sufficiently well of to be adopted. I mentioned Butterfield in connection with it only for the reason that I know of no officer who could accomplish so much in so short a time. His forte is dispatch and completeness of organization. He will accomplish more in one day than most men can in ten. Reasons of state may exist for not placing Kentucky on the same footing with Maryland in recruitment of negro regiments. Of this I know nothing. Hereafter our armies will be operating on long lines through populous districts, requiring unusually large forces to defend them. We should bear in mind that he war is not over, and however repugnant it may be to the great mass of the people in rebeldom, they are not in condition to speak or to act so long as they remain under the rule of rebel authorities. In my judgment we will have to take possession of States now in rebellion before we can reasonably look for decided action in our favor. It will be slow even then, but it will be as sure as it is slow. I have become so sick of the war that I desire nothing so much as its termination. With a proper effort, one that it is possible for us to make, I believe that before another winter is upon us the necessity for keeping up these immense armies may be removed.

It appears to me that our people have it in their hands to make it of longer or shorter duration. I am glad to see that an effort is begging made to merge the volunteers and regulars. This should have been done at the beginning of the war. In fact, there is no difference now; it only exists in theory. I know that I accepted my commission of brigadier-general in the army reluctantly, and only for the reason that it was tendered me in compliment for services. I have since had occasion to regret it many times, for it has only been an instrument of self-degradation to me ever since. Officers who had no commissions in the regular service have jumped me, while in the assignment of commands it has never. been considered. If my services in this rebellion do not merit reward, they certainly have been such as should shield me from punishment. Many of my juniors are in the exercise of independent commands, while I am here with more rank piled on top of me than a well man can stand up under, with a corporal's guard, comparatively, for a command. You cannot wonder, then, at the sincerity of my desire for the war to be brought to an end irrespective of the country and the cause. I see that they are pitching into Meade on all sides. I lost my confidence in him when he allowed Lee to escape. I thought well of him as a corps commander, and never doubted but that he would do as well with the responsibilities of an army upon him. He is a small craft, and carries no ballast. The report of our veteran General-in-Chief reads well, and,if true, would be a good one. His idea for Burnside to cross the Rappahannock at the fords is novel. I think he took it from my testimony before the investigating committee. It is certain he makes no allusion to it in his, and it was certainly a point of vital importance for the committee to know in their investigation of that case. Grant swears that he had no orders to disobey in his campaign of Vicksburg, and I know that I was sent here, not to protect, but to open communication with Rosecrans' army. Indeed, the report is full of error. Since I have been in the West I have made the acquaintance of a glorious soldier, and that is General Osterhaus. He is going East in a few days, when I hope you will have an opportunity to see him. He is expecting a sister to arrive in New York the fore part of next month, and designs visiting Washington before