A list of counties upon which to base a call for 5,000 slaves for labor on the fortifications to serve for thirty days.

County Quota called for Credit by number Quota due

furnished under

recent calls

Albemarle 253 153 100

Amelia 143 ............... 143

Amherst 117 17 100

Appomattox 85 .............. 85

Augusta 88 ............... 88

Staunton 14 .............. 14

Bedford 182 ............... 182

Botetourt 57 ............... 57

Brunswick 148 .............. 148

Buckingham 130 147 ...........

Campbell 180 ............... 180

Lynchburg 30 17 13

Charlotte 178 ................ 178

Chester- 149 ............... 149

field

Cumberland 127 101 26

Dinwiddie 130 .............. 130

Petersburg 80 .............. 80

Fluvanna 74 86 ...........

Franklin 117 .............. 117

Goochland 115 .............. 115

Greensville 79 .............. 79

Halifax 295 ............... 295

Hanover 172 ............... 172

County Quota called for Credit by number Quota due

furnished under

recent calls

Henrico 131 58 73

City of 158 344 ..........

Richmond

Henry 85 .............. 85

Louisa 183 ............... 183

Lunenburg 118 .............. 118

Mecklenburg 326 ............... 326

Montgomery 42 ............... 42

Nelson 90 12 78

Nottoway 102 ............... 102

Pittsyl- 247 ............... 247

vania

Town of 20 ............... 20

Danville

Powhatan 105 92 13

Prince 120 ................ 120

Edward

Patrick 37 ............... 37

Pulaski 32 .............. 32

Roanoke 54 ............... 54

Rockbridge 77 ............... 77

Russell 21 ............... 20

Washington 46 .............. 46

Wythe 38 ............... 38

Total 4,974 1,027 4,162

By command of the Secretary of War:

JNumbers WITHERS,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A.,

Richmond, Va., September 22, 1864.

General R. E. LEE,

Commanding Army of Northern Virginia:

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 20th instant and to thank you for the full expression of your views relative to the impressment and supply of slaves for service with the armies. Concurring in your general views, I shall proceed at once to impress and collect, to the number of 20,000, as authorized by the act of Congress, for employment with the armies. I propose likewise to have all free negroes of the age for service enrolled and organized thoroughly, to be employed mainly in localities most exposed and where there is the greatest danger of slaves running away. I think these negroes, whether free or slave, had better be arranged and organized into something like companies, battalions, and regiments, after the plan adopted by the English, with reference to what they call navvies, or laborers, with superintendents and overseers in lieu of officers. From these organizations appropriate details may be made, singly or by squads, companies, or the like, for the various duties in which they are indented to be employed. Many advantages, I think, would result from this system in enabling us to preserve better order and exercise more care and supervision over the negroes so employed. The requisite number deemed necessary might be sent to the armies in organized bodies and the requisite details made by commanding officers. Orders will be