Corps, and as such could exercise no function looking to a supervision on y behalf of the affairs of the detachment from the Eighteenth Army Corps.

With the highest esteem, general, I have the honor to be, your very obedient servant,

D. HUNTER,

Major-General, Commanding.

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 13, 1863.

Major-General HUNTER,

Commanding Department of the South, Hilton Head, S. C.:

GENERAL: Yours of the 3rd instant, with accompanying, is received.

Your former letter on the subject of your difficulties with General Foster was handed to the Secretary of War for such instructions as he might deem proper to order. He has given none to me.

The instructions sent to you by Adjutant-General Townsend were drawn up under the Secretary's direction,and cannot be charge without his orders.

In regard to General Naglee, it was left optional with you to retain him or send him to the Department of North Carolina.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,
Hilton Head, Port Royal, S. C., March 13, 1863.

Major General H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.:

GENERAL: I have the honor to acquaint you that, having had an interview yesterday with Rear-Admiral S. F. DuPont, I find that the recent experiments with the iron-clads against Fort McAlister have demonstrated certain defects grave enough in the opinion of the admiral to call for a postponement of active operations until they shall have been remedied. The exact nature of the alterations shown to be necessary I need not precisely, but may say in general that the deck plating will have to be strengthened and the magazines more securely almond. Large fatigue parties of my command are now at work cutting timber to coat the deck, and the admiral has sent North the steamer Ericsson for a fresh layer of iron plates for each deck.

The result of the torpedoes which exploded under the Montauk has also made the admiral anxious for certain submarine torpedo-exploders, for which he has also sent North.

Owing to these causes a delay of some weeks would now inevitable-a think to be regretted, but which is wholly unavoidable. The repose shall be used to perfect the troops selected in all matters necessary to the work before them, and I respectfully ask that to this end you will assign to service in this department the two brigadier-generals asked for in my last.

There is nothing of the least consequence new. Three deserters from Savannah to-day announce that a third ran is now ready to receive her armament, the Atlanta and Georgia being complete and afloat below