HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI,
OFFICE PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL,

Saint Louis, Mo., November 29, 1864.

Colonel JOSEPH DARR, JR., Acting Provost-Marshal-General:

COLONEL: We have the honor to report that in accordance with your invitation we this day visited Myrtle Street and Gratiot Street Prisons. At the Myretle Street Prison we were show about by the commanding officer, and we think we visited every apartment. At this prison we think the inmates have so little confinement that it can be hardly called imprisonment. The rooms, with one exception, were in a fair state of cleanliness, and a few of the smaller rooms were as clean as could be desired. The same cannot be said of the halls and court-yard, for in those places there was an abundance of fifth.

We suggested that there might be much improvement made in the case of the rooms by having the bunks kept neater, the bedding shaken, blankets folded, cobwebs brushed from the walls, &c. We noticed the refuse from the kitchen running through the yard and though that either a drain should be dug or else the simple plan of having a tub placed under the spout which could be emptied often should be done. The kitchen and dining-room were in very good condition. The entire place, in our opinion, should be whitewashed. The prisons looked healthy and robust and were reported all well.

At Gratiot Street Prison neither the commanding officer nor the second in command were present, and we were show about by a soldier, who could give us no definite information. We first visited the strong rooms and found them, with the adjacent halls, quite clean, they having been washed but a few minutes before. In passing into the lower and larger rooms we found dirt and fifth that ought not to be tolerated in any place. It was to be found under the bunks, between the bunks, and in some instances in the middle of the floor. The spittoons were overflowing with fifth and looking as though they were not emptied often, and the stoves are used as a mark to spit upon, so that when a fire is built the stench will be great. Of the large rooms, one was empty, and of the other two we though that the largest contained the least number of prisoners. The quarters of the officers were in fair condition, but of the large room in front, in which they exercise, we think it should be changed in some way so that they cannot have the same means of inter-communication with the public.

The hospital we thought in as excellent condition as the crowded wards will admit, and the surgeons (rebels) appear to take an interest in their patients. The kitchen, wash-room, and dining-room were in a fair state of cleanliness.

The sick was in filthy condition and emitted a bad odor, which one cannot help noticing in passing in and out of the court-yard.

The prisoners seem satisfied with their treatment and with their rations.

At the female prison we did not have a good opportunity to see how it was kept, for the rooms were being whitewashed and otherwise cleaned. There seems to be a disposition on the part of the keeper to put and keep it in a proper condition.

At both the Myrtle Street and Gratoit Street Prisons we think there should be facilities for extinguishing a fire, should one occur. It is fearful to contemplate the effects of a fire in these crowded rooms whit prisoners in chains.

All of which is respectfully submitted:

C. W. DAVIS,

Lieutenant-Colonel Fifty-first Illinois.

JAS. McGINNIS.