I deem it my duty to state that at Macon I found 170 officers (prisoners of war) in the custody of the officer commanding at that post. They had been there for weeks-some for months. I am not aware and do not believe that any report has ever been made in regard to them. Feeling an interest in the proper management of the prison department I deem it my duty to call attention to the gross mismanagement and want of system which existing at the different prisons. In my opinion there should be some head of the prison department so that rules and regulations, general and comprehensive, may be prescribed for each and all throughout the Confederacy. Prison reports and returns made, order and system established, and strict discipline enforced.

I have the honor to be, general, your obedient servant,

THOS. P. TURNER,

Major, &c.

[Indorsement.]

MAY 26, 1864.

Respectfully forwarded to General S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector General, with the remark that orders have been issued, some time since, placing the hospitals outside of the inclosure of the prison.

JNO H. WINDER,

Brigadier-General.

[Inclosure No. 1.]

CAMP SUMTER, Andersonville, May 8, 1864.

Major THOMAS P. TURNER, C. S. ARMY:

MAJOR: I have the honor to make the following report in regard to C. S. military prison at this post. I was assigned to the command of the prison by Colonel A. W. Persons, the commandant of the post, on the 27th of March, 1864, having reported to him for duty by order of General J. H. Winder, commanding C. S. military prisons. I found the prison in a bad condition, owing to the want of tools, such as axes, spades, and lumber to erect proper buildings. The first commandant of the post, Captain W. S. Winder, and his successor, Colonel A. W. Persons, had left nothing untried to supply the[ese] so important articles. Only two weeks ago I received axes, spade, &c., from Columbus, Ga. ; went to work cutting ditches, &c. I hope to have everything in the interior of the prison completed in two weeks. The bakery, which could not be completed for want of lumber, is now in operation. The necessity of enlarging the stockade is unavoidable, and I shall commence as soon as I can gather a sufficient number of negroes.

I would most respectfully ask you to present to the authorities at Richmond the impediments thrown in my way by having the hospitals inside of the prison.

Number of prisoners on the 1st day of April. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,160

Received up to-day, from various points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,787

Received up to-day, recaptured. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

---- 5,794

-----

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,954

Number of dead from the 1st of April to 8th of May. . . . . 728

Number escaped from the 1st of April to 8th of May. . . . . 13

----

741 ----

Total on hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,213

I consequently lost six prisoners. I would also call your attention to the danger of having our present guard forces withdrawn and their places supplied by the reserve forces of Governor Brown.