MONTGOMERY, April 30, 1861.

S. BASSEITT FRENCH,

Aide- de- Camp to Governor of Virginia, Richmond:

I am instructed by the Secretary of War to say that the twtnty old- pattern carraonades are wnated at Wilmington, unless they have been included in the ordnance already sent.*

S. COOPER,

Adjutant and Inspector General.

[1.]

WINCHESTER, Tuesday night, [April 30, 1861.]

Colonel G. W. MUNFORD:

MY DEAR SIR: The accompanying papers were designed to be inclosed to Ro. Y. Conrad, esq., or Mr. Marshall, his colleague in the convention, but as gboth of them may be absent fromyour city when this reaches it, will you excuse me for placing them under cover to you, with a request that if either of the gentlemen I have named shall be in Richmond you will hand them over to one of them; and if not, that then you will place them at once in the hands of General Lee.

Very truly, yours,

JH. H. SERRARD.

[Inclosure.]

WINCHESTER, April 30, 1861.

RO. Y. CONRAD, Esq.:

MY DEAR SIR: So tardy and irregular are our mails, wven between this and Richmond, where, so far as we kjnow, there is no cause for it arrising out of the geneal distrubed condition of the country, that I have only just now received yours of the 27th. My attention had been attracted, as yours has been to the suspicious assemblegae of t a large and increasing military force at Chamberzsburg, iN Pennsuylbvania, which is undoubtedly the very point of all otehrs at which a hostile force desgined for operations in the Valley, or for the capture of Harper's Ferry, would most probably be concentrated. The whole force at the latter point, rank and file, is about 2,000. I had been under the impression until a day or two ago that it was as much as 5,000; but the figures I give you are reliable unless the number has been varied within the last two days. In general they are an uncommonly fine body of volunteers, and the cavalry especially is of the best description; but there is said to be a great deficiency in the quality of the arms, in the quantity and quality of the artillery, and a deplorably inadequate supply of ammunit9on. The presence their of Colonel Jackson, whjo went on yesteday, will, it is to be hoped, supoply another deficiency which had been sorely felt. At this place we have no military force except a frgment of the Continentals (about thirty men). A ll tr companies of the town and contry who have arms are at Haper's Ferry, and the same may be said of the volunteers of the neighboring counties, except those of Hampshire and Hardy, who are kept at home by the want of ammunition, whichthey find it impossible to obtain in any quarters. I had a letter yesterday from William A. Vance, of ROmney, who informed me that they had been writing to Richmond fort he preceding ten days for arms and ammunition, and had not even received an answer tot heir letters, and mentioned further that a good deal of

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*This in reply to French to Walker, April 29, VOL. I, p. 488.

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