The adjutant informs me that just at this moment he has no printed forms of company morning reports, but he will get them for the whole command as early as possible. I send you a few envelopes.

Very respectfully, colonel, your obedient servant,

HENRY A. WISE,

Brigadier-General.

WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A.,

Richmond, Va., December 13, 1862.

General GUSTAVUS W. SMITH, Petersburg, Va.:

General Lee telegraphs that the enemy attacked this morning to several points; that there was fighting all day, but at night the enemy were repulsed on all points of attack. A renewal of the battle expected by him to-morrow. His troops behaved (he says) admirably.

J. A. SEDDON,

Secretary of War.

[DECEMBER 13, 1862.-For Seddon to Beauregard, in reference to re-enforcements for Wilmington, N. C., and resulting correspondence, see Series I, Vol. XIV, p. 711.]

HDQRS. FORCES OPERATING ON THE PENINSULA,
Sherman's Farm, Va., Saturday Night, December 13, 1862.

Brigadier General HENRY A. WISE:

GENERAL: One of our scouts who went below about five days ago returned this evening. He brings no intelligence of any importance concerning the enemy. He was within 5 miles of Williamsburg and had not a sight of any Yankees. He met with a lady from Williamsburg, who informed him that the Yankees reported to Williamsburg that a fleet was in readiness to ascend the James with a view of attacking the works at Drewry's. He thinks from what he could gather that the post of Yorktown was more of a school for instruction than anything else. Mrs. Vaiden applied to me to-day for a permit to allow her to pass our picket at James' gate to see her sick daughter, who resides some 6 miles below the picket. I inquired who would accompany her, and was informed her servant. I refused to grant the request upon the ground that I had positive orders from you to allow no one to pass our pickets either way, up or down, without your permission. I told her she must await your decision. Mrs. Vaiden is the mother of Major Vaiden, of this county, and I reckon is a loyal lady, but I do not think it prudent to allow her servant to accompany her even if you grant her request.

If we move our camps to Diascund Bridge, as I proposed this morning, I think, upon reflection, it would be better to change the location of our pickets and advance them nearer to enemy-say a little below the Burnt Ordinary-and let our inside pickets occupy the ground that our outside one do now. We have heard severe cannonading nearly the whole day; there must have been hard fighting at Fredericksburg. Please send me a paper with particulars, if you can do so conveniently.

A Dr. Taylor, who had been one of our scouts, was captured by the enemy, with his horse and cart, about the time I came to this