your officers and men prisoners of war. These I propose to release at once on their parole of honor not to take up arms against the United States until they are regularly exchanged and to send them to Elizabeth City upon the condition that an equal number of United States prisoners now in thehands of your Government be at once rleeased on parole and sent to Old Point Comfort, our priosners to be released in the order of their capture, those longest in confinement first. Upon exchange to be made in accordance with the usual rules.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours,

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Brigadier-General, Commanding Department of North Carolina.

QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, February 12, 1862.

Lieutenant Colonel W. HOFFMAN,

Commissary-General of Prisoners, Sandusky, Ohio.

COLONEL: Your letter of the 6th instant stating that after maturely considering the matter of a guard-boat for your depot you cannot advise the substitution of a launch or row-boat in place of a steam propeller has been received. Please took for a suitable vessel, have her examined by competent persons and report description, price and cost of manning and working such vessel.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

M. C. MEIGS,

Quartermaster-General.

CAVE CITY [KY.], February 12, 1862.

General R. W. Johnson, of the Federal Army, is commissioned by General Buell to confer with General T. C. Hindman for exchange of prisoners. If convenient for General Hindman, General Johnson would request him to meet him at the residence of Mr. Ritter, near Cave City, on Friday, 14th February, 1862.

General Johnson has a list of all the prisoners in possession of Federals of this department.

With kind remembrance, yours truly,

R. W. JOHNSON,

Brigadier-General.

I wish, general, you would telegraph to my brother, Dr. J. M. Johnson, at Nashville, to come out with you, and greatly oblige.

R. W. J.

HEADQUARTERS, Alton, Ill., February 12, 1862.

Lieutenant-Colonel BURBANK.

COLONEL: We receive another invoice of prisoners last night. There will not be room for more if our regiment is to remain quartered inside the walls. We have rented the buildings adjacent for storehouses and quartermaster's department. The surgeon is looking for a building suitable for a hospital but has not secceeded in procuring one as yet. I am having the prisoners police their quarters thoroughly and

17 R R-SERIES II, VOL III