selves on the Kiawah River bank. The second night they will advance to the broken-down bridge leading to Seabrook Island, and to the point of Kiawah at the Seabrook for on the beach. At these points they will remain until a couple of hours after daylight, and carefully observe any signs of the enemy on Seabrook or John's Island. The party will then return to Folly Island. While this party is out, the negro, Frank, will be allowed to bring in any of this stuff or cattle still on the Vanderhost plantation, and for that purpose Captain Cushing will furnish the officer in command with two wagons on his calling for them.

You will notify these headquarters when the expedition is to start and who goes in command, and they will be accompanied by one of the general's staff officers.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. W. SCHAUFFLER,

Lieutenant and Aide-de-Camp.

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, Numbers 227.
Hilton Head, S. C., June 1, 1864.

I. Brigadier General William Birney, U. S. Volunteers, is hereby ordered to relieve Brigadier General George H. Gordon of the command of the District of Florida, and will report immediately after the court of inquiry, now in secession, have dispensed with his services.

Brigadier General George H. Gordon, on being relieved, will, in accordance with instructions from the Secretary of War, report in person to the Adjutant-General U. S. Army, at Washington, D. C.

* * * * * * *

By command of Major General J. G. Foster:

W. L. M. BURGER,
Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General.

GENERAL'S BUTLER'S HEADQUARTERS,

June 2, 1864 - 2.30 a. m. (Received 10.30 p. m.)

Honorable E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War:

I forward for the information of the War Department an extract of a letter, dated Charleston, May 6, 1864, taken from the dead body of Colonel O. M. Dantzler, Twenty-second South Carolina Regiment, who was killed in an attack upon our lines this morning, and whose dead body is in our hands:

No news; all very quiet here. We are very short-handed now. The Twentieth [South Carolina] was positively ordered, and was ready to go, but the order was countermanded and it is now the only infantry left nearer Charleston than Savannah. If we are allowed to remain quiet, all this is well enough, but if we should be attacked by any of the approaches to the city, I fear the consequences. The contingency is too gloomy to think about.

B. F. BUTLER.

HDQRS. NORTHERN DISTRICT, DEPT. OF THE SOUTH,
Folly Island, S. C., June 2, 1864.

Captain W. L. M. BURGER,

Asst. Adjt. General, Department of the South:

I consider it my duty to lay before the major-general commanding the fact that two regiments of this command have not been paid