BALTIMORE, MD., September 12, 1862.

General HALLECK:

A full regiment is very much needed at Annapolis in place of the Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania, now there, which has 500 men for duty. The paroled prisoners, 4,000 in number, require a strong guard as well as general hospital, railroad, provost-marshal, and camp of the regiment. Shall I stop one of the new regiments for that purpose?

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-General, Commanding.

BALTIMORE, MD., September 12, 1862-7 p.m.

Major General H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief:

The following telegram just received from Brigadier-General Kelley, at Cumberland:

Just advised that Lightburn has been defeated at Fayette Court-House, and is pursued by the enemy down Big Kanawha.* The rebels will, undoubtedly, cross over toward the railroad, and cut off our supplies. I have, therefore, deemed it proper to order our forces at Cheat Mountain, Elk Water, and Beverly to fall back to the railroad, at Webster. The enemy is reported in large force, under Loring, Floyd, and Magruder. All quiet here.

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
Near Urbana [Md.], September 12, 1862-11.10 p. m.

(Received September 13.)

Major General JOHN E. WOOL, Baltimore:

GENERAL: As I have not troops available for the purpose, I have the honor to request that you will station guards at all the bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as far west as the Monocacy.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

GEO. B. McCLELLAN,

Major-General.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

Washington, D. C., September 12, 1862-10.35 a. m.

Honorable ANDREW G. CURTIN, Harrisburg, Pa.:

Your dispatch asking for 80,000 disciplined troops to be sent to Pennsylvania is received.+ Please consider we have not to exceed 80,000 disciplined troops, properly so called, this side of the mountains, and most of them with many of the enemy supposed to be invading Pennsylvania. Start half of them to Harrisburg and the enemy will turn upon and beat the remaining half, and then reach Harrisburg before the part going there, and beat it, too, when it comes. The best possible security for Pennsylvania is putting the strongest force possible into the enemy's rear.

A. LINCOLN.

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*See Campaign in the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, September 6-16, Part I, op. 1057-1090.

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+See dispatch of 11th, received 8.30 p. m., p. 268.