HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, September 8, 1864-2 p.m.

Lieutenant-General GRANT:

The following dispatch from Major-General Hancock, and explanatory not from Captain McEntee are through worth sending:

HEADQUARTERS SECOND CORPS, September 8, 1864-1.30 p.m.

Major-General HUMPHREYS,
Chief of Staff:

The officer [of the] day of the First Brigade of General Mott's division reports this morning that he has ascertained that the Richmond City Home Guards are picketing in front of a part of Mott's division. The division officer [of the] day says he is endeavoring to ascertain more particulars. It may be that this is for the purpose of preventing desertion.

WINF'D S. HANCOCK,

Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, September 8, 1864.

Major-General HUMPHREYS,
Chief of Staff:

GENERAL: The Richmond City Home Guard is a militia organization composed of old men and boys who have heretofore only been called out on urgent occasions. This organization, according to best information I have received, including Richmond and Petersburg, numbers near 3,000 men. A part of that force occupied the trenches during the Reams' Station fight.

Respectfully,

J. MCENTEE,

Captain, &c.

JNO. G. PARKE,

Major-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT, September 8, 1864.

Major-General HUMPHREYS,

Chief of Staff:

GENERAL: Five deserters who left the enemy's lines last night have just arrived here. They report no change in the position of Mahone's division, nor have they heard of the arrival of any troops from the Valley. I can get no reliable evidence confirmatory of the rumors that Kershaw's division has as yet returned from the Valley. I think, on the contrary, that everything seems to indicate that they have neither passed through Richmond nor Petersburg. Among all the deserters coming in I have been able to hear from the city nearly every day for the past week, and I find none of them who have seen or heard of Kershaw's division passing, except one man, who states that they went through the town on Sunday last. There is abundant evidence to show that he was mistaken in regard to the command. One of these men to-day reports that on Sunday last he saw Fry's brigade pass through the town, and several days ago a deserter from Lane's brigade reported that he saw Fry's brigade march down to their right flank. Law's brigade is still lying in rear of Mahone's division, and one of these men while conversing with a man in Fifteenth Alabama was told by him yesterday that a part of Longstreet's corps was still with Early, but