EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,

Jefferson City, Mo., January 29, 1865.

Honorable E. M. STANTON,

Secretary of War:

SIR: I propose to raise a force equal in number to the quota of the State under call of December 19, 1864 (13,984 men), for, say, one year for service in the State while troops are necessary in this department in such proportion of infantry and cavalry as the major-general commanding may direct, such force to be credited to our quota under said call.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

THOMAS C. FLETCHER,

Governor of Missouri.

STATE OF ILLINOIS, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,

Springfield, January 30, 1865.

Brigadier General JAMES B. FRY,

Provost-Marshal-General, Washington, D. C.:

DEAR SIR: In view of the embarrassment of our people arising from the settlement of 35,541 recruits to be furnished by the State of Illinois under the quota arranged by you against the State under the call of December 19, 1864, for 300,000 men, and that I may be able to explain to our people the facts in the case more definitely, I respectfully request of you a reconsideration of the subject, as I desire to call your attention to a few considerations which may have escaped you in the adjustment of the quota.

In your communication of date January 24, 1865, to your acting assistant provost-marshal-general, Colonel Oakes, you state "that 35,541 is the number required of Illinois after taking into account the credits to which the State is entitled by estimating the number of years of service furnished by one, two, and three years" men." This quota amounts to 11 per cent. of the whole 300,000 men, and this after the enrollment had been reduced about 10 per cent. And yet the quota of Illinois under the call for 500,000 last July, in which you did not take into account any credits at all, was only about 120 per cent. of the whole number asked for, being 52,057. Upon this quota you allowed to the State subsequently a credit of one year's service of the excess of three-years" men, 35,875. How is it, then, that our quota under the 300,000, which is said to include our credit of 35,875, is more than 11 per cent. of 300,000, when without any credit under the call for 500,000 it was only 10.4 per cent.?

Again, it was insisted under the call for 500,000 men July 18, 1864, that our deficit was by sub-districts 28,058, and that we would be required to fill this deficit by sub-districts, although the State was only behind on all calls, after the credit for one year's service of the excess of 35,875 three-years" men, 13,440. Subsequently but 50 per cent. of the 28,058 deficit was called for, being 14,029.

If the call of the President for 300,000 is in fact as stated-to fill up deficiencies under the call of July, 1864, for 500,000, then our quota would be but 14,029, since we have received on that call the proper credit of one year of the service of the 35,875 three-years" men credited to the State.

But if this last call of the President for 300,000 men is in fact an original call, we will earnestly insist upon our rights to a credit for another year's service of the 35,875 three-years" men now in the serv-