your order. Unless Captain Irvin can furnish wagon transportation from McMinnville for the clothing which he propose to send up from Nashville, we can probably get it sooner from Camp Nelson. If he could possibly send the amount your ordered to Kingston, it would be a very great service to us. If the disposition of my forces is not satisfactory to you, I shall be very glad to receive from you specific instructions. If it becomes necessary to evacuate this country in order to re-enforce Thomas, we hold ourselves ready to do it, though it would be a sad thing for this country. While I do not believe that Ewell's corps is at Abingdon, I am satisfied that all the rebel forces of West Virginia are concentrated in that neighborhood, and will probably amount to 15,000.

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Major-General.

LOUDON, Tennessee, October 27, 1863-2 p. m.

(Received 11.10 p. m.)

His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

President United States:

I deem it my duty to say to you that the state of my health is such that I may at any moment become unfit for duty in the field. I have been suffering more or less ever since the Mexican war with chronic diarrhea, but having a remarkable constitution the effects of disease have not been apparent to any save those intimately connected with me. This is one of the reasons why I have been so anxious to quit the field, and I am now suffering very much from it, and therefore deem it my duty to let you know this that you may think of the possibility of making other arrangements for the command of the department. I do not ask to be relieved during the present emergency, and shall continue at my post as long as it is possible and desirable for the interests of the public service.

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE OHIO,
October 27, 1863.

Brigadier-General WHITE,

Comdg. Second Division, Twenty-third Army Corps:

GENERAL: By direction of the commanding general, I have the honor to give you the following as the arrangement for withdrawing the troops from the south side of the river tomorrow. General Potter has been ordered to be on this side of the river before daylight with the main body of his troops and his baggage, but will leave his line of pickets till the main body of your troops have crossed. Your pickets as well as those of General Potter will maintain their position till the return of a body of cavalry, which will go out before daylight; when that returns the pickets will be withdrawn and will cross together with the cavalry. It will be necessary to instruct the pickets to allow no one with any pass whatever to go out of the lines, though they can permit persons to enter.

The commanding general