him and his subordinate officers. The brigade is composed of the following regiments, to wit:

Effective force.

1. Holcombe Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel Crawley........... 383

2. 17th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel McMaster.............................................. 432

3. 18th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel

Wallace............................................... 433

4. 22nd Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Major Rion.... 360

5. 23rd Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel

H. L. Benbow.......................................... 297

6. 26th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel A. D.

Smith................................................. 343

Making an effective aggregate of......................2,248

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth South Carolina are now stationed on James Island. The Holcombe Legion, the Twenty-third and Twenty-sixth South Carolina are at Mount Pleasant and Christ Church Parish. The Twenty-second South Carolina is doing duty on Sullivan's Island.

The general condition of Evans' brigade, as regards discipline, military appearance, and efficiency in drill, is far from being satisfactory, if I may judge from the different reports of inspection made by Captain Feilden, assistant inspector-general, and duly forwarded to department headquarters. The materiel of which this brigade is composed is as od as could be found in any part of the Confederacy. The men are willing to do their duty, to fight for their rights, and to be disciplined to that effect; but though well officered, at least as regards their company commanders, who in many instances show great want of efficiency, as also of energy and firmness. Too much familiarity exists between them and their men. They will forget, as is too often the case with volunteers, that equality ceases where military duty begins. There are exceptions, however, I am happy to say, and some company officers in the different regiments of Evan's brigade understand all their duties and perform them very creditably. I would call the attention of the general commanding to the Twenty-second Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, which is far behind the others as regards discipline, soldierly bearing, and drill. That regiment has now no regular, field officer. Its senior captain (A. J. Foster, Company B) is altogether inefficient, and many others are no better, as will appear by the hereto annexed roster* and report, furnished at my request by Major Rion, now in temporary command of the regiment. I am glad to hear it is the Regiment South Carolina Volunteers with Nelson's battalion. Some measure of the kind must soon be taken in order to save the men from total uselessness, unless Major Rion be permanently assigned to their command. The most important part of my investigation, as per instructions from the commanding general, was to ascertain what truth existed in the reports of ill feeling and want of confidence of the field officers of the brigade. The general says, that as far as he is personally concerned, he has no ill feeling toward his subordinate officers; that, with the exception of one of his colonels (Colonel McMaster), whom he considers a personal enemy of hi,s he has no fault to find with them. He thinks his brigade as well drilled, as well disciplined as most of the brigades of our different armies; and

---------------

*Omitted.

---------------