passable for artillery and trains in good seasons, much less during bad weather. The road from Sperryville to Luray is excellent, and so it is from Luray, by Craigsville, to Madison Court-House. This road is not laid down on Floyd's map. The road from Sperryville to Culpeper Court-House is very good.

3d. There is a pretty good road from Culpeper to Madison Court House, passing James City.

4th. The road from Madison Court-House to Stanardsville is pretty good. There is an excellent pike from Craigsville, by Madison Court-House, to Orange Court-House. There is another good road from Madison Court-House to Orange Court-House, crossing the Rapidan near White's Ford, by a large covered bridge.

5th. The road from Culpeper, by Slaughter Mountain, Crooked and Robertson Rivers, to Burnett's Ford, is not a good road, and the passages over Crooked and Robertson Rivers are very difficult. They can be defended very easily on the south side of these rivers.

6th. Aestham River has steep banks. The bridge across the river on the Sulphur Springs-Culpeper road was burned by our troops on their retreat from Culpeper, and has probably been rebuilt and destroyed again, but there is a ford 1 mile east of the place where the bridge was burned.

7th. All the fords on the Rappahannock, from Rappahannock Station to Waterloo Bridge, were impassable, after a violent storm, at the time when General Pope was operating on that river. Ordinarily, the river is low, and easily forded. At Sulphur Springs there is a good ford, near the bridge; the banks are higher on the south than on the north side. At Waterloo Bridge the banks are higher on this than on the other side. There is no ford at Waterloo Bridge, and the banks are steep; but there is a ford 3 miles above the bridge, and another 7 miles above, at Kid's Mill. Freeman's Ford is difficult to pass, if the enemy has possession of the south side.

8th. The ford at Rapidan Station and the Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan are easy to pass in good weather, but also easy to defend, on account of the high bluffs rising on the south side.

9th. When marching from Winchester, by Front Royal, to Luray, we built a bridge at Front Royal. This brigade, according to latest information, is now swept away. When at Luray and Sperryville, during the month of August, we found all bridges destroyed on the Shenandoah River between Front Royal and Port Republic. On an expedition from Luray into the Shenandoah Valley, our infantry crossed the Shenandoah River on a pretty good ford, and advanced toward New Market.

10th. In regard to the movements of the enemy, I do not venture to give any advice; but it strikes me that if it had been the plan of the enemy to concentrate his whole army south of the Rappahannock or the Rapidan, he would not leave his cavalry between Front Royal and Harper's Ferry. If there is any considerable force,even if not more than 15,000 or 20,000 men, behind the Shenandoah, in Clarke or Warren Counties, we should get rid of them. For this object, or to find out at least their strength and position, a reconnaissance of 15,000 to 20,000 men should be made to Front Royal, while a strong cavalry force should advance from there toward Strasburg and Winchester. It will be impossible for the enemy to stay with a large force north of Strasburg and Front Royal, for as soon as we are in possession of the latter point, and throw our cavalry on his line of communication between Strasburg and Woodstock, he has either to retreat or attack. As soon as it is