vening, and was
answered very late that night, in order to be in time for
the steamer _Arago_, which sailed at daylight next
morning,--the dispatch-steamer which brought the request
'for immediate information' having sustained some injuries
which prevented an immediate return. It was written after
midnight, we may add, in a tornado of thunder and tempest
such as has rarely been known even on that tornado-stricken
coast; but loud as were the peals and vivid the flashes of
heaven's artillery, there were at least two persons within
the lines on Hilton Head who were laughing far too noisily
themselves to pay any heed to external clamors. The reply
thus concocted and sent, from an uncorrected manuscript copy
now in our possession, ran as follows:

"HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,
_Hilton Head, S. C._, June, 1862.

"To the HON. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.

"SIR:--I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a
communication from the Adjutant-General of the Army, dated
June 13, 1862, requesting me to furnish you with the
information necessary to answer certain Resolutions
introduced in the House of Representatives June 9, 1862, on
motion of the Hon. Mr. Wickliffe, of Kentucky; their
substance being to enquire:

"1st--Whether I had organized, or was organizing, a regiment
of 'fugitive slaves' in this department.

"2d--Whether any authority had been given to me from the War
Department for such an organization; and

"3rd--Whether I had been furnished, by order of the War
Department, with clothing, uniforms, arms, equipments, and
so forth, for such a force?

"Only having received the letter at a late hour this
evening, I urge forward my answer in time for the steamer
sailing to-morrow morning,--this haste preventing me from
entering, as minutely as I could wish, upon many points of
detail, such as the paramount importance of the subject
would seem to call for. But, in view of the near termination
of the present session of Congress, and the wide-spread
interest which must have been awakened by Mr. Wickliffe's
resolutions, I prefer sending even this imperfect answer to
waiting the period necessary for the collection of fuller
and more comprehensive data.

"To t