detachment at Covington, and I have no doubt no doubt whatever but that he was a candidate for the Trans-Mississippi Department, and that he had been with Davis but a very short time before. A detachment of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry which I had stationed at Monroe, while pursuing a party which they took to be Davis, also captured at Conyers's Station, west of Yellow River, on the morning of the 9th instant, Major-General Wheleer, of 3 of his staff, and 11 privates. Wheler had a forged parole on this person, and tried to pass off as Lieutenant Sharp, stating that he had been paroled. When sent to me had made a very poor story, stating that he wanted to be paroled and go to his home in Augusta. As I had no doubt whatever but that he was a trans Mississippi man, and had been very recently with Davis, I stripped him and staff of their horses and side-arms and sent them to the commander of the U. S. forces at Augusta, with a statement of the facts. On the morning of the 8th instant, while searching for Davis near the fork the fork of the Appalachee and Ocone Rivers, Colonel Betts, Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, captured seven wagons hid in the woods, which contained $188,000 in coin, $1,588,000 in bank notes, bonds, &c., of various Southern States, and about $4,000,000 of Confederate money, besides considerable specie, plate, and other valuables belonging to private citizens of Macon. The main portion of the above property comprised the assets of the Georgia Central Railroad and Banking Company which had been moved out of Macon at the approach of General Wilson. The wagons also contained the private baggage, maps and official papers of General Beauregard and the same of General Pillow. Nothing was disturbed, and I sent the whole on by railroad to Augusta in charge of Captain Patterson, acting assistant adjutant-general, to be delivered to commanding officer of U. S. forces, to await the action of the Government. Colonel Miller, whom I had sent to Greensborough, reports that Davis had passed through there, but it is possible that he may not have crossed the Ocone River, but deflected south to cross it below Milledgeville. Colonel Stacy, however, who has sent in pursuit from Washington, and who marched by Crawfordsville and Sparta to a point opposite Milledgville, reports that he could find no trace of him in that direction. I have had the whole country thoroughly searched from Washington west to the Chattahooche River, and from Athens to Lawrenceville south to Milledgeville, Monticello, and McDonough. My belief is that Davis has not yet crossed the Chattahoochee River, but that he is lying by until search shall have ceased. This belt, however, is so thoroughly exhausted of corn that I have determined to send Brown's and Miller's brigades under Colonel Brown to the line of the Savannah River from Dooley's Ferry, near Lincolnton, northward to Knox's Bridge, on the Tugalo, to feed there as practicable without starving the people, and to arrest stray parties of armed Confederates going westward. These orders were sent to General Brown yesterday, with instructions as soon as forage becomes scarce to move to Greenville, S. C., and vicinity to await orders from you.

With the First Brigade, which is as much as I can feed on this route, I have determined to march rapidly across the belt, exhausted by the campaign against Atlanta, and place it west of the Coasa River for the purpose of guarding that line, from Will's Valley south to Wilsonville, on the Tallandega and Selma Railroad. The Tenth Michigan, now at McDonough, has been directed to cross the Chattahoochee at Franklin; thence to march via Talladega to cross the Coasa at Clanche's Ferry. The Fifteent Pennsylvania Cavalry, now near Decatur, has been directed to march, via Atlanta and Champbellton, to Jacksonville, and