violation of the Articles of War and of the law of this State, these rioters assembled and broke up the meeting. If this thing is persisted in, if soldiers, assembled without authority as lawless mobs, are permitted thus to act, we shall soon have absolute anarchy,and each man must protect himself, and people must assemble prepared to defend their rights against lawless violence. As peaceable citizens, as lawabiding men, we desire to exhaust all the peaceable means known to the law to protect our rights. We appeal, therefore, to you to see that these rioters are arrested and punished according to the rules and Articles of War. We would ask further that soldiers be kept away from all political meetings unless stationed there as guards, and that such other measures be taken as may be necessary to secure to the people peaceable assemblies for discussion of public affairs. We also request that measures be taken throughout the State to keep soldiers away from political assemblies. A soldier has no business to debate the policy of his superiors.

In behalf of Missouri Democratic Central Committee:

CHAS. C. WHITTELSEY,

Secretary.

[Inclosure Numbers 2.]

HEADQUARTERS POST OF SAINT LOUIS,
Saint Louis, Mo., September 25, 1864.

Colonel O. D. GREENE,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Department of the Missouri:

SIR: In obedience to the directions of the major-general commanding the department, I have the honor herewith to submit a report in reference to the outrages committed by soldiers at the McClellan meeting in front of the Lindell Hotel on the evening of the 15th instant, and their proposed attempt to remove the McClellan flag from the Republican office on the evening of the 17th instant, and other matters connected therewith. I have encountered serious difficulties in identifying the parties, from the fact that soldiers, as is well known to every officer in the service, generally make it a point of honor to befriend each other, while citizens in the dusk of the evening were unable to distinguish one soldier from another. About ninety soldiers in all have been arrested and examined under oath. They were mostly from the Sixth Missouri Cavalry, some from Merrill's Horse, and three from the Tenth Kansas. Their concurrent statements go to show that they came to the city on the evening of the outrage at the Lindell Hotel for the purpose of attending the Fletcher or Union meeting in front of Guenadon's, on Washington avenue, and nearly all deny that they had any previous knowledge that a McClellan meeting was to be held at the Lindell Hotel, being apprised of the fact of the Democratic meeting only after their arrival at the place of the Fletcher meeting. A careful examination of the testimony, together with the above statement, leads me to conclude that if they did participate in the riot they did so from the impulse of the moment, and not from preconcerted arrangement. I must, however, here call special attention to the testimony of Sergeant Henderson, of the Sixth Missouri Cavalry, who states that officers of his battalion had in camp counseled and advised the breaking up of meetings such as the Democrats had previously held in Saint Louis, on the ground that they were disloyal. There is no testimony other than the above going to show that the soldiers were ever instigated to these lawless acts by any one. What they did was