HDQRS. SECOND DIVISION, TENTH ARMY CORPS,
Near Petersburg, Va., September 13, 1864.

Lieutenant Colonel E. W. SMITH,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Tenth Army Corps:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report that no changes have taken place in the disposition of the troops on my front during the past twenty-four hours. Fatigue parties, comprising all available men of the division, are employed on the inclosed work on my right, and on the second line on the front of the Second and Third Brigades. The entire line of trenches are in good condition as regards policing.

Very respectfully,

R. S. FOSTER,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA,

No. 139. New Berne, N. C., September 13, 1864.

1. As soon as the Ninth Vermont Volunteers is ready to go the command will embark without further orders and proceed to Virginia, as previously ordered.

* * * * * * *

By command of Brigadier General Edward Harland:

J. A. JUDSON,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HDQRS. CHIEF OF ARTILLERY, 18TH ARMY CORPS, September 13, 1864.

ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL,

Headquarters Eighteenth Army Corps:

SIR: I respectfully request that I may be relieved from duty as chief of artillery Eighteenth Corps, and ordered to join my regiment. My position is so indistinctly defined that it is impossible for me to perform the duties pertaining to that position with justice to myself or satisfaction to the corps commander. For the information of the corps commander, I have the honor to report that, in addition to the light batteries of the corps, there are in position on the front occupied by the corps some forty-one guns and mortars, manned by companies of the First Connecticut Artillery and a company of the Thirteenth New York Artillery. On the arrival of the corps at this place the officers in charge of those batteries failed to report to me or in any way recognize me. On inquiry, it was found that up to the time of the arrival of the Eighteenth Corps the batteries in position (heavy batteries) has been considered as independent of the corps commander, and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Colonel H. L. Abbot, First Connecticut Artillery, the corps commander having a kind of delegated authority to direct the batteries to open fire in case of necessity. In order that these battery commanders might understand their true position Special Orders, No. 123, headquarters Eighteenth Army Corps, September 2, was issued. I understand that Colonel Abbot has protested to department headquarters against this order as depriving him of certain rights and privileges naturally belonging to him. At all events, an order has just been received from department headquarters (Special Orders, No. 249, September 10) which revokes the order from corps headquarters so far as relates to Colonel Abbot's command, and virtually removes the batteries