troops. The feeling of many of his officers toward you was such that you could not hen have commanded them. No one can deny this. I do not charge any fault upon you. I merely state the facts as it existed. The assignment of General McClellan to this command, or rather his retention in it, was not my act nor that of the War Department, it was the act of the President alone. I did not even know of his decision on the matter till he himself announced it to General McClellan.

Again, you complain that Porter and Griffin have not been tried on you charges against them. you know that as court was ordered for their trial and that it was suspended because al officers were required in the field. A new court has been ordered, and they are to be tried, and the grounds of your charges to be fully investigated.

Again, you have complained that I would not permit you to publish your report. The President and entire Cabinet decided against its publication; nevertheless you permitted it to go to the newspapers and thereby gave serious offense. If this act has injured you, do you blame me for it?

Again, you say I could have reunited the Western Department and could have given it to you, and that by not doing so I have acted unfriendly to you and have "degraded" you. Here, as throughout your whole letter, you assume as a fact what is totally untrue. Had the Western Department been reunited I could not have given the command to you, nor indeed to any other army officer.

i will not attempt to reply in detail to your various charges of unfriendliness, for ail cannot explain certain things without communicating to you information which I have no right to give. I will only say that your suppositions in regard to my feelings and conduct toward you are entirely unfounded.

I am well aware of the hostility of some of the parties whom you mention as being my enemies as well as yours; but you very much mistake my character if you suppose that I will permit my personal likes and dislikes to influence me in the performance for my public duty. So far as the public service is concerned I shall never vary a hair's breadth in my conduct on account of the personal hostility of others. If they want my place they will be perfectly welcome it whenever the Government desires to make the change. I never wished the appointment, and have no desire to retain it.

Permit me to say in conclusion that although I feel the injustice of your letter, it will not affect in the slightest degree my regard for you, nor my estimate of your services, past or future. I believe you wrote it under a misapprehension of the facts connected with the matters of which you complain.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief.

SAINT PAUL, October 20, 1862.

General H. W. HALLECK, U. S. Army:

I have just received your letter of the 10th. I had not proposed to write you again on this subject, but it is necessary to do so briefly to correct some serious misapprehensions under which you seem to lie. I never charged you with unfriendly feeling nor acts toward me. you have misunderstood my letter. If I had thought you unfriendly I should never have written at all except officially.