WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL,

Washington, D. C., May 29, 1863.

His Excellency the GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA,

Harrisburg, Pa.:

SIR: I am directed by the Secretary of War to inform you that the Department will accept from your State additional volunteers, infantry and cavalry, to serve for three years or during the war.

All regiments you may offer will be accepted thus, under the condition that not more than ten regiments of infantry and five regiments of cavalry are to be under recruitment at one time.

In conducting the recruitment the requirements of General Orders, Numbers 75, series of 1862, from the War Department, in connection with paragraph 86 of the Revised Mustering Regulations, will be observed.

The organization of the respective regiments will be governed by General Orders, Numbers 110, current series, from the Adjutant- General's Office.

In addition to the foregoing, and to the end that the Department may be at all times fully advised as to the state of the service, it is desired that the names of all persons you may authorize to recruit (under General Order 75) may be reported to this office so soon as the appointments are issued, and that you will report at least once a month the localities where the officers are recruiting, the number of men recruited for each regiment and the probable time when any one regiment will be completed and in readiness for the formal muster into service of the United States by the U. S. mustering officer for the State.

All men mustered into the service under this authority will be duly credited to your State in case of a draft being ordered.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAS. B. FRY,

Provost-Marshal-General.

ORDNANCE OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT,

Washington, May 30, 1863.

Honorable E. M. STANTON,

Secretary of War:

SIR: I have to acknowledge the reference to this office for report of Quartermaster-General George B. Wright's letter of the 25th instant, and to return the same with the following report:

There is no authority for issuing U. S. arms, equipments, or ammunition to any other troops than those which have been mustered into the U. S. service under competent authority. In cases where such ordnance supplies have been furnished to States for the use of troops not so mustered it was confined to such articles as were not fit for issue to troops in active service, and was done by special order in each case. There seems now to be cause to apprehend that such indulgences may be drawn into precedents to establish a similar general practice liable to lead to embarrassment in supplying future wants of the General Government. The estimates and appropriations for procuring arms, equipments, and ammunition did not anticipate or include such supplies for State militia.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAS. W. RIPLEY,

Brigadier-General and Chief of Ordnance.