tion he will have about the state of the river and the enemy's force at Plaquemine may suggest whether or not it is necessary to send the Princess Royal to support the Kineo.

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

W. H. EMORY,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, June 20, 1863.

Honorable E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War:

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th instant, transmitting a copy of a correspondence between Captain Marivault, of the French corvette La Tisiphone, and General Emory, commanding at New Orleans, and to inform you that your suggestion on the subject has been executed.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

WM. H. SEWARD,

[Secretary of State.]

HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE GULF, NINETEENTH ARMY CORPS,
Before Port Hudson, June 20, 1863.*

Major General H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief, Washington:

GENERAL: The terms of service of the regiments of nine-months' volunteers, twenty-two in number, now serving in this department, will begin to expire in a few days, and by the end of August will all have expired. Some of these regiments claim to be already entitled to discharge, and every few days will add to the number of those who make such a claim. If the Government decides that their term is to be reckoned from the date of muster-in of the last company, as claimed, we shall lose them much sooner than I have stated. On this point I have asked for instructions.

When these regiments leave us, there will remain in my command thirty-seven regiment of three-years' infantry, averaging, at the outside, but 350 effective men each. Of these I must, in any event, leave one regiment at Key West and the Tortugas, one at Pensacola, one at Forts Jackson and Saint Philip, four at New Orleans, supposing my main force to be covering and in supporting distance of that city, and a very much larger force if we operate in a remote quarter. My movable force of infantry can, therefore, in no case exceed 10,000, and for any operations which uncover that city would be but half that number.

We shall be powerful in artillery, and our cavalry force, organized almost entirely here, will be respectable in numbers though lacking in efficiency, owing to defective and discipline and want of instruction.

The control of the Mississippi, when gained, as I feel confident it will be, by hard struggles and great sacrifice, may be again wrested from our grasp if some provision is not made to repair the losses from the casualties of active service, from the diseases of the climate, and from the exodus of the nine-months' regiments.

I think it of the utmost importance for the interest of the Govern-

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*This letter also appears in the files as of June 22 and 29.

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