sent with them, one sent to the officer in command receiving the prisoners, one retained and one copy sent to this office. An order book is kept, a letter book and an index book, but no guard report book and no morning report book. A book of accounts of the savings and expenditures from the general camp fund is also kept. It would appear that as each battalion company is often composed of men from several States, and as no record of men is kept except on rolls, a complete history of the man so far as connected with his stay at camp would be seen better by arranging in the from of a book the necessary data. This has been in my opinion very well done by Colonel Sangster in the inclosed form*, marked C (1). He has had six of these books printed, one of which is designed for each battalion organization. From these if properly kept much labor will be systematized and much avoided in marking up the various reports and returns sent from the adjutant's office at the camp. At present all that is known of the inmates of the camp is gotten from the falls, and the names on returns of men sent away show these left on the original rolls, but the confusion and labor and liability to mistakes, losses of rolls, &c., which might result from this method are very obvious. At present or up to the time of the arrival of these books no company or battalion records have been kept to the of the companies beyond the morning report gotten from the sergeant' roll and its regular morning roll-call, and it would seen from the limited assistance permanently at Camp Parole, from the large number of men arriving and departing and the dispatch often necessary to be used in sending them away, that much inaccuracy must have been at times from want of books unavoidable. I inclose a copy* of charges against deserters for expense incurred in their apprehension, always sent by Colonel Sangster to the commanding officer to whom the exchanged prisoners are sent. It is marked C (2).

Supplies. - All commissary stores are drawn from the post commissary at Annapolis on a consolidated ten-days' return. They are issued in bulk, hauled to Camp Parole, where the acting assistant commissary issues every three days to the sergeants in charge of the various battalions companies, who in turn divide the stores received among the messes of the company, composed of numbers varying form eight to fifteen in each mess. The bread is all baked at the post and issued fresh, eighteen ounces to each ration. The provision returns are sent in the usual manner from the companies consolidated into battalion returns and the post commissary is held accountable for the amount of provisions which ought to be on hand at any time, as would appear from the number of men borne on the morning report. I inclose for your inspection copy* of an abstract of three days' issues to show the from, the quantity and the articles issued and to whom issued, marked D (1). D(2) is a schedule* showing the quantity of each article now issued in fifty rations and the amount in each article reserved and credited. D (3) is a statement* of the amount saved in seven days. After diligent inquiry among many men and non-commissioned officers I am unable to find any complaint either of the quality or quantity of the food, with the exception of the single article of bread. Some few men complain that the amount is not sufficient, but this deficiency is by no means generally felt. I personally weighed several average loaves of bread and found them to be fully eighteen ounces. I am satisfied that if care and economy were at all exercised in preparing the food the present ration would be found abundant. But after the sergeant

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* Not found.

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