determined by mutual agreement between the parties where prisoners are to be delivered for parole or exchange. You evidently did not place that interpretation on it in sending the Munfordville prisoners to my camp at Cave City and I did not choose to insist on that interpretation myself. The prisoners paroled by me near Green River were left on your lines of communication at Glasgow. They could with as little inconvenience to me and far more to you have been sent to your camp at Munfordville.

To repeat I understand the object of the cartel to be to establish an invariable system for the exchange of prisoners of war by which the delay, inconvenience and uncertainty of special negotiation may be avoided, and I think the plain interpretation of it is that each party may without any consultation whatever release any one or all of its paroled prisoners whenever it returns to the other party an equivalent of the prisoners of that party. (See the fifth section of the cartel.) The place for the delivery of prisoners would seem to be subject to special agreement but nothing else. The appointment of agents has in view merely convenience in keeping the lists and conducting the correspondence in regard to paroles and exchanges.

I am pained and mortified that you should have occasion to complain of the conduct of my troops toward any prisoners, sick or well, that may have fallen into their hands. I shall at all times condemn such conduct and punish it when the occasion requires. But it has seemed to me that the hardships which the prisoners of either party suffer in most cases rest too much on unfair statements, or result too much from the force of circumstances, or at the worst from inadvertence on the part of the party accused, to be made the ground of harsh denunciation between the authorities on either side.

With great respect, your obedient servant,

D. C. BUELL,

Major-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE OHIO,
Louisville, October 1, 1862.

General BRAXTON BRAGG, Commanding Confederate Forces.

SIR: I have the honor to inform you that I am prepared to deliver to you on parole at any point you may see fit to designate convenient for us both the prisoners of the Third Georgia [Cavalry] Regiment captured by my troops on the 29th ultimo.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

D. C. BUELL,

Major-General, Commanding.

SAINT LOUIS, October 1, 1862.

Brigadier General LEWIS MERRILL, Macon City, Mo.

Dispatch received. Rebel officers captured disguised should be tried as spies in our lines. There are a great many sneaks back to Canton and Alexandria. I wish you could send a force to arrest them. Some scoundrels were recently discharged by the provost-marshal-general; it may be right to rearrest them. A discharge must not give men immunities to do wrong. Put them through.

S. R. CURTIS,

Major-General.