not to be governed by the agreement. Instructions will be immediately issued to Captain Benavides which will prevent a recurrence of such acts.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. P. BEE,

Brigadier-General, Provisional Army.

HEADQUARTERS EASTERN SUB-DISTRICT OF TEXAS,
Houston, April 23, 1863.

Captain EDMUND P. TURNER,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Fort Brown, Tex.:

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication, dated Santa Rosa, Tex., April 14, 1863, and have particularly noted its contents.

I beg to say to the major-general commanding that the Lucy Gwinn has been in Matagorda Bay for near if not quite two weeks.

The blockading squadron has continued off our coast ever since the major-general left, the only change being a gunboat (supposed to be the Penobscot) having taken the place of the Brooklyn, she having left about eight days ago.

The enemy's fleet are moving about from one place to another, but for no great distance. Captain Barney, C. S. Navy, has declined to co-operate with me in fitting up the Harriet Lane in the manner indicated to me in one of the major-general's former letters and also mentioned in the one now before me.

We have had various rumors within the last three days as to the operations of the enemy on Bayou Teche. The very latest account is contained in the inclosed extra. It appears that General Taylor's forces are still falling back. Yesterday morning I received dispatch marked 1, and replied as in dispatch marked 2. Feeling that the enemy was pressing us in Western Louisiana and that a call for re-enforcements might be made at any time, and further supposing the major-general commanding if here would probably have done likewise, I issued the inclosed orders, marked 3,4 and 5.* I further ordered three days ago Stone's and Philips' regiments to halt. Yesterday afternoon I ordered Gurley's and Baylor's regiments to halt also. In so doing I pursued the course which I supposed you would have adopted in the premises. This morning another dispatch was received from General Smith to the following import: That the commanding officer at Houston will immediately prepare all of his disposable force to be marched into Western Louisiana.

We do not know when the call for re-enforcements will come, but we hope to be ready to give assistance.

I have the honor to inclose for the information of the major-general commanding Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin's report of an engagement with a detachment of the enemy on the 18th instant.+ It will be seen that the only casualty on our side was 1 killed-Lieutenant Wright, of Griffin's battalion. Colonel Griffin succeeded in capturing 8 prisoners, killed 1, and 4 escaped in their boat, some of them wounded.

The honorable Secretary of the Navy has directed Captain Barney to transfer the Harriet Lane to the Department of War. Orders have been received for the major-general commanding to secure her. What

---------------

* No inclosures found.

+ See p.402.

---------------