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SIR,

UNION HOTEL, DECEMBER 12, 1846.

The number of privates in my company are seventy, (including non-commissioned officers.) They are all entirely unprovided for. Below I give you a list of all articles needed:

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As for the commissioned officers, they are entirely without money, and would be glad to get all that the adjutant general may think proper to allow them.

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The materials for coats and pantaloons are on the way from New York; the articles will be

made up when they arrive with all possible despatch.

Apply to Mr. Spotts, at the penitentiary store, and ascertain the price at which the shoes can be had per pair by the quantity; and if not on hand, whether they can be made up, and within what time at the penitentiary. The same in regard to cotton and flannel shirts and socks; the latter of which, however, may more probably be had of merchants in the city.

Let the officers make out their accounts against the state for subsistence, which will be commuted at the rate of 12 cents per ration, from 28th November to this day, both inclusive. Lieutenant Brown, paymaster of the public guard, will instruct you upon this point, and I will instruct him to do so.

Very respectfully,

WM. H. RICHARDSON, A. G.

You will give this information to Capt. Scott. I will request Lieut. Brown to go to your quarters if he is off duty.

Capt. E. C. CARRINGTON, Richmond.

SIR,

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
DECEMBER 17, 1846.

You will please report as soon as possible what number and description of articles and supplies (exclusive of rations) have been received by your company, and the number and description of articles now required to prepare it for the field.

Should captain Scott or yourself be at any loss in regard to matters of duty, discipline or instruction, I am authorized to say that Capt. Smith of the U. S. army will cheerfully afford you all necessary information.

Very respectfully,

Your ob't serv't,

WM. H. RICHARDSON, A. G.

Should any of your company have been rejected by the surgeon, give me their names, the causes of rejection, and the date of commencement in your company.

Capt. E. C. CARRINGTON, Va. Volunteers, Union Hotel.

Receiving no reply to this, I again addressed Capt. C. as follows:

SIR,

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
DECEMBER 21, 1846.

I have again to request a report from you of the number and description of articles received by your company, and what number and description of articles of all kinds are now required for it. Orders are here for the embarkation of the three companies which have been mustered into service, and you will therefore see the necessity of promptitude in preparation.

I wish to have the pay roll of yours and Capt. Scott's companies made out as soon as it can be done, and will ask the governor to allow them to be paid for the state service as soon as possible.

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I cannot tell exactly what number of articles my men will require, but can tell by to-morrow night. I shall be within the mark when I say 6 doz. prs. brogans, 6 doz. cotton shirts, and 8 doz. flannel shirts. Mr. Quarles has promised to send me down to-morrow the flannel shirts, and as many cotton shirts as he has made up-about 45. If he does, this will diminish the number of my wants that much. My uniforms are rapidly making up, and all will be done by Tuesday night next. You ask what articles I have received. I can satisfy you better by saying what I have ordered and received, viz: 72 caps, 37 prs. shoes, uniform coats and pants. for all the men. The men, many of them, prefer getting articles for themselves, and this makes it difficult for me to say at any time exactly what number of certain articles I need.

WM. H. RICHARDSON, Adj't Gen'l Virginia.

Very resp❜ly,

Your ob't serv't,

E. C. CARRINGTON, JR.

SIR,

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
DECEMBER 22, 1846.

I have to acknowledge the receipt of your note, (without date,) and to express my extreme surprise at hearing that the uniforms of your company are "rapidly making up." The state has provided materials for the purpose, and contracted for making up the prescribed uniform for all the companies of the regiment, under the orders of this department, and I am not informed of any authority to yourself, or any other officer, to purchase materials, or contract for such work. You have no authority to draw upon Mr. Quarles for shirts-nor has he authority to deliver but upon my requisition. The governor directs me to say that he disavows the whole proceeding in regard to uniform.

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I have the honour to acknowledge your favour of the 22d inst. My last note was written under frequent interruptions, and in my quarters, where, as you know, my accommodations for writing are bad. I hope this statement will excuse the paper on which my note was written, and its want of date, which should have been the 21st instant.

I have been required to certify on the muster roll of my company which is about to be forwarded to the adjutant general of the United States army, at Washington, in substance that "my men have procured clothing sufficient to last them six months, or that they will do so in due time under my supervision." I thought that the letter of secretary Marcy to the governor of Virginia of the 16th ult., under which this certificate was required of me by the United States officer that mustered my company into the federal service, was sufficient authority to entitle me to act in the business of clothing my men; and I thought the obligation I thus came under that they should be clothed in due time, required my acting in the matter forthwith. Except the authority just mentioned, I am prepared to say broadly and unqualifiedly, with yourself, that "I am not informed of any authority to [myself, or any other officer, to purchase materials or contract for such work," as you mention in your favour of the 22d instant, for my company. Indeed, a careful perusal of secretary Marcy's letter above mentioned, convinces me that the matter of clothing is left to the privates themselves, and ought not to be taken from them by any officer, civil or military, state or federal, without their consent, or the order of the war department at Washington; and nothing but their approval, and the obligation I came under by my certificate, could have induced me to take any step in the matter.

If the state intends to furnish the volunteers with clothing free of cost to them, nothing can be clearer than its right to manage the whole matter itself, and nothing is more true than that I have made no interference with its arrangements.

I was for a short time under the impression that the state would pay for such clothing as my men immediately required under the act of the 9th inst., and while under the impression, sent a small account for shoes for your examination. The event has proved my impression to have been erroneous.

I was unable some ten days ago to wait upon the governor in person, and requested a friend to call upon him in my name, and ask whether, in his opinion, the act of the legislature of the 9th instant comprehended clothing for the volunteers. He expressed it, as his decided opinion, that the act did not embrace clothing. Taking it for granted, therefore, that I had no aid to expect from the state authorities, and acting upon the recommendation of the governor, given to me in person the evening before he was called upon, as I have just said, to go on and get the clothing my men would require, except coats, I began immediately to procure the proper articles for them on my own account. I learn now, with extreme surprise from your letter, that the state has provided materials and contracted for making up uniforms for all the companies, and that the governor disavows my proceeding in regard to the pantaloons which he recommended me to procure.

I know of no authority in the state to procure these clothing, with a view to charge them to my company, and I hereby protest, in the name of my company, against its proceedings in that behalf.

I have heretofore regarded the governor and yourself as earnestly desiring the good of my company, and under that impression have sought your advice in regard to clothing, frequently. I have acted upon your advice,

whenever it was possible to do so. I have constantly endeavoured so to fulfil my duty to my company and my obligation to the federal government, as to meet the wishes of the governor and yourself, and if I have failed in one or two instances, it has been my misfortune and not my fault.

The pantaloons made and making for my company, answer to the prescription of your general orders of the 23d May, the 18th November, and the 15th December. The coats made and making, answer to the orders of the 23d May and 18th November. They would have been made according to the mode prescribed in your order of the 15th of December, had not two thirds of them been made up previously to the publication of that order. I have the honour to be,

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In reply to your letter of this date, I am instructed by the commander-in-chief to say, that denying as you do the authority of the state to procure clothing for your company, and as a federal officer protesting "against its proceedings in that behalf," no other course is left for him than to refer the various bills for supplies which appear to have been provided for your company to yourself for settlement.

Your company was organized as a part of the volunteer regiment of infantry required from the state of Virginia, whose commission you hold; and in pursuance of an earnest and anxious desire to send into the field at the earliest possible moment the troops required, all means at the command of the governor have been employed to provide for the emergency, and to equip them in a mode adapted to the nature of the service. Whether in this he has gone beyond his legitimate powers as the governor of the state, and the commander-in-chief of her militia, is not a question upon which a discussion was anticipated on the part of any officer or officers who have been or may be commissioned for the present service. The motives and intentions of the governor are fully set forth in the various orders connected with this service which have been issued; and it is distinctly stated in the orders of the 3d and 15th instant, that the uniform previously prescribed had been dispensed with, and that measures had been taken to supply all the requisite articles of suitable clothing by the state, of the best materials, and on the best terms. No misapprehension has occurred on the part of any other officer, and I must be permitted to express both my surprise and regret at the view you have taken of it.

As an officer of the United States, however, the governor of Virginia neither desires to have, nor will attempt any command over you, and you will of course conform your proceedings to your distinct and separate relation with that government.

I enclose herewith by order of the governor, the following named bills for supplies alleged to have been furnished for your company, of which the governor cannot now take cognizance, viz:

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SIR,

RICHMOND, DECEMBER 25th, 1846.

I am sorry that the governor has seen proper to put so harsh a construction on my last letter, as is indicated in your favour of the 23d. The discussion concerning clothing was not anticipated by me; nor did I commence it.

Until your last letter, I had never been able to learn the precise intentions of the state in regard to clothing the volunteers, and am glad to hear that my fellow-officers have not been so unfortunate. I was surprised to learn from your letter of the 22d, that, in the governor's opinion, I had no authority to procure clothing for my company, and that the state claimed the sole superintendence of the matter. A number of my company having provided themselves with comfortable clothing, and a considerable supply having been ordered by myself, I feared the state was procuring articles which we would not want, the expense of which we would be poorly able to bear. I therefore protested against its doing so.

I know of no guilt that attaches in this country to a respectful protest, and little thought that the consequence of my act would be to draw upon myself the burden of paying accounts for supplies, which were furnished my company while in the state service, many of them at your own instance, and a considerable one of these last, which is doubtless correct, without my knowledge. If pecuniary loss ultimately results to myself for respectfully maintaining what I honestly conceived to be the rights of my company, and if I find myself able to bear it, it will not be an unpleasant task to do so.

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Your note of the 25th was received this morning. To correct misconceptions which you appear to have been labouring under, and only for that, (since further discussion would be fruitless even if I had time for it,) I ask you to refer to the general orders of the 3d and 15th instant, and to the correspondence of this department with you. These orders were published in the newspapers and are still to be found there. It will not, I suppose, be denied that the governor had a right to prescribe the uniform of the volunteers; and the fact is incontestible that if he had not adopted decisive measures to procure for them, through the agency of the state, the articles which it is known will be indispensable for them in the field, those articles could not have been got. was intended for the promotion of the service and the personal benefit and advantage of every individual volunteer. But it was never claimed as a right that they should take these articles if they preferred to provide them themselves. The arrangement has been acquiesced in by all but yourself; and as you have protested against any proceedings in regard to the supplies for your company on the part of the state, that necessarily covers every branch of expenditure, and I do not perceive that the governor could pursue any other course than to refer to you for adjustment the bills for other expenses. It is an act of necessity, not of choice. It is an act of necessity, not of choice. No act of guilt has been charged upon you as you would seem to indicate; nor can it be justly said that any officer of the state has now, or ever has had, in regard to all the volunteers any other than a most anxious and earnest desire to do all that can be done to equip them for the field at the least possible expense to themselves personally, and in the shortest possible time.

This the state is prepared to do by all the companies, whether mustered into the service of the United States or not, unless it be objected to. All who prefer to supply themselves have the right to do so, with the single restriction of conforming to the articles prescribed as indispensable to the service and the comfort of the troops. No other uniform will be allowed in the field (as this department is informed) but that last prescribed. In the case of companies undertaking to supply themselves it cannot be expected that their supplies should be drawn from the stores provided by the state.

You are entirely mistaken in saying that "many" of the articles for your company were contracted for at my instance. My letter of the 11th instant contains no authority to you to purchase, and I have given no order for supplies for your company except for socks.

Respectfully, your ob't serv't,

Capt. E. C. CARRINGTON, Richmond.

WM. H. RICHARDSON.

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