militia mustered into the service to be thorougly instructed in the drills and practiced at the target without delay.

By order of Colonel Mansfield:

THEO. TALBOT,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

[2.]

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF WASHINGTON, Numbers 40.
Washington, D. C., May 3, 1861.

The foot companies of volunteers of the District of Columbia in the service of the United States will be organized in battalions according to the plan approved by the lieutenant-general commanding in chief, and the field officers will be assigned to comman by the colonel commanding.

The President's Mounted Guard will not be attached to any battalion, but will be reported direct to the headquarters District of Columbia.

Each commandant of battalion will appoint an acting sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant for his battalion.

By order of Colonel Mansfield:

THEO. TALBOT,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

[2.]

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
Washington, May 3, 1861.

Major General GEORGE B. McCLELLAN,

Commanding Ohio Volunteers, Cincinnati, Ohio:

SIR: I have read and carefully considered your plan for a campaign,* and now send you confidentially my own views, supported by certain facts of which you should be advised.

First. It is the design of the Government to raise 25,000 additional regular troops, and 60,000 volunteers for three years. It will be inexpedient either to rely on the three-months' volunteers for extensive operations or to put in their hands the best class of arms we have in store. The tern of service would expire by the commencement of a regular campaign and the terms not lost be returned mostly in a damaged condition. Hence I must stronly urge upon you to confine yourself strictly to the quota of three-months' men called for by the War Department.

Second. We rely greatly on the sure operation of a complete blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf ports soon to commence. In connection with such blockade we propose a powerful movement down the Mississippi to the ocean, with a cordon of posts at proper points and capture of Forts Jackson and Sain Philip; the object being to clear out and keep open this great line of communication in connection with the strict blockade of the sea-board, so as to envelop the insurgent States and bring them to terms with less bloodshed thany be any other plan. I suppose there will be needed from twelve to twenty steam gun-boats, and a sufficient number of steam transports (say forty) to carry all the personnel (say 60,000 men) and material of the expedition; most of the gun-boats to be in advance to open the way, and the remainder to follow and protect the rear of the expedition, &c. This army, in which it is

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* See McClellan to Scott, April 27, p. 338.

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24 R R-VOL LI, PT I