artillery (heavy) for the defense of Knoxville. General T. wished a regiment of artillery, that he might retain control of it more readily than if it were an infantry regiment. General Tillson was referred to this office by Major-General Grant, and the requisite authority and designation obtained from the Colored Bureau.

Recruiting has been conducted there as here, and assisted by the money of the Boston committee. The regiment now numbers about 1,700 men. A roster of officers is appended.* The Ninth U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) was authorized by the Adjutant-General last February. Desires to fill up regiments already organized prevented recruiting for this until recently. A company has been recruited at Clarksville, Tenn., and some 380 recruits sent from Ohio have been assigned to this command, filling the battalion now which is under the command of Major Grosskopff.

There are some men for the second battalion. Josiah V. Meigs, a native Tennessean, received permission in January last to raise a battery of light artillery at this place. This is Battery A, Second U. S. Colored Artillery (Light). The battery is full and has been stationed here. It has but recently gotten horses. The men are pretty well advanced in the school of the piece and have had a few mounted drills.

RECRUITING.

I stated before that no impressment had been allowed in recruiting. In February last Adjutant-General Thomas authorized the impressment of negroes for military purposes. This, however, was soon countermanded.

The present rules governing recruiting are that any loyal owner resident in Kentucky and Tennessee may put his slave into service, and that any slave desiring to enlist may be recruited. Certificates, Forms Numbers 1 (Colored Bureau), are awarded whenever the owner desires. Frequent inquiries, by the way, are made as to the payment of the $ 300 compensation.

EXAMINING BOARD.

As already stated, upon Major Stearns reporting here he found that an examining board had been in session at Stevenson. A tabular statement annexed shows their operations.*

The examining board at Nashville was originally organized in August, 1863, by General Gordon Granger, commanding District of the Cumberland, under orders from Major-General Rosecrans, commanding Department of the Cumberland. Subsequently the department commander assumed the control of it.

Brigadier General R. S. Granger; Colonel Lum, Tenth Michigan Foot Volunteers; Colonel Stoughton, Eleventh Michigan Foot Volunteers; Colonel Hull, Thirty-seventh Indiana Foot Volunteers; Lieutenant-Colonel Crane, Eighty-fifth Indiana Foot Volunteers; Major Dutton, One hundred and fifth Illinois Foot Volunteers; Major Grosskopff, Ninth U. S. Colored Artillery; Captain Kramer, Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry Volunteers, and Captain John O"Neil, Seventeenth U. S. Colored Infantry, have been, respectively, connected with the Board. Of these Colonel Lum, Lieutenant-Colonel Crane, and Major Dutton wre for the longest time members of the Board.

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* Omitted.

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