U. S. SHIP VERMONT,

Port Royal, August 1, 1864.

Lieutenant Colonel JAMES F. HALL,

Provost-Marshal-General, Dept. of the South:

SIR: I send on shore contrabands heretofore serving in the squadron and now discharged. If they return to their ship in a week I wish to reship them. Will you please give them passes for a week, and allow them to return to us should they desire to do so? I will be obliged if you, will apprise General Foster that these contrabands have been landed.

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

WM. REYNOLDS,

Commanding Naval Depot.

[Indorsement.]

Respectfully forwarded to the commanding general.

JAMES F. HALL,

Lieutenant Colonel and Provost-Marshal-General.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,
Hilton Head, S. C., August 2, 1864.

If these men are allowed to come on shore, I wish it may either be as discharged men or as men on furlough. To have them sent with the condition that if they do not return on board at a certain time they will be liable to be taken by the Army is not agreeable to this branch of the service.

J. G. FOSTER,

Major-General, Commanding.

HDQRS. NORTHERN DISTRICT, DEPT. OF THE SOUTH,
Morris Island, S. C., August 1, 1864.

Major General J. G. FOSTER,

Commanding Department of the South:

GENERAL: I have the honor to report that I am sufficiently advanced in the matter of the mines to be able to apply them within two or three days. Admiral Dahlgren has very kindly sent an officer of his staff to explain to me the use of the clock-work torpedoes, and has placed a number of them at my disposal. These I am about to use to destroy the boom.

It appears to me that looking at Sumter a considerable breach has been made in the two faces of the fort, especially the left face. I propose sending a party around the fort with the view of ascertaining the amount of damage done to these walls. The work on the Swamp Angel will soon be finished. I have been moving my headquarters to Morris Island, and have been prevented on that account from making out a report of the attack on Fort Johnson.

A. SCHIMMELFENNIG.

HDQRS. NORTHERN DISTRICT, DEPT. OF THE SOUTH,
Morris Island, S. C., August 1, 1864.

Captain W. L. M. BURGER,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Dept. of the South:

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to call the attention of the major-general commanding to the fact that while our rifled guns have done