Today in History:

749 Series I Volume XLIX-I Serial 103 - Mobile Bay Campaign Part I

Page 749 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.

Doane Numbers 2, Arcola, Aurora, Duke, Goody Friends, Venus, J. B. Ford, with the barges Whale Numbers 8. U. S. 44, T. H. U. U. S. 57, Chickamauga, Kentucky, J. H. Doane, Eagle Coal Co. Numbers 22 U. S., Josephine, Celeste, and an iron barge without a name. The large warehouse with the engine and machinery for hoisting freight from the boats and levee is comparatively uninjured, although a large number of shell passed through the building in all directions.

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FEBRUARY 20, 1`865.

[Genera; GRANGER:]

MY DEAR GENERAL: The ten regiments marked in the inclosed special order* with an O will leave this city to-day and to-morrow. You have already two of the Massachusetts batteries with you. The other Massachusetts battery, the Connecticut, and the two New York batteries will leave to-day. This will make the entire Thirteenth Corps complete, with the exception of the Twenty-third Wisconsin (marked X), which is hourly expected from Helena, and shall be for warded to you immediately. Please let Emercy check the list off, and inform me if it is all correct. The five colored regiments now in the District of West Florida and South Alabama, viz, the Twenty-fifth Eight-second, Eight-sixth, Ninth-sixth, will be detached from that district, the there former to Hawkins' division of colored troops, the two latter to form a separate engineer brigade. According to my calculation, that will leave for permanent garrison in your old district:

Effective. Aggregate.

Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery..... 659 798

Second Maine Cavalry............... 795 983

First Florida Cavalry.............. 372 478

Third Maryland Cavalry............. 327 520

Battery G, First Michigan Artillery. 116 139

Battery F, First Missouri Artillery. 94 117

Total............................... 2,363 3,035

Please let Emery verify this also. The following general officers are now with or under orders to report to you, viz: James C. Veatch, William P. Benton, Elias S. Dennis, C. C. Andrews, James R. Slack. This list is made out according to seniority. As to merits, they rank thus: Andrews, Veatch, Slack, Dennis, Benton. The rank question will of course have to rule, and your division commanders will therefore, I suppose, be the seniors. You known them perhaps as well as we do. Please let me known as soon as your decisions are made. Until we can furnish more general officers you will have to appointed seven colonels as brigade commanders. At present I known of no other general officers coming except Eugene. A. Carr, now in Arkansas, who ranks all the others. He is said to be a very good officer in the field. Your staff selection so far as made are very excellent. I am glad for your as well as my own sale that Emery is your assistant adjutant-general. I know he will keep his part of the business straight. You can rely, so far as we are concerned, general, on a hearty co-operate at all times, and if it will save time for your staff officers to communicate

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* Not found as an inclosure.

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Page 749 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.