged in the Richmond battles-from 36 to 40 each. This would make the whole army, in his opinion, 152 regiments, which, at 700 men average, would give a total force of 105,000 men.

Permit me to suggest that a careful comparison of the notices which appear in the newspapers, lists of prisoners of war, and deserters, if made by an intelligent, educated man, would soon give us a tolerably correct idea of the forces opposing us. If this has ever been done in this part of the country there is, I fear, reason to believe that it has been done by incompetent of unfaithful hands.

Of 480 prisoners sent from Harrison's Bar to New York, the lists published in the New York Herald give the names of 74 regiments and 1 battalion of infantry, 5 batteries of artillery, and 1 regiment of cavalry. I find notices of 90 regiments infantry, 1 regiment cavalry, and 12 batteries of artillery all by name as in these battles.

I am, respectfully,

M. C. MEIGS,

Quartermaster-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

July 29, 1862

Surgeon-General HAMMOND:

There are 12,000 sick reported here now; 2,000 of them could, I think take the field.

JONATHAN LETTERMAN,
Surgeon, Medical Director.

[Indorsement.]

WAR DEPARTMENT,

July 31, 1862

Respectfully referred to Major-General Halleck, General-in-Chief.

By order of the Secretary of War:

C. P. WOLCOTT,

Assistant Secretary of War.

QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, July 29, 1862

Colonel JAMES BELGER,

Quartermaster, U. S. Army, Baltimore, Md.:

The Secretary of War directs that you engaged at once all the steamers in port that can be used for the transportation of sick and wounded men, and send them immediately to Harrison's Landing, on the James River, to report to the senior officer of the quartermaster's, department in charge there.

Report by telegraph your action under this order.

By order of the Secretary of War:

M. C. MEIGS.

Quartermaster-General.