QUARTERMASTER - GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, August 29, 1862.

General W. A. HAMMOND, U. S. Army, Surgeon - General.

SIR: You are respectfully informed that a copy of your letter of the 13th instant requesting that the barracks now in course of construction at Fort Independence may be transferred to the medical department for hospital purposes, having been referred to the commanding officer at that post with information that if the barracks can be spared the Quartermaster - General would be glad to have them turned over as desired, that officer has reported that at the present time if seems impossible to devote any portion of the barracks at that post to hospital purposes, as by a recent order issued by the War Department Fort Independence is made a rendezvous for the safe - keeping of general prisoners, 150 of whom are now confined there, and they are increasing at an average ration of twenty per day. The commanding officer concludes by stating that Doctor McLaren seems to have abandoned the idea of establishing a hospital at Fort Independence, inasmuch as he has ordered all stores appertaining thereto to be removed to Boston.

By order:

E. S. SIBLEY,

Brevet Colonel, U. S. Army, and Deputy Quartermaster - General.

U. S. MILITARY POST, Salem, Mo., August 29, 1862.

Colonel J. M. GLOVER, Commanding Rolla Division.

COLONEL: Your favor of the 28th came to hand last night, also pay -rolls to be submitted for muster - rolls. Hospital pay - rolls are yet missing. Please sent them by returning express.

Lieutenant H. Reed returned yesterday with his detachment after a very successful expedition down the Currant River to Jack's Fort. He secured some of the worst and most dangerous characters in the whole district, among them the late State Senator Joshua Chilton, the " King of Shannon county," as they call him, who did more to induce men to join the Southern army than perhaps any other man in this whole States. The number of prisoners Lieutenant Reed brought in is six. I will deliver them tomorrow to the detachment of cavalry returning to Rolla. A good many contrabands and some U. S. horses were brought in also.

Three men who were met in arms and one who tried to run away when ordered to halt were killed. Of all those proceedings I will give you further details in my next letter.

" The country over which we traveled," the report winds up, " was very destitute of water until we reached Sinking Creek; after that it was rough and hilly and supplied with an abundance of the purest of water, plenty of corn in the field, in the valley's some considerable fruit - peaches and apples - not very many sheep, an abundance of cattle, not much small grain that I saw; found two grist - mills and any quantity of hogs, though they are all poor. " According to the reports of Lieutenant Reed as well as of the guide it will be easy to secure from the Currant River Valley alone

1, 000 head of good cattle if only a force of about 300 cavalry can be employed to make a clean sweep through it. To take a part of the cattle a time would have the effect to drive the balance into the woods.

The news our guide could collect of the whereabouts of Coleman differ in so fat that according to one (secesh) report he was cashiered

30 R R - SERIES II, VOL IV