CITY POINT, VA., November 4, 1864.

Honorable W. DENNISON,

Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C.:

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of date 31st of October, and am glad to be able to inform you that so far as my knowledge extends the army is well and satisfactorily supplied with mails. Our soldiers receive their mail matter with as much regularity and promptness as is possible for armies in the field, and with perhaps as much certainty and security as the most favored portions of the country. When the expedition started from Cairo in February, 1862, against Fort Henry, Colonel A. H. Maryland voluntarily joined me, and was assigned to the duty of keeping up the mails to and from the army in the field. After the fall of Fort Donelson, Maryland was commissioned as special of the Post-Office Department, and has been on duty with me or with officers under my command most of the time since. A system of receiving and forwarding mails was adopted, and enlisted men detailed for the purpose of carrying it into effect, which they did, under Colonel Markland's supervision, with signal fidelity and acceptance, and without any expense to the Post-Office Department that I am aware of. The policy I then adopted of prohibiting civilians from having anything to do with the maills within the lines of the army, and of detailing intelligent, reliable, enlisted men for the purpose, my subsequent experience has confirmed. Should there be any necessity for adopting a different policy within the lines of any of the armies under my command, I will comply your request to inform you of what is desired.

U. S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General.

CITY POINT, VA., November 4, 1864.

Colonel O. E. BABCOCK,

Fort Monroe:

Your last dispatch received. The last boat will be off in a few minutes. All O. K.

T. S. BOWERS,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

FORT MONROE, November 4, 1864-6.30 p. m.

(Received 5th.)

Lieutenant-Colonel Bowers,

Assistant Adjutant-General:

All but the Iolas have arrived and will be off by 2 a. m. of the 5th. So rough here we had to send boats off Craney Island to transfer. All the boats with artillery horses have to go to Portsmouth to have stalls put in. This will cause delay. The quartermaster with fit them as soon as possible. I shall go to Baltimore to-morrow evening. General Hawley goes to-night with infantry. Letter by morning mail.

O. E. BABCOCK,

Lieutenant-Colonel, &c.