would also represent to you that several of the iron establishments in this county are under contract to make iron for the Confederate Government, and hands were detailed to carry on the contract and had commenced work, but were stopped by the Yankee advancing into upper East Tennessee. When they fell back they left a great many vagabonds in the county, who are now bushwhacking, robbing, and killing or citizens. No Southern men who have made contracts with the Government for iron nor none of the Southern men who have been detailed can leave their houses, without jeopardizing their lives, unless they have a guard, and consequently cannot comply with their contracts. The Union men seem to be in no danger; they go about their business fearing nothing. Now we cannot content ourselves with such a state of affairs as this; after giving all our sons, or fathers, our brothers, and sympathies to the cause of Southern independence and after all to be thus driven to such extremes as this; to be robbed and murdered by wicked men, it is more than we are willing to bear. Your petitioners would therefore earnestly call upon you to give us some assistance. We have full confidence that you will not suffer any portion of your military department to fall into the hands of the enemy if it can be avoided, and especially we believe you will protect it from the bushwhackers. We would respectfully ask you to let the few soldiers remain that are yet in this county. We would recommend that Clinton Bevins be commissioned to organize the reserves and conscripts in this county, and that the loyal conscripts be assigned to duty in this county with the loyal reserves, and then let us have men enough to make out a full company when added to conscripts and reserves, and we will try to hold this county. h. M. Baker, Company B, Second Kentucky Battalion, and Green Hazleman, Company F, Second Kentucky Battalion, we ask to be assigned, to duty here. The aforesaid Clifton Bevins is a citizen of this county and has been -seventh Virginia regiment of infantry until he became disabled and was discharged. He has been scouting after bushwhackers in this county for some time with good success. We ask for this petition your favorable consideration, hoping you will grant our request by giving us protection in the way we have asked for it or any other mode you may see proper.

G. MOORE,

[And fourteen others].

[NOVEMBER -, 1864.]

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,

Commanding Dept. of East Tennessee and Western Virginia:

The undersigned, citizens of the county of Washington, Va., would represent that they feel themselves endanger from a party of robbers, who make their rendezvous in the mountains bordering on Johnson County, Tenn., and believe that they ought to be afforded a guard to protect the. They will state that the ganz of robbers has made three raids into that part of Washington County know as Denton's Valley. They robbed the houses of several citizens living in the valley, took away eight horses, shot at several, and killed Fayette Marks. They have threatened that they will come back into the valley, and they have likewise threatened they will burn Abingdon. They have threatened to kill John M. White and Campbell Denton, who live in Denton's Valley, and James Campbell, who lives in the neighborhood east of the valley