DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 14, 1862.

Lord LYONS, &c.:

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 11th instant* and its inclosure relative to the case of Mr. William T. Wilson, who was arrested at Baltimore on the 19th ultimo and who is at present held in custody at Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor. In reply, I have the honor to state that inquiries have been made of the officer who made the arrest from which it appears that the statement of Mr. Wilson does not relative him from suspicion of being the Wilson for whom he was in fact arrested. I have, however, transmitted all the papers on file in this Department together with the statements submitted by you to Major General John A. Dix at Baltimore, with a request to cause a careful examination to be made and return them together with his report thereon to me.

I avail myself of this occasion to renew to your lordship the assurance of my very high consideration,

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 14, 1862.

Major General JOHN A. DIX, Baltimore.

GENERAL: Herewith I have the honor to inclose copies of a note* from Lord Lyons, Her Britannic Majesty's minister, together with two inclosures submitted by him to this Department relative to the case of William T. Wilson who was recently arrested in Baltimore and who is now held in custody at Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor. Will you please examine these statements and take such other testimony in regard to the facts in this case as may be obtained and report to this Department as soon as you conveniently can?

I have the honor to be, general, your obedient servant,

F. W. SEWARD,

Assistant Secretary.

HDQRS. CITY GUARD, OFFICE OF PROVOST-MARSHAL, Washington, D. C., January 15, 1862.

Brigadier General A. PORTER,
Provost-Marshal, Washington, D. C.

GENERAL: In accordance with the request+ of the Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, directed to you requesting you to report on the case of Captain B. F. Gwynn, I have the honor to report that on January 7, 1862, Captain Gwynn, residing in Prince George County, Md., was committed to your custody by order of Brigadier-General Casey under the following circumstances, to wit:

From information received by General Casey he on the 6th of January, 1862, caused to be detached for the purpose of arresting Captain Gwynn a force of 200 men belonging to the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Infantry, headed by the colonel, lieutenant-colonel and other officers of that regiment and of General Casey's staff. After a night's march of thirty-two miles the arrest was accordingly effected at 8 o'clock the next morning at this residence. He was charged with holding correspondence with and giving information to the enemy and suspected of being a spy. An immediate search of his residence resulted in the discovery of the bosex

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*Not found.

+Omitted.

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