certain acts which they felt justified under the circumstances to perform. This prison was opened December, 1863, by the incarceration of the Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge prisoners. The first arrival was on the 3rd of that month, the others as speedily as could be transported. But a short time afterward was issued the notorious amnesty oath proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, and a call upon the prisoners for volunteers for the naval service of the United States. So great was the response to that call from this prison that every loyal man felt it his most urgent duty to use every means within his reach to counteract that influence, and if possible prevent any others from taking the fatal step. For that purpose and that alone a consultation was held by the loyal men, and by them it was thought best to re-enlist into our service all who could be prevailed upon to do so, and accordingly upon the 7th of January, 1864, we commenced to enlist them into the cavalry service (it being the only service in which a large majority were willing to re-enlist) and have continued to do so to the present time. We have enlisted about 1,300 men, and organized into companies of 130 each, and we now ask Your Excellency's favorable consideration for the following reasons:

They have endured the privations of more than a year's imprisonment. They have manfully resisted the repeated attempts of the enemy either to persuade them by flattering offers or drive them by starvation into his service, or an acceptance of the amnesty oath. That all the men enlisted are those whose terms of service have or will have expired this spring. That the only object for which the enlistment and organization was first instituted was to preserve the loyalty of the prisoners. That they now earnestly desire to continue the same if it is not detrimental to our service.

For the above reasons they hope Your Excellency will grant the prayer of-

Your humble petitioners,

THOS. A. COCKE.

CHAS. H. ROBERTSON.

A. D. WALLACE.

JAS. W. PERKINS.

D. A. TOADVINE.

G. U. B. JEFEVAT.

W. G. ALLEN.

W. J. PERRYMAN.

JAMES L. GOODLOE.

MARTIN D. MORGAN.

[Indorsement.]

Respectfully referred by direction of the President to the Honorable Secretary of War.

BURTON N. HARRISON,

Private Secretary.

COLUMBIA, February 9, 1865.

General S. COOPER:

Yesterday's telegram received. We have no prisoners of the kind.

H. FORNO,

Colonel, Commanding.

RICHMOND, February 10, 1865.

Lieutenant General U. S. GRANT, U. S. Army:

SIR: The Confederate authorities desire to send from Mobile an additional supply of 1,500 bales of cotton, to be disposed of by our