SPECIAL ORDERS, ADJT. AND INSP. GEN.'S OFFICE, XIV. The Fourteenth Regiment Georgia Volunteers, Colonel [A. V.] Brumly commanding, and the Sixteenth Regiment North Carolina Vol. unteers, Colonel [S.] Lee commanding, now at Staunton, will proceed by march to Mount Jackson, thence by railroad via Strasburg to Manassas, to report to General J. E. Johnston. The next two regiments arriving at Staunton from General Loring's command will proceed by march to Winchester, and report to Major-General Jackson. * By command of the Secretary of War: General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON, JNO. WITHERS, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Richmond, November 15, 1861. Commanding Department of Northern Virginia: SIR: I am directed by the President to inform you that after deliberation he has concluded to yield to your suggestions on the subject of assigning the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac to one of the divis ions, and that he will accordingly leave the cavalry, like the artillery, to be distributed by you amongst the several divisions or used in such other manner as to you shall seem most effective. The new organizations into brigades and divisions, rendered necessary in order to assign to General Van Dorn a command suitable to his rank, have also been determined by the President, and will be commuicated to you by the Adjutant-General. In order to supply the brigadier-generals rendered necessary by recent changes, the President has also made the following provisions: 1st. He has directed that Brigadier-General Trimble be assigned to the command left vacant by the promotion of Brigadier-General Crittenden. 2d. That William M. Gardner be promoted to the grade of brigadiergeneral, and assigned to the command of Brig. Gen. W. H. T. Walker, resigned. As General Gardner will be confined for some time to come by his wound, the President has sent to you Brig. Gen. Richard Garnett, to be assigned by you to such duty as you may deem proper until a brigade is formed for him. 3d. In order to supply a brigadier-general to assist Major-General Jackson in the Valley District of your department, the President directs that one of the four brigadier-generals from Virginia, assigned by General Orders, No. 15, of 22d ultimo, to the four Virginia brigades, be selected by you, to be sent to command the brigade of Virginia regiments now in the Valley District. Your obedient servant, J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War. RICHMOND, November 15, 1861. General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON, Centreville: The Fourteenth Alabama Regiment, Colonel Judge, left here yester day for Fredericksburg and Manassas. It will require arms. I tele graphed General Holmes to-day to halt it near Dumfries. A regiment left to-day by Central; another will leave on the 18th by Central road, and one on the 16th and one on the 17th by Fredericksburg, all unarmed. A North Carolina regiment from Loring's command, armed, left Staunton yesterday for Manassas by Central and Orange road. S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General. WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A., Brig. Gen. JOHN B. FLOYD, Commanding Army of Kanawha : SIR: I have hitherto refrained from replying to your several letters in relation to your proposed movements during the coming winter, because it was necessary first to ascertain what force would be under your command, and whether such force could reasonably be expected to succeed in any offensive operation. I have at last succeeded in sending to your aid three fine regiments, that will be with you before your receipt of this letter, one under Colonel Starke, and two Tennessee regiments under Brigadier-General Donelson. With this force the President is satisfied you ought to be able to hold your position at Cotton Mountain, and he hopes you will not fail to do so, as it is very obvious that on your abandonment of so important a point the enemy, now taught by experience, will not fail to seize it. Hardships and exposure will undoubtedly be suffered by our troops, but this is war, and we cannot hope to conquer our liberties or secure our rights by ease and comfort. We cannot believe that our gallant and determined citizen soldiers will shrink from a campaign the result of which must be to drive the enemy outside of our borders and to secure for us the possession of a valley of such vast importance as that of the Kanawha at the present critical juncture. I therefore hope that you will not feel compelled to abandon Cotton Mountain in order to fall back on Raleigh Court-House, or any other point, until you have forced the enemy to abandon their camp at the junction of the Gauley and Kanawha. I have sent you a rifled twelve-pounder within the last few days, and will send you another in a few days more. I am very sorry we have no 24-pounder howitzers. Do your best to keep your road to Newbern in transitable order, and supplies shall not fail you. I am, your obedient servant, J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War. HEADQUARTERS, Centreville, November 16, 1861. Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War: SIR: I respectfully inclose herewith copies of two letters just received from Brigadier-General Whiting. This officer, with his own brigade and three Texan regiments of Wigfall's brigade, is in the neighborhood of Dumfries. I have directed that the three new regiments shall be added to this force-those coming via Fredericksburg. My object in laying these letters before you is to show the importance of additional re-enforcements to enable Brigadier-General Whiting to defeat such attempts of the enemy as he expects. If you have any disposable troops, I venture to assert that no more important object can be found for their employment. Superior numbers and the control of the river and possession of a great number of vessels, give the United States troops in Maryland opposite to Evansport great advantages over us. Should he (the enemy) establish himself on our shore in force, he will so intrench himself in a few hours as to make it impossible to dislodge him, and we shall soon have a fortified army on our right flank. The condition of the roads is now such from the rains, unusual at this season, that the troops here cannot move with such facility as to be able to guard this position and watch the Lower Occoquan and shore of the Potomac near its mouth. We have great difficulty in transporting our supplies from Manassas even. It is necessary, therefore, in order to prevent the apprehended landing of the enemy, that we should have as nearly as possible a sufficient number of troops to repel the enemy on the Occoquan or the bank of the Potomac. It would be impossible to march from this position in time to aid Brigadier-General Whiting after learning the enemy's designs, which could only be known after his movement should be commenced. Should the enemy establish a new base on the river below the Occoquan in the manner indicated above, it would be impossible to hold this position. The superiority of numbers against us makes it impracticable to divide this army. This position cannot be given up upon any conjecture of the enemy's designs. I therefore respectfully urge that any disposable troops you may have be ordered to this army for service under General Whiting. Should they be at Richmond, the Fredericksburg road would be most expeditious for a part of the force at least. The Adjutant-General informed me that 6,000 or 7,000 of General Loring's troops would be near Staunton about this time. They might serve here during the crisis, and afterwards perform the service for which they have been intended. This will be delivered to you by Lieutenant Lane, son of the late United States Senator from Oregon. Most respectfully, your obedient servant, J. E. JOHNSTON, General. P. S.-McC. regards the division of this army as his best chance of success. [Inclosures.] HEADQUARTERS TROOPS NEAR DUMFRIES, Private Hanan, of Andrews' battery, has just returned from Maryland, where he has been since October 24. He reports very much the same as all others as to force and intention of the enemy. They will attack by the flotilla above and below, and attempt throwing a very large force across. He landed at Holland Point, and informs me that he learned above Occoquan that they were building a pontoon bridge to cross the Occoquan, and the reconnaissance the other day was to select a place for it. This is important. I have seen French. He pronounces the batteries untenable against fire from the opposite side and the fleets; in fact, expresses himself just as I did, you recollect, when I saw them. He is very much disgusted, and he goes in for my plan of changing to Cockpit. I have written to Richmond for permission. If they cross the Occoquan in heavy force I shall probably fight at the Neabsco crossing. You must look out on the right. We have tremendous odds against us, and if they cross the run we shall have a heavy fight. It is good that General T. has been relieved, though mighty hard on French. If the re-enforcements come, I will give him two regiments. I have to watch that Occoquan movement. My dear general, the position is difficult and anxious. What wouldn't I give if G. W. [Smith] was in command down here? As to the change to Cockpit, if it can be executed it will undoubtedly disconcert and delay the enemy. I only fear it may be too late. Where are all the engineer officers of the Army? Hadn't you better show this to Beauregard ? Very truly, yours, W. H. C. WHITING. HEADQUARTERS TROOPS NEAR DUMFRIES, November 16, 1861. DEAR GENERAL: I sent you yesterday some important intelligence, received from some of our men who have been over in Maryland. Perhaps owing to the swelling of the creeks it did not reach you. The chief point was the certain information that the enemy are preparing a pontoon bridge to cross the Occoquan. They will cross near the town of Occoquan, and I think land at the same time at Deep Hole, where they can put across a very large force. I think you may depend on the grand attack being on our right this time, and we shall catch it here. You must look out for me. There is no time to be lost. The enemy are only waiting for their flotilla organization. The batteries, per se, as batteries, will not be tenable against a heavy fleet attack combined with the fire from the other side. They were never constructed so as to protect the guns from being dismounted. I telegraphed for authority to withdraw them and place them at Cockpit. The main question is whether it can now be done in time. If you are fortified up there, and believe as I do in the attack here in heavy force, let a brigade move at once toward Bacon Race. There ought to be a regiment of cavalry here to act, and certainly another battery. I have only Imboden and Hampton, and consequently nothing to act with my brigade, which is and will be the reserve troops, the artillery being posted at certain points for action. Heintzelman's division will I think cross the Occoquan, and Sickles will land in force at Deep Hole. The roads converge at Kankey's farm, on the Neabsco, where I expect Wigfall to meet and hold them in check while I fall on their flank. The Fredericksburg regiments have not arrived spoken of in your note. The sooner they come the better; but order, if you please, your commissariat and quartermaster's department to be energetic. My train has the whole burden of the Texas brigade, which was sent here without transportation from Richmond, &c. Yours, truly, General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON: WHITING. NOVEMBER 16, 1861. MY DEAR GENERAL: I believe in all that Whiting says. As to that new battery at Cockpit Point, I fear it is entirely too late. Either we must be prepared to fight them there with some force or withdraw our forces and guns within the line of the Upper Occoquan, and then, should they attempt to move along the Potomac, we must attack them in flank and rear. As to Colonel Anderson, he has received orders to work with his garrison on those new forts around Manassas. I advise you to send an express to Richmond with a copy of General Whiting's letter to the President, calling his attention to the fact that the intrenched camps and hills in rear of the Evansport batteries have never been constructed, notwithstanding your repeated instructions or advice on the subject. Yours, truly, Brigadier-General WHITING: G. T. BEAUREGARD. HEADQUARTERS, Centreville, November 16, 1861. DEAR GENERAL: A regiment left Richmond on the 14th for Fredericksburg, and another is to do so to-day and another to-morrow, all unarmed. I directed the quartermaster to send you for these new regiments, beginning with the Texans, twenty-four wagons, which will start to-day, should the Occoquan be fordable. They are to take 1,600 muskets (perhaps 1,800) and about 60 boxes of cartridges for the regi ments of the 14th and 16th-dates of leaving Richmond. All these new troops are unarmed, and as I said that two could be armed at Manassas, they send five to use the muskets-these people in Richmond. I requested General Holmes to procure permanent transportation for these troops about Fredericksburg, if possible; I shall therefore wait to hear from him before sending more wagons. When I hear of the last regiment, arms shall be sent for it, too, if they can be found. I have had a bridge over the Occoquan begun on the road from Dumfries to Manassas, and am asking for laborers to improve the road. I have desired General Holmes to have such field works as can now be made begun on the heights at Evansport. Will you advise in the case? No Staunton regiments are to join Wigfall. His brigade consists of the three Texan regiments belonging to your command. The three regiments to come, also to be under your command, are new, I suppose, being unarmed. Brigade them at your discretion. Colonel Walker is, I doubt not, a very competent officer. I knew him as an excellent captain. If the new regiments can serve where there are breastworks it will be well to so place them, by exchanges if necessary. I wish the dividing lines between the districts considered obliterated. Yours, truly, J. E. JOHNSTON. In arming these regiments don't include men not likely to be able to use their muskets soon, for we are to have more men than arms. HDQRS. SECOND CORPS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Centreville, Va., November 16, 1861. Brig. Gen. W. H. C. WHITING, Commanding near Dumfries: DEAR WHITING: General Johnston desires me to write you in answer to your letters to him of yesterday and to-day. The position you propose to occupy on the Neabsco and general plan for resisting an advance of the enemy is considered the best that could be adopted. In regard to moving the batteries, he authorizes you to do whatever in |