HOUSTON, February 12, 1865.

Brigadier General J. E. SLAUGHTER,

Commanding Western Sub-District:

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 30th ultimo, and to reply that in view of the threatening aspect of affairs on the Rio Grande that for the present and until further orders you can retain all your forces on the Rio Grande. I hope with them you will be able to hold Brownsville. A well-known merchant of New Orleans, who was in Havana about the 4th of this month, sent word by the Wren, which has just arrived, that Jack Hamilton was about to sail from the mouth of the Rio Grande with three regiments, with which added to the force now at Brazos Santiago, it is his purpose to push up the river to Brownsville and Rio Grande City, in order to cut off the cotton trade. Without this information it would seem not impossible that something of the kind is in contemplation, since on any other supposition it would seem unnecessary to keep the troops on Brazos Island there any longer. Together with this raid upon Brownsville, it is highly probable that the attack, long threatened, upon Galveston will be made simultaneously with the advance upon Brownsville. I inclose you a letter to Mr. Perkins, requesting him to send Lieutenant Lane in pursuit of the absconding depositary, Palmer. Use every effort to have this man recaptured and brought back. Lieutenant Lane is represented to be a man of persevering determination and incorruptible honesty. I fear, however, if Palmer has not already been apprehended he has embarked for Europe or Havana; if not, you can doubtless, under your late conversation with the Imperial authorities, procure from General Mejia an order for Palmer's extradition.

J. G. WALKER.

Major-General, Commanding

GENERAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT. Numbers 10.
Shreveport, La., February 13, 1865.

I. The following order is published for the information of the department:

GENERAL ORDERS,
ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, Numbers 77.
Richmond, October 8, 1864.

The following will supersede General Orders, Numbers 76, present series, which are hereby revoked:

I. All details heretofore granted under authority of the War Department to persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years are hereby revoked, and all such detailed men, together with those within the said ages, who hold furloughs or temporary exemptions by reason of pending applications for detail will be promptly assembled at the camps of instruction and appropriately assigned among the armies for service; except that men detailed and now actually employed in the service of the Government as artisans, mechanics, or persons of scientific skill (and those detailed and now engaged in the manufacture, collection, and forwarding of indispensable supplies for the Army and Navy) will be continued in their present employments until their respective details are revised.

* * * *

By order:

S. COOPER,

Adjutant and Inspector General.

II. In accordance with the above order, all details of men who do not hold certificates of medical boards showing unfitness for service in the field are revoked, with the following exceptions; Men detailed from department headquarters on the ground of justice, equity, and necessity, where that ground still exists and is stated in the order of detail; clerks who are experts and whose services are indispensably necessary,