benefit upon their orders; and when they are released, exchanged, or paroled, their private property, and the balance of the money due, will be turned over to them, unless the same shall be forfeited by crimes or by offenses of the owner, or shall be seized by way of military necessity, as prescribed by General Orders, No. 100, 1863.

V. Requisitions made by officers or agents of the Government for such funds as are mentioned in General Orders, No. 89, current series, will receive proper attention at the War Department.

By order of the Secretary of War:

E. D. TOWNSEND,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, City Point, Va., October 11, 1864.

Major General B. F. BUTLER, Commanding Army of the James:

GENERAL: I inclose you the letter of the President to me, together with all other papers relating to the exchange of naval prisoners of war now in the James River, and turn the whole matter over to you to conduct. *

In our conversation yesterday I explained the point in Secretary Welles' correspondence, which the President was afraid might involve us in trouble if retained by him. In conducting this exchange ignore all that has been done heretofore in the matter, but make the exchange man for man, yielding no point before insisted on.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
U. S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General.

WASHINGTON, D. C., October 11, 1864.

Major General B. F. BUTLER, U. S. Army:

GENERAL: In sending you the accompanying papers+ from Mr. Ould, touching supplies to prisoners of war, I think proper to say that recently at Johnson's Island a rebel prisoner, or two of them, rather, both colonels, addressed me a note, proposing that if they could be allowed to purchase such provisions as they might desire, and receive such supplies as their friends might send to them, they would agree that such of their prisoners (Federal prisoners in rebel hands) as should be designated should receive double the quantity without cost to them.

I took the opportunity of telling them that if they would give me reasonable evidence that Federal Prisoners in the South received simply the treatment due to prisoners of war, according to the laws of war and humanity, they, the rebel prisoners, should not only receive full rations, including sugar and coffee, but should be allowed to purchase as much more as they desired and I promised that any letters they might write to the South on the subject should be sent through the lines.

The simple duty in the South on this subject is to supply the prisoners of war properly, or according to the law of nations, send them

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*See Lincoln to Grant, October 5 (with the inclosures noted), p. 924, and Welles to Dahlgren, September 24, p. 867.

+Not found as inclosures; but see Ould to Mulford, October 6, p. 926, and Ould to Hitchcock, October 7, p. 930.

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