guard mounting to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock, and there is not a man who has signed this paper but would prefer to return to their Southern prisons before purjury.

G. McHENRY.

S. R. PALMER.

ARTHUR J. McCUTCHEON.

DAVID KILGORE.

T. ROBERTSON.

[Inclosure Numbers 2.]

CAMP BENTON, SAINT LOUIS, Mo., July 14, 1862.

Adjutant-General BAKER.

DEAR SIR: I proceed to write to you by informing you of the critical circumstances that we (paroled prisoners) are now in.

We are in Camp Benton, arriving here the evening of the 10th, and now after being in the Southern prisons two months and being fed upon one-fourth rations-I need not tell you the kind-we are placed here by our own will by subscribing to the following oath rather than to die in filth and not a morsel of bread to fill the vacuum in our stomachs. Oath:

I pledge my most sacred honor that I will not during the existing war between the Confederate States and the United States of America bear arms or aid or abet the enemy of said Confederate States or their friends directly or indirectly in any form whatever until exchanged or released.

Besides taking this oath they have taken our description, and now after going through all this form and after getting back into our lines we are now used as dogs.

The commander here has given orders for us to stand guard. This every one of us will not do even to a man, believing it to be a violation of our oath. Already forty of us are in the guard-house an the rest are ready to go at a moment's notice to be tried by a court-martial. No telling of the consequence. There are 600 Iowa boys here; not one of us has received a cent pay since the 1st of January. We unanimously ask you to see into this affair and see what shall be done. We are here without officers and this is known to be the case and we are run over and trampled below the Secesh prisoners.

With his explanation and asking help, I submit, yours,

COMPANY D,

Twelfth Iowa, Cerro Gordo.

[Inclosure Numbers 3.]

SAINT LOUIS, Mo., July 11, 1862.

Governor S. J. KIRKWOOD.

RESPECTED SIR: Perhaps I am presuming too much in troubling you with matter which may not concern you, but however I will have to ask a hearing and your aid if such you deem necessary.

Our condition has been and is follows: On the 6th of April at the battle of Pittsburg Landing we were taken prisoners and released on parole the 25th of May. We were kept at Nashville until the 29th ultimo. While there every plan which they could devise was taken to get us in service again as a Tennessee regiment, but all their schemes proved of no avail. They found us a firm as the Secesh found us on the battle-field. We are now here and the same proceedings are to be acted over again. They want use to do guard duty notwithstanding our parole of honor. Now if we are not to be exchanged why not be called to our own State and not be here to be bamboozld by a colonel that is intoxicated the greater part of the time.