WAR DEPARTMENT, Richmond, December 21, 1861.

Brigadier General JOHN H. WINDER, Richmodn.

SIR: If you have not yet received any information in relation to the nineteen prisoenrs brought here from the Army of the Potomac nor of the reasons why they were sent here from the general guard- house you are instructed to return them. The headuqarters atRichmond cannot be converted into a receptacle for the prisoners in the guard houses of the Army.

Your obedient servant,

J. P. BENJAMIN,

Secretary of War.

HEADUQARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORFOLK,

Norfolk, Va., December 24, 1861.

Honorable J. P. BENJAMIN, S ecretary of War.

SIR: I transmit inclosed a copy of a letter* received this day fromCOmodoer Goldsborough. Although I am authorized by your letter of the 13th to conclude the exchanges with Commodore Goldsborough, yet as I am ignorant of the number of semaen now prisoners and of their location and also as he names an officer, Lieutenant William G. Jones, as the exchnge of Lieutenant Tattnall, and places the value of seamen at the rate of 30 for a captain in the army, 20 for a lieutenant and 10 for a midshipmam, I consider it best to refer his letter to you for further instructions. Lieutenatn-COlonel Tuler has arrived her on parole and proceeds to RIchmond. He wishes to be exchnged for Lieutenant- COlonel Reeve, now on his parole. I have no doubvbt he could get this effected through General Wool.

Veryrespectfully, your obedient servant,

BENJ. HUGER,

Major-General, Commanding.

WILLIAMSTON, N. C., December 26, 1861.

Honorable J. P. BENJAMIN, S ecretary of War, Richmond, Va.

MY DEAR SIR: Two hundered and fifty of the Hatteras priosoners have been released as I am informed upon parole not to fight against the UnitedStates until an equal number of Yankee prisoenrs are released by our Government. Some of the prisoners reached here to- day and we are gretly rejoiced at their return. Many of them look as if they had fared quite roughly, but our general ifnormation is that they had fared quite rougly, but our general ifnormation is that they have been treated as well as could be expe ted under the circjmstances.

They feel confindent if our Government sends an equal number of Yankee prisoners that the reside of our prisoners at Fort Warren, as prisoners of war, willb e released,. Severl of our single young men after being selected for release voluntarily consented to remainint he place ofmarried men, thus manifesting a self sacreifice highly comendable. You will recollect that soon after their capture I wrote to you a request if it was at all paacticable to effect an exchange. I am sure now the President will not stand upoon a punctilion in rtegard to the form of exchnge, although the conduct of the United States Government

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*Omitted here; Goldsborough to Huger, December 23, p. 168.

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