There has been a track graded west of the rolling-mill, and an extensive trestle and coal-bin erected. Fourteen small mess- houses have been built, and three large buildings, in course of erection at date of last report, finished. A large force of the Seventh Division have been constantly employed at the mill up to this date digging a well, unloading cars, &c. Another force of upward of 100 men of the Seventh Division have been employed upon repairs of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad up to this date. About eighty men have been constantly employed in the quarry near Chattanooga, getting out stone for foundations, sewers, and ballast. The most of the foundations for the roundhouse are in, and the greater part of the lumber intended for it cut and delivered. A double track was graded from the main track outside the depot yard, running to the roundhouse, and from thence extended almost to the Crutchfield House, with the design ultimately of connecting with the tracks in the street. There has been erected also extensive barracks and officers" quarters for the depot guard, and a large building for officers of the transportation department, and extensive mess-houses for their men. At Knoxville there has been erected one large office building, two large mess-houses, and a blacksmith shop of fifty by eighty feet. Also depot buildings at Charleston, Athens, and Sweet Water. We have had five saw-mills in operation, which have cut the last three months 1,200,000 feet of lumber, board measure, and 500,000 shingles, a large amount of which we have on hand.

On the 6th of May I received your order directing the reduction of the Construction Corps to the lowest practicable limit. I at once suspended operations on the roundhouse and in the stone quarry, and ordered a suspension of the saw-mills, after cutting up the stock on hand. From the Fourth and Seventh Divisions and saw-mill department I have discharged 1,000 men since the receipt of your order, making the available force of the Construction Corps at the present time 1,200 men. A further reduction of the force was arrested by an order from General Thomas directing the relaying of the track between Dalton and Resaca and rebuilding of the bridge across the Oostenaula. Commencing the track at Dalton on the 10th of May, I sent forward part of the bridge force of the First Division to Resaca to rebuild the bridge, five spans of which had been destroyed. This they accomplished and laid one mile of track south of it by the time we reached there, the 24th of May. From thence to Kingston we rebuilt three bridges, two tanks, and repaired sidings at Calhoun and Adairsville; the rest of the track was in comparatively good order. Reached Kingston on the 26th, and the following day turned the road over to the transportation department. Between Kingston and Etowah three more bridges and two tanks were destroyed. The track was unimpaired. Reached the Etowah on the 29th, when I received further orders from General Thomas to open the line to Atlanta, at which all the force of the corps at the present time are employed. I omitted to state we had build an engine-house and a large reservoir adjoining the machine-shop at Chattanooga of a capacity of 80,000 gallons. The shops in the yard, as well as the locomotives, are now amply supplied with water from the works built by the U. S. Engineer Department. We have, in connection with their tubs on Cameron Hill, erected a tank of a capacity of 50,000 gallons, and have laid about 5,000 feet of main pipe and 4,000 of branch to the commissary building, store and mess houses.