noon and two other brigades within 5 miles of Front Royal by the same time. It will require driving to accomplish this and the day is hot.

I am urging General Ord forward with all the physical force of the railroad and moral power of a strong representation of the urgency of the case. He will be beyond Rectortown to-night. General Shields has 10,900 men and General Ord 9,000 - about 20,000 between them. Bayard's cavalry brigade will amount to about 2,000; Geary's will amount to about 1, 5000; all this will give about 21,000 men for offensive operations, the others being required to guard the railroad and bridges in the rear. I have had to leave a regiment of Ord's division to guard Catlett's Station, and shall be obliged to leave the place weakly guarded and have guards at all the bridges in the rear. King's division will be at Catlett's to-morrow, and I shall endeavor to have it forwarded to this place by rail. It will not be in time for the battle, but will be found very useful in this quarter.

May I ask the force that Major-General Fremont will have with him at Strasburg and what division will he have? Will Blenker's form part? I am about moving my headquarters to Rectortown, to which point we have the telegraph. Can any of the force coming to Washington be sent to guard the railroad and free the men belonging to the advanced divisions? They should, if possible, be not weakened.

IRVIN MCDOWELL,

Major-General, Commanding.

WASHINGTON, May 30, 1862 - 11 a. m.

Major-General MCDOWELL, Manassas:

A telegram from Mr. Watson, just received, states that the enemy are advancing upon Harper's Ferry; that our troops are demoralized, and some of them already have run away.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

Secretary of War.

WASHINGTON, May 30, 1862 - 12.40.

Major-General MCDOWELL, Rectortown:

Your dispatch of to-day received and is satisfactory. Fremont has nominally 22,000, really about 17,000. Blenker's division is part of it. I have a dispatch from Fremont this morning not telling me where he is, but he says:

Scout and men from Winchester represent Jackson's force variously at 30,000 to 60,000. With him Generals Ewell and Longstreet.

The high figures erroneous of course. Do you not know where Longstreet is? Corinth is evacuated and occupied by us.

A. LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, May 30, 1862 - 2.30 p.m.

Major-General MCDOWELL:

Herewith I send a telegram just received from General Fremont.*

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* See Fremont to the President, May 29, Part I, p. 647.

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