commissioner of exchange, of the date of December 27, 1863, refusing to treat with myself as commissioner of exchange on the part of the United States, I sent Major Mulford with a steamer to officially inform Mr. Ould that I would confer with him as proposed, and suggested, as a matter of comfort to both parties, that he should meet me with his assistant at Fortress Monroe.

Owing to the darkness and storminess of the weather he was not able to come down the river until the following day. Upon meeting Mr. Ould informed me that most of the soldiers of the United States in the hands of his authorities had been sent to Americus, Ga., for the convenience of furnishing them with food and for the purpose of relieving us from the temptation of continual movements upon Richmond for the purpose of their liberation, and that in further exchange, he would desire to have these prisoners delivered to us at Fort Pulaski, in Savannah River, and urged as a reason that it was more desirable to have them come by sea than to suffer the discomfort of a ride of many hundred miles by railroad.

From motives of tenderness to the prisoners, and to prevent their being broken down by the journey, I assented that, in case the exchange went forward, our Government would receive those prisoners at that point, although the expenditure would be much heavier than at City point; but leaving that question, as well as the one whether the prisoners held by us in the West might not be delivered by the Mississippi River, and thus save an expensive land transportation, to be adjusted by future conference, after other questions of more moment were settled, we then proceeded to discuss the points of difference which had arisen in the matter of exchange, and the points reduces themselves to a few, which for more convenience for reference were put upon a memorandum. I confess that excepting the first point, as to persons of color, which I beg leave to discuss last, I can see no reason why an agreement upon all points of difference cannot be arrived at upon just and equitable terms.

In regard to paroles, the Confederate commissioner claims nothing, so far as I can see, which he is not willing to concede to us, acting under the cartel and out general orders, with the exception that, I believe, on both sides it should be yielded that, as well before as subsequently to Order Numbers 207, of July 3, 1863, paroles should not be accepted by either belligerent of officers or soldiers who were not so far in the power of the captor as to be taken to a place of safety, and I believe this proposition will be agreed to by the Confederate commissioner, although for paroles given prior to July 3 I was at a loss to answer the fact claimed, which I suppose to be the fact that paroles of prisoners taken on raids had been insisted upon on behalf of the United States, as in the case of Kilpatrick's first expedition to Richmond, and had been allowed and counted by the Confederate authorities. But I have still no doubt that matter can be easily adjusted.

The next question of difference which presented itself in discussing what paroles should be allowed was the necessity of defining what is the meaning of the words "commanders of armies in the field," as used in Order Numbers 207; and this was further complicated with the question when that order should be considered as taking effect; whether at its date, July 3, 1863, or on the date of its being notified to the Confederate commissioner of exchange, July 8, or at so The practical result of the difference of opinion upon this question would be this: If the "commanding officer of an army in the field" should only mean the officer actually commanding a military department, or an expeditionary corps