that I will merely say that every effort has been made here to second his plans as enable him to carry them into a successful execution.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

DANIEL RUGGLES,

Brigadier-General, Commanding District.

[Indorsement.]

To Secretary of War, October 16, 1862. Received back Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, October 24, 1862. Four inclosures missing.

HDQRS. CHIEF OF ORDNANCE, DIST. OF THE TENN.,
Tupelo, Miss., October 7, 1862.

Major General STERLING PRICE,

Commanding Army of the West:

GENERAL: I have the honor to report that in pursuance of your orders I have delivered over 8,000 stand of arms to Brigadier-General Tilghman's ordnance officer at Jackson, Miss. Out of the whole lot on hand at present I think I can assort 500 or 1,000 stand of serviceable arms, mostly flint-lock muskets, which I will retain for the present, having heard of your late desperate battle and fearing that you may need them to replace such arms as may have been lost on the field. I will proceed to Crawford to-morrow to stop any further shipment from that place until I can hear from you. In the mean time I will have bayonets fitted on the guns, as many as possible, and have them prepared for shipment as rapidly as possible. I know you must need ammunition after so much fighting, especially for your cannon. I have a tolerable supply of small-arm ammunition on hand and some for cannon, but I will telegraph to Columbus to have a large lot of assorted ammunition for cannon and small-arms in readiness immediately. I have been trying to get all the musket-caps I could to supply the deficiency in that particular, and have succeeded in getting several lots from Richmond and other places. Captain Kennerly will be in readiness to issue what stores we have on hand at Tupelo. I will leave nothing undone that can be done to refit the army with stores from my department. I am informed by the commandant of this post that there are now in this place about 1,200 convalescents who are without arms; and had I known this fact sooner I should have stopped the last shipment of 1,400 stand of arms to Jackson, although my orders are to ship all the serviceable arms within the district to that place. I hope the ordnance officers of divisions will be sent forward immediately with their requisitions, so that I may be informed more particularly what is needed at the earliest day possible.

Believe me, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

THOS. H. PRICE,

Chief of Ordnance, District of the Tennessee.

OCTOBER 8, 1862.

General PRICE:

I learn from General Armstrong that the enemy have been firing on his rear pickets, 5 miles back. You will have to put a thousand men and a battery of artillery into position in rear on the road at a strong place and check his advance. I think it can be nothing but cavalry or a small force. You must be on your guard.

EARL VAN DORN,

Major-General.