V. Resignations of volunteer officers accepted by corps commanders will be promptly forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army, with an indorsement thereon showing the number and date of the order of acceptance and the headquarters where issued. Copies of all orders accepting resignations will be transmitted at their dates to the Paymaster-General of the Army.

VI. Whenever any soldier is reported as a deserter from this army, his descriptive list, together with a full history of his case, will be immediately transmitted to the provost-marshal-general.

VII. Commanding officers of companies and regiments are in the habit of "turning in", to be sent to the ordnance depot, the arms of sick men absent in hospitals. When men are absent from their regiments, from whatever cause, and leave their arms behind, if they are expected to return, their arms and accouterments will be kept with their regiments, to be again issued to them on their return to duty. Acting ordnance officers of divisions will, as soon as possible, send to the chief ordnance officer at these headquarters a report of the regiments in their divisions, together with the number, kind, and caliber of the arms in each regiment, and also the number of rounds, kinds, and caliber of the ammunition in reserve ammunition trains.

By command of Major-General Hooker:

S. WILLIAMS,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. THIRD DIVISION, FIRST ARMY CORPS,
February 20, 1863.

Brigadier General S. WILLIAMS,

A. A. G., Hdqrs. Army of the Potomac:

GENERAL: Yours of the 19th instant has just been received. You say the general commanding directs that you report what agreement was entered into by me with General Heintzelman with respect to the exchange of the Pennsylvania Reserves. In answer to this, I have to state that no special agreement was entered into between us. It was understood that I was to have an equal number of men with those I furnished. I never supposed I should have a less number until the Reserves had actually arrived in Alexandria, and a report of their number was laid before General Heintzelman. He then informed me that the aggregate would be less than that furnished by some 230 men. I am asked why I did not give my personal attention to this subject. In reply, I have to state that I visited General Heintzelman's office every day, and frequently several times a day, in relation to it. I was also a daily visitor at the Adjutant-General's Office of the General-in-Chief in relation to it.

The order from General Halleck directed General Heintzelman to furnish Pennsylvania troops. The understanding was an equal number of Pennsylvania troops, if they could be furnished. The Governor of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania delegation had interested themselves in the business, and it was understood to be a matter of State pride to furnish an equal number from Pennsylvania; hence the order was so worded. General Heintzelman, I think, was not in favor of the exchange, as the Reserves had hardly any officers with them, and it was absolutely necessary that they should be reorganized, on account of the law which compelled them to elect their officers. I asked General Heintzelman for a regiment from another State, but he said he would