SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DISTRICT OF TEXAS, &C., Numbers 110.
Houston, April 19, 1864.

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II. The commanding general announces to the troops that the enemy having failed in his attack upon Mobile renders it more than probable that he may make one upon Galveston in the next month, and the necessity for agricultural purposes of most of the negroes being kept upon the plantations has induced him to call upon his troops to work with a will upon the defenses so necessary for their own protection, as well as that of the country. He feels assured that he can rely upon them to perform this duty well.

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XXIV. Waul's Legion, Duff's and Pyron's regiments, Spaight's battalion, Dashiell's and Nichols' batteries, and Greer's Rocket Battery will proceed immediately to East Bernard and there concentrate. Major E. B. Pendleton, chief commissary of subsistence, will make preparations for placing at that point 60,000 rations, and before this movement takes place will assure himself that they are there.

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By command of Major-General Magruder:

E. P. TURNER,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. DIST. OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA, Houston, Tex., April 20, 1864.

Brigadier General W. R. BOGGS, Chief of Staff, Shreveport, La.:

GENERAL: When I received General Smith's order to send all the troops at my disposal into Louisiana, except minimum garrisons, I did so, judging of the strength of the garrisons which should be left by the danger from the enemy still remaining in Texas. These garrisons have recently been still further reduced, and some 1,500 men prepared to re-enforce Major-General Taylor, under the impression, derived principally from Louisiana, though contradicted by information obtained here, that the enemy had evacuated the coast of Texas, or nearly so. Whilst assembling these 1,500 troops I received information of a contemplated landing of the enemy at Tres Palacios, on the mainland, and his advance into the country. At the same time an attack was made on our flotilla in Matagorda, which was repulsed by us, after a fight of one and a half hours. Two regiments have lately joined the enemy's forces at Saluria. Major-General McClernand is in command of the whole and General Warren of a division of the Thirteenth Army Corps. This is corroborated by deserters who came to us yesterday. From the best information I am satisfied that there are 5,000 troops of the enemy at Saluria, besides his force on the Rio Grande, which I estimate at not less than 4,000 of all arms.

Though I have received no orders or intimations that I was expected to send more re-enforcements to Major-General Taylor, still I feel that he ought to have them if I could possibly procure them, and hence prepared the 1,500 above mentioned. If I send them under present circumstances, however, I will have no troops with which to oppose a march of the enemy to Houston from Matagorda, as the reserve under the late act of Congress cannot be organized under thirty days from the publication of the orders of the Gov-