ment of the Ohio and now in process of reorganization in Kentucky. Ten thousand more will be needed at Memphis and below to meet the wants of Grierson's command and to supply the cavalry now stationed at and near Vicksburg. These wants are all immediate and pressing. Eight thousand enlisted men are now idle in this neighborhood alone for want of horses, arms, and equipments.

The ordnance depot here is kept constantly drained of everything in the nature of cavalry arms and equipments. No advices have been received of any considerable shipments on the way, and really we have reason to fear that we shall fail utterly in getting our cavalry forces mounted, armed, and equipped in time to make them effective in the coming campaign.

I think those engaged in purchasing horses confine themselves too much to large cities that have already been pretty well exhausted of their surplus horses and mules, and I fear that they content themselves with "sitting down" in soft places and waiting for stock to come to them. Extraordinary efforts will have to be made at once or a failure is near at hand that will be rung throughout the country. The system of paying in vouchers is very objectionable. Those who receive them are subjected to such inconveniences and discounts as prevent any particular desire on the part of others to make sales.

Let us have horses, arms, and equipments as fast as they can be possibly crowded forward.

Yours, truly,

WM. SOOY SMITH,

Brigadier General, Chief of Cavalry, Mil. Div. of the Mississippi.

[Same to Brigadier General J. W. Davidson, chief of cavalry bureau, Saint Louis, Mo.]

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, Nashville, April 8, 1864.

General ROBERT ALLEN, Louisville:

DEAR GENERAL: Draw me up a programme whereby orders may issue from the War Department enabling you to act as my chief, with power to visit by yourself or inspectors every part of my command, to direct the course and accumulation of supplies, the distribution of the means of transportation, and all details purely pertaining to your department. I must have some quartermaster-General seems to recognize the necessity.

I suppose you can remain at Louisville, though I would prefer you to be near me, especially if we advance beyond the Tennessee.

I inclose you a copy of my General Orders, No. 6, which will give us daily some thirty and odd cars, and instead of yielding to the pressure of civilians I am inclined to be more rigid. I will have down on me all the Christian charities who are perambulating our camps, more to satisfy their curiosity than to minister to the wants of the poor soldier. My universal answer is that 200 pounds of powder or oats are more important to us than that weight of bottled piety. As to sanitary goods, they can come here where they can be distributed as other stores, according to the known wants of the troops. I want