Donaldsonville. Colonel Dudley, commanding at Donaldsonville, has been directed to send a regiment of infantry to encamp at the same place. If you have no means of transportation, call upon General Andrews, at Port Hudson, for it. Acknowledge.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

RICH'D B. IRWIN,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE GULF, NINETEENTH ARMY CORPS,
New Orleans, August-, 1863.

Colonel N. A. M. DUDLEY,

Baton Rouge:

SIR: The commanding general desires you to exercise your discretion in regard to sending re-enforcements to Madame Seager's. Send them, if it is necessary, but the moment that the withdrawal will not have the appearance of a retreat or an attempted to avoid the enemy, the commanding general directs that you have the troops at Madame Seager's, including the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, concentrated at Plaquemine. The order directing the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry to concentrate at Baton Rouge may be regarded as modified to this extent.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

[RICH'D B. IRWIN,]

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES FORCES,
Donaldsonville, La., August 2, 1863.

Lieutenant Colonel RICHARD B. IRWIN,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Nineteenth Army Corps:

I have the honor to report for the information of the commanding general that, in compliance with instructions received from headquarters, the following distribution of troops lately occupying this point has been made; the last battery will embark to-morrow:

General Grover's division, Carrollton, La., Colonel Birge commanding; General Weitzel's brigade, First Division, with Carruth's battery and four companies Louisiana cavalry, Thibodeaux, Colonel Merritt commanding; Peine's brigade, First Division, Colonel Love commanding, and Dudley's brigade, First Division, Colonel Harrower commanding, at Baton Rouge; Gooding's brigade, Emory's division, Colonel Sharpe commanding, Baton Rouge; One hundred and twenty-eight New York Volunteers, Colonel Smith, Madame Seager's plantation, Mississippi River; Bainbridge's, Mack's, and Bradbury's batteries, Baton Rouge; Twenty-first Indiana Heavy Battery, Captain McLaflin, Port Hudson.

First Louisiana Volunteers, Colonel Fiske, remains at Donaldsonville, with Trull's battery, engineer and pioneer corps. The pontoon bridge across the bayou La Fourche I directed to be taken up to-day, and the officer in charge directed to report to the chief of engineer corps for instructions.

I would respectfully suggest that the men temporarily assigned to the pioneer corps be ordered to join their several regiments. Most of them are nine-months' men. There is a signal party of 1 non-commissioned officer and 6 men here waiting orders.

I deem it my duty to call the attention of the general to the fact that