his assistant and staff, are assigned to duty in the city of Washington, D. C., to date from 1st instant.

* * * * * * *

By command of Major-General Halleck:

E. D. TOWNSEND,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEFENSES OF WASHINGTON,

Numbers 3. September 15, 1862.

I. The military governor of Alexandria will immediately organize a camp of convalescents, stragglers, and recruits, under the following regulations:

II. All officers absent from their regiments without a proper pass, approved by their division commander, will, if their regiments are stationed in or near Washington, be ordered to join them, in arrest, and the fact will be duly reported to division commanders by the provost-marshal. (See Paragraph III, of General Orders, No. 2, from these head-quarters.)

III. Every officer absent from his regiment without a proper pass, and whose regiment is not near Washington, will be ordered by the officers of the provost guard to report in person to the provost-marshal, who will direct him, in writing, either of proceed to join his regiment within twenty-four hours, or within the same period to proceed to Alexandria, and report to the military governor of that place for duty at the convalescent camp. Such an order is sufficient authority to pass the guards at the bridge or ferry to Alexandria.

IV. All enlisted men arrested for being absent without a proper pass will, if their regiments are near Washington, be proceeded with as directed by general Orders, Numbers 2, from these headquarters. If their regiments are not near Washington, they will be sent, in squads, once each day, under guard, to the military governor of Alexandria, who will place them in the convalescent camp.

V. The military governor of Alexandria will enforce the same regulations so far as regards that city.

VI. The military governor of the District of Columbia will cause daily lists of the officers so ordered to report to be furnished to the military governor of Alexandria. The military governor of Alexandria will cause a complete register to be kept of all officers ordered to report at, and a separate register of all enlisted men sent to, the convalescent camp, and will communicate daily to the military governor of the District of Columbia the names of all officers who should have reported to him within the past twenty-four hours but who have failed so to report, and he will transmit weekly to each division commander a transcript of the register for the past week, so far as relates to his division.

VII. All recruits arriving for regiments which are not near Washington will be sent to the convalescent camp.

VIII. As far as practicable, the convalescents, stragglers, and recruits will be organized in squads, according to divisions or corps, each squad in charge of an officer from the division or corps. A competent officer should be assigned to the command of the camp.

IX. Shelter will be provided for the officers and men, and rations for the men.

X. All enlisted men received at the convalescent camp who are without haversacks, canteens, and blankets will be supplied with them, and