SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT,

Numbers 58.
Little Rock, Ark., March 2, 1863.

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VII. Major General T. C. Hindman, having been relieved from duty in the Trans-Mississippi Department, by Special Orders, Numbers 25, Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, dated January 30, 1863, and ordered to Vicksburg, Miss., will be relieved in the command of his division by Brigadier General D. M. Frost. Brigadier-General Frost will at once turn over the command of his brigade to the senior colonel therein, and repair to Little Rock.

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By command of Lieutenant-General Holmes:

S. S. ANDERSON,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS,
Little Rock, March 5, 1863.

General J. S. MARMADUKE:

GENERAL: Your plans have been referred to me, and are certainly very tempting. I have sent General Cabell up the country, and hope he will be [able] to quiet and put things up there on a good basis. If he succeeds, our way in plain enough. If he fails, you will have to do the work after the grass grows. If the enemy in Missouri are not in any way threatening your front, and you can leave your command in perfectly safe hands, I wish you would come down for a few days, in order that we may have a full conference. Hindman is relieved from duty, and ordered to await further orders at Vicksburg.

I am, general, very respectfully,

TH. H. HOLMES,

Lieutenant-General.

HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
Fort Smith, Ark., March 5, 1863.

Colonel S. S. ANDERSON,

Asst. Adjt. General, Trans-Mississippi Dept., Little Rock, Ark.:

COLONEL: I desire to call the attention of General Holmes to the condition of affairs in Western Arkansas and the Indian country, each being to a considerable extent dependent on the other. The season for active operations is nearly upon us, and we are far from being in a condition to take the field. When I took command, in January, the troops, though presenting quite an array of regiments, battalions, &c., on paper, in fact presented a very small effective force of irregular troops, badly armed, a large number without any, and no artillery. Soon after my arrival, an infantry brigade was sent me, consisting of five regiments, under Colonel Speight. This brigade had present less than 2,000 men, and four of the regiments were so demoralized that it had been found necessary to distribute the men among other troops. These troops were, of course, worthless while in such a condition. The state of navigation on the Arkansas River rendered it impossible to supply more than a few of these troops with corn meal (the only breadstuff to be had). There was none to be had in this section of the country, not could it be hauled from Texas, without much more transportation than could be commanded. Such limited transportation as could be had could not be