SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPT. OF WEST VIRGINIA, Numbers 87.
Martinsburg, W. Va., April 29, 1864.

1. The Thirtieth and Thirty- second New York Independent Batteries, Captain Charles Kusserow commanding, will remain at this station until further orders.

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By order of Major General F. Sigel;

T. MELVIN,
Assistant Adjutant- General.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

Washington, April 29, 1864- 5.40 p. m.

Major- General BUTLER,

Fort Monroe:

General Stannard has been ordered to report to you; also Brigadier- Generals Ferry and Martindale. The number of brigadiers allowed by law is filled up, so that there is no vacancy just now for Major Ludlow; but two or three will probably be mustered out next week, in which case there will be a vacancy for his nomination.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

Secretary of War.

CONFIDENTIAL.] HDQRS. ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

Culpeper Court- House, Va., April 29, 1864.

Major- General HALLECK,

Chief of Staff of the Army:

GENERAL: If General Gillmore reaches Fort Monroe in time, and if four of the iron- clads promised by the Navy are also there, our advance will commence on the 4th of May.

General Butler will operate on the south side of James River, Richmond being his objective point. I will move against Lee's army, attempting to turn him by one flank or the other. Should Lee fall back within his fortifications at Richmond, either before or after gibing battle, I will form a junction with Butler, and the two forces will draw supplies from the James River. My own notions about our line of march are entirely made up, but as circumstances beyond my control may change them, I will only state that my effort will be to bring Butler's and Meade's forces together.

The army will start with fifteen days' supplies; all the country affords will be gathered as we go along. This will no doubt enable us to go twenty or twenty- five days without further supplies, unless we should be forced to keep in the country between Rapidan and the Chickahominy, in which vase supplies might be required by way of the York or the Rappahannock Rivers. To provide for this contingency I would like to have about 1,000.000 rations and 200,000 forage rations afloat, to be sent wherever it may prove they will be required. The late call for one hundred days' men ought to give us all the old troops in the Northern States for the field. I think full 2,000 of those in the West ought to be got to Nashville as soon as possible. Probably it would be as well to assemble all the balance