MACON, MO., September 3, 1864.

General ROSECRANS:

I have about 800 men here without anything to fight with. I received a dispatch yesterday that 500 stand of arms were sent me by the way of the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad. I have received no tidings of them. The ordinance officer is here and expected to find them. He knows nothing of them.

WM. FORBES,

Colonel Forty-second Missouri Volunteers.

SAINT LOUIS, MO., September 3, 1864.

Colonel FORBES,

Macon City:

Form your plans at once and communicate them to General Fisk and also to me. What is to be done must be done quickly.

W. S. ROSECRANS,

Major-General.

HDQRS. EIGHTH MIL. DIST., ENROLLED MISSOURI MIL.,
Mexico, Mo., September 3, 1864.

Major-General ROSECRANS:

Saint Louis, Mo.:

I promised in my telegram of yesterday to write by small giving a more lengthy statement of the number, &c., of the rebels in my district. From the best information I have been able to obtain I am of the opinion that the number of rebels, horse-thieves, and rogues generally, in my district will amount to about 2,000. These are not all actually engaged at this time, but are in a condition to move at any time their leaders desire to use them. Those that are now out travel in bands of from 10 to 100, but they can concentrate from 300 to 500 on very short notice. To meet and drive these men out I have, in my judgment, a force sufficient, provided they were mounted. The Iowa troops arrived here this morning, they being the only mounted men in my district. Others are nominally mounted, but not effective. The Seventeenth Illinois have about 110 horses. The Ninth Missouri State Militia and Third Missouri State Militia have about one-fourth of their men mounted. If the Government could mount these men shortly, with the aid of the new regiments to hold posts and Government property, and use some of them in the woods to still-hunt and ambush the rebels, whilst I put the cavalry out with instructions to have headquarters in the field, I think I can safely rely on driving these desperadoes out of the country, or, which would be much better, we could kill a large portion of them. I hope that I can have the use of the Iowa cavalry for a few weeks. If so, I think the main force of the rebels will have been dispersed, and likely a large number of young men and boys deterred from joining them. We have succeeded in killing quite a number, and are daily adding to the number of their dead by killing one and two at a place.

Hoping to be able in a few days to render a good account from my district,

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

J. B. DOUGLASS,

Brigadier-General.