have been buffeted about as a brigade without friends, transferred from division to division until I am heartily sick of it. I hope you will have consideration enough for your lost and neglected children to ask or demand that we join your command immediately. All of our transportation, camp and garrison equipage is with your command; we have neither cooking utensils; all of our horses are there, and we are indeed sadly off. I am satisfied if we could get with you in Virginia we could increase our command 2,000 men. There is not a single officer or man who is not anxious to join you. Besides, it is our right, and we appeal to you as our division commander to apply for us at once. We can be of little service here. Let me say to you that your troops in the late action at Missionary Ridge behaved well and were the last to leave the field, and then in the best order. Not a single man left the ranks nor did we have a single straggler.

Your friend, truly,

A. W. REYNOLDS,

Brigadier-General.

[First indorsement.]

MORRISTOWN, January 29, 1864.

Respectfully forwarded.

This brigade is part of my division, only two of the brigades being now with the headquarters. It is composed of two Virginia and two North Carolina regiments. I hope the policy of the Government will be such as to direct this brigade to rejoin the division. If not is should no longer be regarded as part of it, but assigned permanently to some other division where the commander would regard it with permanent interest.

Respectfully,

S. B. BUCKNER,

Major-General.

[Second indorsement.]

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF EAST TENNESSEE,
February 1, 1864.

Respectfully forwarded:

It is important that organizations should be kept complete. The troops are more needed here than elsewhere and can do more service. I trust that the brigade may be sent to its division at once. The enemy in front of us har four corps-Fourth, Seventh, Eleventh, Twenty-third-besides a large cavalry force which came up from Middle Tennessee. I presume that there are not such odds opposing any other Confederate force.

J. LONGSTREET,

Lieutenant-General, Commanding.

[Third indorsement.] ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, February 12, 1864.

Respectfully referred to General Johnston.

By command of Secretary of War:

H. L. CLAY,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

[Fourth indorsement.]

DALTON, February 19, 1864.

Respectfully returned.

I must repeat that troops cannot be spared from this army. According to the arguments within B. R. Johnson's division should be returned to this army to which it belongs.

J. E. JOHNSTON,

General, Commanding.

[31.]