[First indorsement.]

HDQRS. DEPT. OF NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHERN VA., July 15, 1864.

Respectfully forwarded.

G. T. BEAUREGARD,
General.

[Second indorsement.]

ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, July 19, 1864.

Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War.

H. L. CLAY,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

[First indorsement.]

JULY 23, 1864.

Respectfully submitted to the honorable Secretary of the Navy, earnestly requesting his consideration of the views presented.

J. A. S.,

Secretary.

[Fourth indorsement.]

JULY 30, 1864.

Respectfully returned to honorable Secretary of War.

It is evident from these papers that the military authorities immediately in charge at Plymouth regard our tenure of "Plymouth, Washington, and the rich valley of the Roanoke," as dependent upon the iron-clad Albemarle; and hence their "protest" against the alleged verbal orders given her by the Navy Department to "attack the enemy." The importance of this vessel in holding the country she greatly aided to recover is apparent, even if the water fronts of Plymouth were strengthened; but she was not designed to act as a floating battery merely, and while her loss must not be lightly hazarded, the question of when to attack the enemy must be left to the judgment of the naval officer in command, deciding in view of the relations she bears to the defenses of North Carolina.

S. R. MALLORY,

Secretary of the Navy.

WILMINGTON, July 8, 1864.

President DAVIS:

The arms promised have not come. They should be here before tomorrow evening. General Whiting offers all that he has, but they are not desirable caliber.

G. W. C. LEE,

Colonel and Aide-de-Camp.

WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A.,

Richmond, Va., July 9, 1864.

General R. E. LEE:

GENERAL: I had the honor to receive yesterday your telegram advising that the Danville road should be taken possession of, repaired, and

48 R R-VOL, PT III