LACON, MARSHALL COUNTY, ILL., July 28, 1862.

His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

President of the United States.

HONORED SIR: I trust no apology will be deemed necessary for calling your attention to the fact that some 1,300 of the prisoners taken by the rebels at the battle of Pittsburg Landing were returned to us on parole and are now at Benton Barracks, Mo. These men are suffering greatly; they as you are aware endured great hardships during their imprisonment, and are in consequence generally unfit for the rigor of active service. They have not received any pay for a period extending beyond eighth months and feel anxious to their families and carry with them the hard-earned pittance to meet their pressing necessities, but the commandant of the post exacts from them all the ordinary duties of the services, and for refusing to violate the obligations of parole punishes them with the utmost severity. About 100 of these brave boys are now in irons for this cause.

I cannot for one moment entertain a doubt but that you will promptly interfere in their behalf, and by so doing you will relieve us of much embarrassment in obtaining new recruits under your recent call.

Your obedient servant,

ROBERT F. WINSLOW.

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 28, 1862.

Honorable WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

SIR: The Secretary of War directs me to say that he has had the honor to receive your letter* of the 14th instant, inclosing copy of a note addressed by Lord Lyons to the State Department under date of the 12th instant-

Touching the cases of British subjects, prisoners of war in this country, who when captured by the U. S. forces were serving against their will in the ranks of the rebels, and asking that such cases may be inquired into fairly and dealt with leniently,

-and to submit to you the following reply:

The Department has no information upon this subject other than that gathered from the note of Lord Lyons, and as that fails to mention the name of any British subject supposed to have been captured, while serving against his will in the ranks of the rebels, it is manifestly out of the power of the Department now to take any action in the premises. It may be well, however, to acquint Lord Lyons with the fact that applications for release and parole on precisely this ground are almost daily made to the Department by citizens of the United States capture from the insurgent ranks and held as prisoners of war, but the Department has uniformly declined to inquire into these cases or to deal with them otherwise than with cases in which no such ground was urged.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

C. P. WOLCOTT,

Assistant Secretary of War.

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* Not found.

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