clothing or other articles only from members of their immediate family. Contributions disloyal friends or sympathizers for the general benefit of prisoners must not received. My letter of the 3rd of August limits the quantity and kind of clothing, and other articles must be confined to such as can be allowed without detriment to the service, and which cannot be considered as luxuries.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. HOFFMAN,

Colonel Third Infantry and Commissary-General of Prisoners.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT,

Richmond, Va., November 23, 1863.

Captain JAMES R. CURRELL,

Assistant Commissary of Exchange:

SIR: Accompanying this you will find Exchange Notices Nos. 6 and 7* which will inform you who have been exchanged and who are not exchanged. I also inclose my recent correspondence with the Federal agent of exchange, which will serve to show the views entertained by the Confederate authorities upon certain questions which have occasioned difficulty between the Confederate and Federal commanders west of the Mississippi. I desire that you should proceed without unnecessary delay west of the Mississippi and confer with Lieutenant-Colonel Szymanski, to whom I have delivered certain written instructions. By perusing those instructions you will see how far they been necessarily modified by the correspondence and Exchange Notice Nos. 6 and 7. The Confederate authorities expect General Kirby Smith to act in reference to the difficulty between Major-General Taylor and Major-General Banks as he thinks honor and propriety dictate. General Smith will see from my correspondence the position I have taken on this side. If General Smith prefers that I should take action here in reference to those difficulties I will do so if he will forward to me authenticated lists of the Federal prisoners who have been released on parole within his department, stating in those lists when and where the parties were captured, by whom captured, and when and where paroled, and whether they were allowed after parole to go to their own lines. Whatever disposition was made of them after parole should be stated on the face of the papers. The Federals parole men without releasing them.

You will please inform General Smith and Taylor that I have received and read the correspondence between the latter and General Banks. If I receive authenticated lists of the paroles given by the Federals west of the Mississippi I will act upon them and discharge a like number of our Vicksburg prisoners, unless I hear in the meantime that the same thing has been done by General Smith and General Taylor.

You will please inform Lieutenant-Colonel Watts that I have no desire that he shall remain in Mobile; I would prefer that he should reside at a point as near as possible to Vicksburg.

I have recently received from General Forney the lists of the Vicksburg paroled men who have reported at Enterprise. I have also received lists of some prisoners who have reported at Marietta. The later belong to the artillery. In a very few days I will declare these exchanged. It is not impossible that general exchanged will soon be resumed. There are some indications in that direction. Until, however, general exchanged are resumed all the prisoners now in our custody should be held and not delivered at any point. It is expected that

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*See pp. 295,388.

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