They had probably better be sent to General Lee. The indications remain that the enemy design to make their main campaign in this State and against the capital. Our comissioner of exchange, Mr. Ould, who has just returned from a visit of some days to Old Point, states, as received by him from sources he deemed reliable, that the plans of the enemy are to assemble 80,000 or 100,000 men on the Rapidan, under Grant; some 50,000 under Burnside at Urbana on the Rappahannock, and some 10,000 or 15,000 at Old Point and on the Peninsula, and to make simultaneous advance on this city. Numbers may be somewhat exaggerated, but he is confident this is substantially the plan. Grant was certainly at Old Point during his visit, for he saw him, and he believes he was there to arrange and prepare. Is there yet time, supposing this intelligence reliable, to anticipate and frustrate ty decided movements in the West? I fear, in addition no other obstacles which should not exist, there are now supervened, by hard storms, almost insuperable physical difficulties. The suggestion is, however, only for your better judgment to consider.

Very cordially,

JAMES A. SEDDON,

Secretary of War.

[33.]

GENERAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, Numbers 26.
April 3, 1864.

I. Paragraph II of General Ordes, Numbers 19, of 1863; paragraph I of General Orders, Numbers 70, of 1863, and circular of the 8th of March from these headquarters are revoked.

II. When a camp is located the brigade inspector and quartermaster will make a thorough inspection of the premises and note the condition of things at the time of the occupation of the groung by the troops. In case of a command less than a brigade, the inspection will be made by the officer in command of the detachment and the quartermaster.

III. When a camp is broken up and the ground vacated by the troops (or sooner, if authorized by the general commanding), the officers designated in the preceding paragraph, together with a third party to be selected by the owner of the property or his representative, shall make a second examination of the premises, for the purpose of determining to what extent the property has been injured by the troops camped thereon. In making this assessment the board will report, separately and in duplicate in each case, the injury regarded as necessary for the maintenance and comfmort of the troops, and the damages considered unnecessary and wanton, and not previously embraced in the regular tri-monthly inspection reports, and already paid for; and will designate the portion of the command by which the latter were committed, in order that the amount thereof may be stopped against the pay of those offending. When it is impossible to locate the blame on any particular portion of the command, the amount of damages reported "wanton" will be apportioned among the several regiments or detachments of the whole, in proportion to their respective strength; and when the assessment has received the approval of the general commanding, the quartermasters will collect the quotas from their respective commands and pay the same to the owner of the property or is proper representative, taking his receipt for the same. The officer commanding the brigade or detachment will forward one copy of the report of the assessment, with the owner's receipt for the amount thereof, for transmission to the Quartermaster-General. Upon the