Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON: CONCORD, N. H., April 16, 1862. Your telegram in relation to our troops now in the service is received. Will reply by letter to-morrow. N. S. BERRY, Governor of New Hampshire. COLUMBUS, April 16, 1862. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON: Governor. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, * 5. The Governor of Ohio is hereby authorized to continue until further orders the manufacture of ammunition at the State laboratory at Columbus, and to fill requisitions that may be made from time to time by the commanding general of any department. The quartermaster-general of Ohio is requested to report semi-monthly to the Ordnance Bureau the exact condition of the Ohio arsenal as to ammunition. I have been directed by the Governor to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram dated Washington, April 15, 1862, and to say to you that he will reply to it as soon as possible by mail. EDWARD RIDGELY, Secretary of State of Delaware. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: ALBANY, April 17, 1862. Your telegram received. The information required, giving the number of troops from this State and the arm of service, will be forwarded by mail to-morrow. THOS. HILLHOUSE, Adjutant-General. IV. The attention of officers empowered by law to assemble general courts-martial is directed to the Regulations, paragraphs 896 and 897, relative to forwarding the proceedings of such courts, with their action indorsed on each case, and a copy of the order promulgating the proceedings, promptly, to the Judge-Advocate of the Army, at Washington. Much embarrassment is occasioned to the War Department by failure to comply with these regulations, which must be at once remedied wherever they have been neglected. By order of the Secretary of War: GENERAL ORDERS, No. 43. L. THOMAS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, April 19, 1862. The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned: AN ACT to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of the Army. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be added to the present Medical Corps of the Army ten surgeons and ten assistant surgeons, to be promoted and appointed under existing laws; twenty medical cadets, and as many hospital stewards as the Surgeon-General may consider necessary for the public service, and that their pay and that of all hospital stewards in the volunteer as well as the regular service shall be thirty dollars per month, to be computed from the passage of this act. And all medical cadets in the service shall, in addition to their pay, receive one ration per day, either in kind or commutation. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Surgeon-General to be appointed under this act shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general. There shall be one Assistant Surgeon-General and one Medical Inspector-General of hospitals, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry, and the Medical Inspector-General shall have, under the direction of the Surgeon-General, the supervision of all that relates to the sanitary condition of the Army, whether in transports, quarters, or camps, and of the hygiene, police, discipline, and efficiency of field and general hospitals, under such regulations as may hereafter be established. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be eight medical inspectors, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and who shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the sanitary condition of transports, quarters, and camps, of field and general hospitais, and who shall report to the Medical Inspector-General, under such regulations as may be hereafter established, all circumstances relating to the sanitary condition and wants of troops and of hospitals, and to the skill, efficiency, and good conduct of the officers and attendants connected with the Medical Department. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Surgeon-General, the Assistant SurgeonGeneral, Medical Inspector-General, and medical inspectors, shall, immediately after the passage of this act, be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, by selection from the Medical Corps of the Army, or from the surgeons in the volunteer service, without regard to their rank when so selected, but with sole regard to qualifications. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That medical purveyors shall be charged, under the direction of the Surgeon-General, with the selection and purchase of all medical supplies, including new standard preparations, and of all books, instruments, hospital stores, furniture, and other articles required for the sick and wounded of the Army. In all cases of emergency they may provide such additional accommodations for the sick and wounded of the Army, and may transport such medical supplies as circumstances may render necessary, under such regulations as may hereafter be established, and shall make prompt and immediate issues upon all special requisitions made upon them under such circumstances by medical officers; and the special requisitions shall consist simply of a list of the articles required, the qualities required, dated and signed by the medical officers requiring them. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That whenever the Inspector-General, or any one of the medical inspectors, shall report an officer of the Medical Corps as disqualified, by age or otherwise, for promotion to a higher grade, or unfitted for the performance of his professional duties, he shall be reported by the Surgeon-General, for examination, to a medical board, as provided by the seventeenth section of the act approved August third, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act shall continue and be in force during the existence of the present rebellion and no longer: Provided, however, That when this act shall expire all officers who shall have been promoted from the medical staff of the Army under this act shall retain their respective rank in the Army, with such promotion as they would have been entitled to, Approved April 16, 1862. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, [APRIL 19, 1862.-For Ellet to Stanton, relating to the construction of ram fleet, &c., see Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 112.] Hon. E. M. STANTON: PITTSBURG, April 19, 1862. Mingo ready; Lioness will be in four days, and Samson in six days. Mr. Ellet arrived this morning. WM. K. NIMICK. CAIRO, ILL., April 20, 1862. President LINCOLN: Governor Harvey, of Wisconsin, was drowned last night about 11 o'clock at Savannah, on the Tennessee River, while passing from one boat to another. All search for his body had proved fruitless up to the time dispatch left. W. K. STRONG, Brigadier-General, Commanding. PITTSBURG, April 21, 1862. As stated in my dispatch of Saturday asking for instructions,* which are not yet received, three boats here and one at Cincinnati will be ready as soon as I can obtain crews for them. The men and coal and supplies ought to be engaged promptly, and the two small boats for pickets and tenders, as authorized, should be purchased immediately. Respectfully, CHAS. ELLET, JR. INDIANAPOLIS, April 21, 1862. That a great battle is impending at Corinth is evident. Before additional surgical aid can reach the field from any quarter five or six days will elapse. Meanwhile the wounded must suffer immensely. It was so at Donelson and Pittsburg. Indiana has at least twentyfour regiments before the enemy. I propose to send at once to each of them two additional assistant surgeons, and respectfully request authority from you to do so. I regard this as an absolute necessity. Please answer immediately. His Excellency O. P. MORTON, O. P. MORTON, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 21, 1862. Governor, Indianapolis, Ind.: You have authority to send to each of the Indiana regiments in the field in Tennessee two additional assistant surgeons, agreeably to your request. By order of the Secretary of War: P. H. WATSON, Assistant Secretary of War. GENERAL ORDERS, No. WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, Brig. Gen. George L. Hartsuff, assistant adjutant-general, U. S. Army, is assigned to special duty in the War Department from the 14th instant. Your dispatch received. Reply to your telegrams of Saturday and yesterday have been delayed to receive information from the Navy Department. 'Instructions will be sent to-morrow. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, CHARLES ELLET, Jr., Pittsburg: Washington City, D. C., April 23, 1862. The purchase of the coal and barges and two tenders is approved and may be done immediately.* The compensation of crew and mode of manning is being considered by the Department. Brooks informs me the work on the Monarch is going on briskly. EDWIN M. STANTON. *For reply, see Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 123. GENERAL ORDERS, * * WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, * II. Surgeons from civil life who tender their services for the sick and wounded in the field, under the invitation of the Secretary of War, will each be allowed, while so employed, the use of a public horse, a tent, the necessary servants, and the privilege of purchasing subsistence stores from the Commissary Department. The volunteer force from this State in the service of United States, as nearly as can be ascertained, is as follows: Infantry, 84,358; artillery, 8,686; cavalry, 8,713; engineers, 873. Total, 102,630. Detailed statement sent by mail to-day. THOS. HILLHOUSE, [APRIL 24, 1862.-For Ellet to Stanton, relating to the purchase of boats for the ram fleet, &c., see Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 123.] CHARLES ELLET, Jr., Esq., Pittsburg: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April [25], 1862. The instructions and authority to be given you have been carefully considered by this Department and the following are communicated: Orders have already been given authorizing the purchase of coal, as requested in your telegram of the 19th instant. You are also authorized to engage the crew at current Mississippi River wages. The purchase of two small tugs as tenders has also been ordered. You are authorized to provision the boats as you suggest. The request to promise an additional month's wages for every fortified position passed is so indefinite that, with reluctance, I am constrained to decline compliance; but I authorize you to promise extra compensation for the capture or destruction of prizes, the amount to be determined equitably by the Secretary of War. You are authorized to add the guard of from twelve to twenty men of the volunteers for each boat, to be commanded by a lieutenant of your own selection, the whole to be under a common commander of higher grade, and in order to give you authority over the entire forces, I propose to appoint you a colonel on the staff, to hold the rank so long as may be necessary for the complete execution of the enterprise. You are allowed a clerk, as you request, and shall have the services of a surgeon and an assistant surgeon. It is the wish of the Department to give you every possible facility to insure success. Military com |