Cheatham had crossed the Obion River not far from Jacksonville, on the Kentucky and Tennessee State line. My cavalry scouts out in that direction are expected to return every moment with full information. I have ordered Captain Edwards' battery (l and M, third U. S. Artillery [consolidated], en route south, to disembark. My request to the naval commander at Cairo to station a gunboat temporarily at Columbus was not complied with. It is of vital importance that a gunboat should be sent to Columbus, and I respectfully requested that one may be ordered here, as my very limited infantry force is not sufficient to insure the safety of the public stores and depots on the levee.

ASBOTH,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

CINCINNATI, OHIO, June 17, 1863 1 a. m.

Major General H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief:

I do not see how I can spare troops to be sent to Asboth without jeopardizing the safety of the Nashville Railroad. We have in our front, in the vicinity of Monticello, 5,000 or 6,000 cavalry, with scouting parties breaching through our lines whenever an opportunity occurs. There is a considerable force at Cumberland Gap, and some force in Eastern Kentucky, I do not yet know large. I have sent General White, with the main body of his force from Louisa, on an expedition, and have also sent a considerable portion of the cavalry that has been stationed on the Cumberland on an expedition. These two expeditions, with the absence of the Ninth Corps, make the lines very weak. General Brooks has called for a regiment for Pittsburg, and the traitors in Indiana are giving us much trouble. Still, if you wish it, I will detail a force to report to General Asboth.

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Major-General, Commanding.

CINCINNATI, OHIO, June 17, 1863 - 1 a. m.

Major General H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief:

There is one gunboat at or near Parkersburg now. We are fitting up three more light-draught gunboats for the upper river. One will be ready to-morrow, and the other two in three of four days.

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Major-Genera.

CINCINNATI, OHIO, June 17, 1863 - 1.30 p. m.

H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief:

I can send General Asboth 500 or 600 from the interior of Illinois. Shall I send them?

A. E. BURNSIDE,

Major-General.