Pratt, taken at Bolivar, and Privates August Williams and Jesse K. Pryor, taken at Berlin, all of my regiment, and ofr any two other soldiers belonging to General Banks' division of the U. S. Army. The names of those I propose to exchange are James E. Murphy, Arthur Dawson, John H. Cusick, Robert Drane, J. L. Orrison.

In compliance with your wish with regard to your son, Arthur Dawson, and offer to communicate with the proper officers having authority in exchange of prisoners I forward this proposition to be acted upon collectively and as soon as possible. the conditions are that the exchange will be complete without any disqualifications.

Very, respectfully,

JNO W. GEARY,

Colonel Twenty-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers.

QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, January 9, 1862.

Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR:

Indorsement on letter of Captain Grier Tallmadge, Fort Monroe, Va., January 5, 1862, calling attention to the enormous freights paid on clothing to our prisoners in Southern cities:

Respectfully referred to the Secretary of War. I presume that the only mode of getting the clothing to our unfortunate prisoners is to submit to this tax upon humanity. If it is known that they are to be released it will be well to retain the clothing; if not it had better go forward.

M. C. MEIGS,

Quartermaster-General.

M. C. MEIGS,

Quartermaster-General.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA,
Fort Monroe, Va., January 9, 1862.

Brigadier General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army.

GENERAL: Captain J. W. Sprague, Seventh Ohio Volunteers, will hand you this communication. He is on parole until Captain Lucius J. Johnson can be exchanged for him or released. This is according to the understanding between General Huger and myself. I hope therefore you will as soon as convenient release Captain Johnson which will release Captain Sprague from his parole.

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

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-General.

WASHINGTON, January 9, 1862.

Major-General McCLELLAN.

MY DEAR GENERAL: In the great pressure for engineer officers I have been and am much disturbed at the loss of the services by capture of two good officers of the corps-namely, Captain Prime and Lieutenant Merrill; the former more valuable than all from maturity of judgment and much military experience; the latter as all tell me a young man of fine endowments and with much vigor and enterprise of character. Assured of your interest in their particular branch as well as of your devotion to the welfare of the general military service I do not trouble you with this note in any fear that you do not sufficeintly appreciate these men. I should now therefore as heretofore be silent