pect anything, or have information of the presence of bushwhackers or rebels between that post and Independence.

The Sni Hills are a notorious place of rendezvous for guerrilla parties, where they frequently congregate in large force, and to be able to do efficient service, will require men who are well acquainted with that part of the country.

By order Colonel James H. Ford, commanding Fourth Sub-District:

EDWARD L. BERTHOUD,

First Lieutenant and Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

[Inclosure Numbers 2.] HDQRS. FOURTH SUB-DIST., DIST. CENTRAL MISSOURI, Kansas City, Mo., February 23, 1864.

Major J. L. PRITCHARD,

Commanding Station, Harrisonville, Mo.:

MAJOR: The following instructions from Colonel James H. Ford, commanding, are sent for your guidance while in command:

* * * * * *

The above paragraphs* are taken from the written instructions of the general commanding the District of Central Missouri, but in addition to them the colonel commanding the Fourth Sub-District enjoins upon all commanders of stations, squadrons, companies, scouts, or patrols to maintain strict and just discipline among the men, to forbid and effectively prevent plundering or pilfering in any shape whatever, and the wanton or indiscriminate seizure or destruction of property by illegal processes or without the authority of competent commanding officers.

The regimental orders on the proper conduct of officers and men in their frequent and continued intercourse with the different sections of the district will be strictly enforced. Commanding officers of squadrons and stations will see that the cavalry horses and equipments are well cared for and kept up to the maximum of efficiency. In the arduous and continued service to which men and horses will necessarily be subject on the border, increased vigilance is necessary for both officers and men to maintain their horses in good condition, upon which their usefulness depends. The patrolling from the different posts will be done under a regular and systematic plan, so that the more accessible portions of the country may be successfully examined and constantly patrolled, taking care, however, in not always traveling by exactly the same points, and thus in the brush decreasing the chances of ambush from guerrilla parties. The commanders of stations will take particular care that they and their subordinates acquire a perfect knowledge of the country, its resources in forage, its covers, forests, hiding places for marauding parties, and in particular the roads form each station.

In forwarding you these instructions, brief and imperfect as they are, the colonel commanding expects that every officer will do everything that is possible to aid in the accomplishment of the objects of the instructions of Brigadier-General Brown. You should keep your portion of the Fourth Sub-District well and sufficiently patrolled, and in such a systematic manner that you will be perfectly informed of all the movements in Cass, Bates, and part of Vernon Counties. The commanders of Independence and Hickman Mills stations have

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*See Berthoud to Smith, p. 455.

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