HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE DEPARTMENT,
Baltimore, June 13, 1862.

Honorable EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

SIR: Herewith you will receive a communication* from Colonel R. W. Hanson and other prisoners of war on the subject of exchanges. At their special request I transmit it for your consideration. By my correspondence with Major-General Huger you will perceive I not only offered to exchange all prisoners of war, privateersmen as well as those who had been held as hostages, of fair and honorable terms but on the express terms proposed by General Huger according to the cartel made between the United States and Great Britain. The privateers-men when sent to be exchanged or paroled remained at or near City Point I think five days, but received no reply from General Huger. After Lieutenant-Colonel Whipple returned to Fort Monroe with the privateersmen I received a letter from Major-General Huger# just as I was leaving Fort Monroe for Baltimore inclosing a letter (these letters were transmitted to the Secretary of War) from Mr. Randolph condemning the course of General Huger, with an intimation that I had overreached him, which was anything but the truth, for certainly nothing could have been further from my thoughts than circumventing General Huger on the subject. There was no necessity for such a course for there was a perfect understanding between us to be governed by the cartel made between the United States and Great Britain in 1813.

I have complied with the request of Colonel Hanson and others without discovering what more can be done to accomplish the object of exchanging Colonel Corcoran and others. On examination of Major-General Huger's last letter it will be perceived that he did not receive my letter sent with the privateers. It would seem that it was transmitted to Mr. Randolph. ## Major-General Huger says in his letter that he did not understand the letter of Mr. Randolph.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS, Richmond, Va., June 13, 1862.

Major General GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, U. S. Army,
Commanding Army of the Potomac, &c.

GENERAL: I have had the honor to receive your letter of this date. The officer designated by you is entirely acceptable to me, but the place of meeting (Mr. James Garnett's house) is included within our line of pickets. I therefore propose that Colonel Key should meet General Cobb at the time you designate (Sunday morning next at 11 o'clock) at the Mechanicsville bridge, which I believe is not occupied by the pickets of either army, the interview between the officers to be alone.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,

General.

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* Not found.

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# For Huger to Wool, June 5, inclosing Randolph to Huger of June 3, see Vol. III, this Series, p. 650.

## By reference to Ranson to Randolph, Vol. III, this Series, p. 887, it will seen that Huger had left Petersburg.