Kellogg is not a cavalry officer; he would make an excellent lieutenant-colonel of infantry. The other two appointments I should be well satisfied with.

E. V. SUMNER,

Brigadier-General, U. S. Army, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC,
San Francisco, September 7, 1861.

Colonel E. D. TOWNSEND,

Asst. Adjt. General, Hdqrs. of the Army, Washington, D. C.:

COLONEL: Since my letter to you of the 30th ultimo the Union party has triumphed in the election, which makes things much safer here. There are about 20,000 secession voters in this State, and the dissolute and loose portion of this party are congregating in some force in the southern counties, in the hope of receiving support from Texas. I am re-enforcing the regular troops in that quarter as speedily as possible, in order to check this movement. The great and unaccountable success in Arizona and New Mexico will no doubt embolden them, and it is by no means certain that they will not make some attempt in this direction, and if they should ever get an organized force into this State as a rallying point for all the secession element, it would inevitably inaugurate a civil war here immediately. I stated to you that I thought Guaymas would be a better point of departure from this coast than Mazatlan. This was on the supposition that I was to enter Texas on the northwestern border. I find on further inquiry that this route would be next to impracticable with a large force for the want of water, grass, &c. I fitted out General Kearny's command of 100 men on the Rio Grande in the fall of 1846. I gave him the best of everything in the regiment, and yet when he arrived on this coast this small force was completely broken down and unable to contend successfully with the Californians who attacked him. If the object of the march is to move through Mexico and reach Texas low down on the Rio Grande, the best point of departure would be San Blas. I inclose a letter from Mr. Beale, the surveyor-general of this State. * His knowledge of Mexico is founded on his having actually traveled over it, and he is a sensible and reliable man. From Guadalajara I could make my way north, but it would be a very long and severe march, and with all the care I could take I could not feel sure of having an army of volunteers in fighting order when I reached Texas. I am, however, prepared to undertake it, and if it is not impossible the object of the expedition will be attained. I took the liberty in my last letter of suggesting whether it would not be better to take my command by sea to some point in Texas, there to be joined by a force from the North with all the necessary munitions, &c. If the main object of the expedition is to recover Texas, I would respectfully ask the General-in-Chief to reconsider this matter for a moment. I should feel great confidence in such an expedition, and I believe, with the additional force the general would give me, that I could recover and hold Texas, and thus make an important diversion in favor of the operations on the Mississippi. This plan would also have another great advantage. It would keep the troops here for some time while undergoing the necessary discipline, and still I should reach Texas much sooner than by the overland route. I think the presence of these troops

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*See Beale to Sumner, September 5, p. 605.

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