prisoner near Whitehall saw-mill. He had been inside our lines for several days trying to procure a horse, clothes, and supplies. On the night of January 4 another party from the same company lay concealed by one of the fords on Bayou Conway, and captured 4 prisoners while crossing the bayou. These men were also coming in to procure themselves clothing and supplies for another campaign. I am inclined to treat such men as spies. They come into our camps with borrowed oaths of allegiance in their possession, inspect our numbers and position, converse freely with our soldiers, and go out possessed of such information as we can only obtain from spies. On the night of January 5 a small scouting party near the Dutch Stores captured a load of provisions being taken to cross Amite River, and without any military permits. I ascertained from whom the provisions were purchased, arrested the man, and shall send him with charges to the provost-marshal-general's department. The number of prisoners captured by this command up to this date is 21, 20 of whom have been sent to New Orleans, and 1 sick man paroled for twenty days. No horses or men have yet been lost on any of the scouts.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. I. ALLEN,

Captain, Commanding.

Captain FREDERIC SPEED,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Defenses of New Orleans.

DECEMBER 16-19, 1864.--Expedition from Morganza to the Atchafalaya River, La.

REPORTS.

Numbers 1.--Colonel Henry N. Frisbie, Ninety-second U. S. Colored Infantry, commanding expedition.

Numbers 2.--Major Francis A. Sears, Sixty-seventh Indiana Infantry.

Numbers 3.--Captain Benjamin J. Summers, Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry.

Numbers 4.--Lieutenant William H. Posey, Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry.

Numbers 5.--Lieutenant Thomas Ledwick, Second New York Veteran Cavalry.

Numbers 1. Report of Colonel Henry N. Frisbie, Ninety-second U. S. Colored Infantry, commanding expedition.

HEADQUARTERS NINETY-SECOND U. S. INFANTRY,
Morganza, La., December 18, 1864.

LIEUTENANT: I have the honor to announce my safe arrival with my command, and submit the following report:

The plan as laid down in your paragraph III of instructions to Colonel Spicely was strictly complied with. In the part therein assigned to me which was executed without accident, I passed the house of Doctor Smith, near whose residence Acting Master Thatcher was murdered, but nothing was disturbed, and no halt was made longer than to catch several horses and mules that were near the place. Near here we also passed the new house of Mr. Parr, who was driven from near our picket-line. One reason why no investigation was made of the premises of Doctor Smith was from a misunderstanding of the instructions, as I supposed the gun-boats were to do the heavy work, and another was that I discovered a

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