the meat available for this army was ordered from Atlanta, on the 15th and 16th ultimo.

The efforts of this Bureau to bring forward this meat have been persistent, and the Secretary of War is aware that nothing has been left undone by this Department to expedite shipments.

L. B. NORTHROP,

Commissary-General of Subsistence.

HDQRS. ARTILLERY, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, February 11, 1863.

Brigadier General R. H. CHILTON,
Adjutant and Inspector General, Army of Northern Virginia:

GENERAL: I have the honor to state, in reply to your note of the 2nd instant, received only to-day, that there are two artillery officers unattached to batteries at present with this command, Major T. J. Page, jr., and Captain G. W. Nelson; the former assigned to duty with General Early, if the general approve, and awaiting his decision, meanwhile recently detailed from headquarters as judge-advocate to a general court-martial sitting for this command, under orders from the commanding general; the latter, acting as inspector of batteries for the First Corps and the General Reserve. His duties will appear from the following order:

ORDERS Numbers --.] HEADQUARTERS ARTILLERY CORPS,

January 14, 1863.

Captain Nelson and First Lieutenant Dandridge, adjutant, are hereby appointed inspectors of batteries. Captain Nelson will have supervision of the First Corps and the General Reserve; Lieutenant [E. P.] Dandridge of those of the Second Corps. They will immediately enter upon their duties, and embrace in their inspections the batteries in front as well as those in the rear. Among particulars to be examined they will particularly observe and report respecting, 1st, the condition of horses, guns, and harness, ammunition and wagons; 2nd, the strength of each battery in officers, men, horses, and equipments; 3rd, the supply of forage, its source, and prospect in future; 4th, the position of camp, its advantages or evils; 5th, the attention to, or violation of, rights of citizens neighboring, &c.; 6th, they will also report absences and their occasion; they will attend to all matters of importance to the service in each case, as, for instance, what hospital arrangements are made. They will regularly record the result of their observations and inquiries, and make punctual and exact reports of the same. When horses are presented for condemnation, they will carefully examine them and pass upon their condition, reporting at the same time the apparent causes thereof. It is very desirable that these inspections should be made promptly, and to this end great diligence will be needed.

It will be perceived that work of this kind will be extremely important, and that the officers who do it fill no sinecure. One officer clearly cannot rightly do this for both corps; hence Lieutenant Dandridge was detailed for the Second Corps. I should have preferred, however, another officer not having other special duties as Lieutenant Dandridge has, and with more artillery experience; but the other officers were away under the orders relieving them. Those officers were not reported originally as supernumerary, but as unattached to batteries. Captain Nelson was especially mentioned to this very duty of inspecting batteries, and hence I was persuaded he was relieved through misapprehension. It did not for an instant occur to me at the time, nor do I how see, that there was the slightest deviation from military etiquette in my indorsing a statement of what seemed to me facts of some importance likely to be most under my notice. In the copies of the commanding general's orders, held by the officers relieved and taken by them to the Adjutant-General in Richmond, the only effect of such indorse-