HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA,
Fort Laramie, Dak. Ter., October 7, 1865.

Colonel NELSON COLE,

Commanding Second Missouri Light Arty., Fort Laramie, Dak. Ter.:

SIR: The brevet major-general commanding directs that You will proceed with Your command to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., reporting on Your arrival there to the major-general commanding Kansas and the Territories for muster out. Your supplies from this post should be sufficient to provide for Your command to Fort Sedgwick, Julesburg, a distance of 162 miles. At that post You will draw supplies for Your command to Cottonwood, a distance of 105 miles, and there draw Your supplies to last You to Fort Kearny, a distance of 96 miles, at which point You may require additional transportation to carry Your supplies of subsistence stores to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., a distance of 263 miles, Your point of destination. The commanding officer of the East Sub-District of Nebraska, Bvt. Brigadier General H. H. Heath, whose headquarters are at Fort Kearny, will be directed to afford You, at every post in his sub-district, all facilities in his power for Your prompt execution of this order. Small parties of hostile Indians have frequently made depredations within the last month at points between this post and Fort Sedgwick, and 40 miles from where Your route crosses Lodge Pole Creek they have lately attacked trains; they have not been reported to be in parties of more than thirty or forty, rarely as many. You are desired to use proper precautions in that vicinity, and, indeed, until after You cross the Blue River east of Fort Kearny strong guards should be kept over Your animals at night. Lieutenant F. J. Amsden, of the Signal Corps, with his detachment of twenty-one aggregate, will be directed to report to You and accompany Your command to Fort Leavenworth.

By order of Bvt. Major General Frank Wheaton:

G. M. BAILEY,

Captain, Aide-de-Camp, and Assistant Commissary of Musters.

NEW ORLEANS, LA., October 8, 1865-10. 30 a. m.

(Received 12 p. m.)

General RAWLINS, Chief of Staff:

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of telegram directing me to relieve General Steele.

P. H. SHERIDAN,

Major-General.

SAINT LOUIS, MO., October 10, 1865.

(Received 4. 15 p. m.)

Lieutenant-General GRANT:

I wrote You through General Sherman about ten days since requesting authority to consolidate into one regiment and re-enlist for one year the Second and Third U. S. Volunteers, whose terms of service expire this month. All the volunteer regiments on the plains are dissatisfied and mutinous, and are even now rapidly deserting. Unless other troops wich are reliable can be had to replace them, I very much fear that before winter sets in they will abandon the posts and stores on the plains. It is now too late in the season to send regular regiments to the remote posts, and I wish to reorganize the two regiments (Second and Third U. S. Volunteers) so as to keep them where they are. They