HDQRS. FIRST SEPARATE Brigadier, 8TH ARMY CORPS,
Relay House, Md., July 24, 1864.

Lieutenant Colonel S. B. LAWRENCE,

Assistant Adjutant-General:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report, in compliance with instructions from the commanding general, through Major Ross, that all the cavalry in my command were ordered to report to Captain McNulty, of the Twenty-first New York Cavalry. The report received by Major Kenne of the enemy being in the vicinity of Monocacy Junction induced that officer to order Captain McNulty, with a portion of the men under his command, to go forward and ascertain the truth of the report. The absence of the captain prevents me from giving you an accurate report. His return is expected hourly, when a report will be promptly forwarded. From the best information I can obtain there are about 102 enlisted men and 1 commissioned officer from the various regiments of General Hunter's command.

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. B. TYLER,

Brigadier-General.

CITY POINT, VA., July 25, 1864.

President A. LINCOLN:

After the late raid into Maryland had expended itself, seeing the necessity of having the four departments of the susquehanna, the Middle, West Virginia, and Washington, under one head, I recommended that they be merged into one, and named General Franklin as a suitable person to command the whole. I still think it highly essential that these four departments should be in one command. I do not insist that the departments should be broken up, nor do I insist upon General Granklin command. All I ask is that one general officer, in whom I and yourself have confidence, should command the whole. General Franklin was named because he was available and I know him to be capable and believe him to be trustworthy. It would suit me equally as well to call the four departments referred to, a "Military Division," and to have placed in command of it General Meade. In this case I would suggests General hancock for command of the Army of the Potomac, and General Gibbon for the command of the Second Corps. With General Meade in command of such a division, I would have every confidence that all the troops within the military division would be sued to the very best advantage from a personal examination of the ground, and [he] would adopt means of getting the earliest information of any advance of the enemy, and would prepare to meet it.

During the last raid the wires happened to be down between here and Fort Monroe, and the cable broken there and Cherrystone. This made it take from twelve to twenty-four hours each way for dispatched to pass. Under such circumstances, it wad difficult off me to give positive orders or directions, because I could not tell how the conditions might change during the transit of dispatches. Many reasons might be assigned for the changes here suggested, some of which I would not care to commit to appear, but would not hesitate

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