instances, left the service of their masters and taken refuge in the American camp. The general wishes to caution officers, and all persons connected with the army, against the employment of such servants, and to say that, where recognised and claimed on this side of the river, they will, in all cases, be given up to their for The following letter from the President of the United States to the commanding general is communicated, in obedience to its closing paragraph, to the army of occupation, and will be read at the head of each company: WASHINGTON, May 30, 1816. "SIR: I transmit to you, herewith, a commission as major general by brevet in the army of the United States, conferred upon you for gallant and distinguished services in the successive victories over superior Mexican forces at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma on the 8th and 9th days of May, 1846. "It gave me sincere pleasure, immediately upon the receipt of official intelligence from the scene of your achievements, to confer upon you, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, this testimonial of the estimate which your government places upon your skill and gallantry. To yourself and the brave officers and soldiers under your command the gratitude of the country is justly due. Our army have fully Sustained their deservedly high reputation, and added another bright page to the history of American valor and patriotism. They have won new laurels for themselves and for their country. My confidence in them never faltered. The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma rank among our most brilliant victories, and will long be remembered by the American people. When all the details of these battles and of the noble defence of the camp opposite Matamoras shall have been received, it will be my pleasure, as it will be my grateful duty, to render to the officers and men under your command suitable testimonials for their conduct in the brilliant victories which a superintending Providence has enabled them to achieve for their country. "In transmitting to you this commission, and in communicating to the officers and soldiers under your command my profound sense of their meritorious services, I but respond to the patriotic enthusiasm manifested by the people in behalf of their brave defenders. Whilst my warmest thanks are tendered to the survivors, the nation mourns the loss of the brave officers and soldiers who fell in defence of their country upon the field of victory. Their names shall be remembered and appropriate honors be paid to their memory by a grateful country. "You will cause this communication to be made known to the army under your command. By order of Major General Taylor: "JAMES K. POLK." W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. Orders No. 82. HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 1. Lieutenant Colonel H. Whiting, deputy quartermaster general, having reported to the commanding general, is announced to the army as chief of the quartermaster's department, and will be obeyed and respected accordingly. All officers of that department, or of the line doing duty in it, will report to Lieut. Col. Whiting, and receive his orders and instructions. 2. Captain W. G. Williams, corps of topographical engineers, having reported to the commanding general, is announced to the army as chief of that corps serving with it, and will be obeyed and respected accordingly. Officers of topographical engineers will report to Captain Williams, and receive his orders and instructions. By order of Major General Taylor: W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. Orders } HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 1. Captain Taylor's company (K) 1st light artillery will be held ready to receive and serve a harnessed battery of four guns. With a view to receive its materiel, and to perfect its organization with more facility, the company will proceed by the river route to Point Isabel, where it will at once commence its instruction and prepare for field service. The quartermaster's department will furnish the proper transportation. 2. Captain Webster's company (C) 1st artillery is assigned to the service of the heavy gun battery and the train of artillery, under the direction of the chief of artillery, to whom it will be at once reported by its captain. By order of Major General Taylor: W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. Orders No. 91. } HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 1. It having been decided by the War Department that the Louisiana.volunteers composing General Smith's brigade, the St. Louis legion, and the three companies from Alabama, under Captains Desha, Platt, and Elmore, cannot be legally retained beyond the period of three months, and a large number of them having expressed a wish for their discharge, they will be furnished as rapidly as possible with transportation to New Orleans, and will there be mustered out of service by Captain McCall, 4th infantry, who is specially detailed for that duty. 2. It having been also decided by the War Department that the regiments of Louisiana volunteers, commanded by Colonels Peyton and Featherston, and the battalion from Alabama, under Lieutenant Colonel Raiford, are not in service under any existing law, they will, agreeably to instructions from the Secretary of War, be transported to New Orleans, and there mustered out of service as above. 3. The volunteer troops above indicated will take their arms and accoutrements, knapsacks and haversacks, to New Orleans, where they will be turned over to the proper departments. Their camp equipage of every kind will be turned over to the quartermaster at Brazos island as they embark. 4. The regiments under command of General Smith will be prepared for embarkation in such order as he may prescribe. The other regiments will embark after General Smith's command, and in the order in which they joined the army. 5. At the same time that the Department of War has found itself under the necessity of ordering the discharge of the above regiments and companies, it makes provision for the retention of such as may be willing to serve for twelve months or during the war, under the act of May 13, 1846. Any companies or battalions that may offer for such periods will be received by the commanding general and duly mustered into service. The organization of a company will be 1 captain, 1 1st lieutenant, 1 2d lieutenant, 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 2 musicians, and a number of privates not less than 64, nor more than 80. 6. Individual volunters who may desire to remain with the army for employment in the quartermaster's department, or elsewhere, will be permitted to do so, being mustered absent when the rolls are made up in New Orleans. 7. In thus executing the instructions of the War Department to discharge a large number of patriotic volunteers, the commanding general would do violence to his feelings were he to omit the expression of regret that these brave men have been disappointed in their wish to meet the enemy, and must now, under an inevitable necessity, be discharged from the service. The general cannot forget that, with an enthusiasm seldom exhibited in any country, they were the first to flock to his standard when he was menaced with a superior force; that, with a generous disregard of self, they sacrificed the highest personal interests to aid in sustaining the reputation of the American arms. Their prompt and gallant movement to the seat of war will be held in grateful remembrance by their comrades in the regular service. The commanding general wishes them a safe voyage and happy return to their families and friends. By order of Major General Taylor: Orders No. 93. W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 1. The commanding general being about to leave for Camargo, the following arrangement for regulating the movements of the troops, and the service generally, in the rear, are announced for the government of all concerned. 2. Four companies of artillery, under the command of Brevet Major Brown, now under orders for Camargo, will be the first to ascend the river. They will be followed as rapidly as transportation can be provided by the following corps, in the order named: Louisville legion, Colonel Ormsby. Baltimore and Washington battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Watson. First Tennessee regiment, Colonel Campbell. Second Tennessee regiment, Colonel 3. The Indiana brigade and the regiment from Missouri and Illinois will remain below until further orders. The regiments of Texas volunteers will receive particular orders for their movement. 4. Brigadier General Hamer is assigned to the command of the Ohio brigade. He will designate one of the regiments to proceed immediately by water to Maiamoras, and take such position as may be indicated by Colonel Clarke, commanding in the town, to whom the colonel of the regiment will report for orders. 5. The first four corps destined for Camargo, viz: the Louisville legion, Baltimore battalion, and two regiments Ohio volunteers, will send their heavy baggage forward by water, with four companies of each regiment and two of the Baltimore battalion. The remaining companies of each corps, with their lig t baggage, will take up the line of march for Camargo as soon as provided with wagons by the quartermaster's department-say by the 10th August. 6. The other corps destined for Camargo, viz: the Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia regiments, and the 2d Kentucky regiment, will move forward by water as rapidly as practicable, in the order prescribed in the second paragraph. 7. Brigadier General Twiggs will remain at Matamoras in com mand of all the troops in the vicinity, until the last volunteer regiment shall pass up by land, when he will move forward with the dragoons and horse artillery to Camargo. On his departure, Colonel Clarke will assume command of all the troops in and near Matamoraş, on both banks of the river. Colonel Clarke will receive special instructions for his government in this command. In the mean time, the ordnance department will comply with his requisitions for such ordnance and ordnance stores as may be necessary to arm the different works. 8. The artillery and train of the 3d brigade, with the rear companies, will march by the 5th of August, under Lieutenant Colonel Garland. By order of Major General Taylor: Orders No. 94. S W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, No spirituous liquors will be permitted to enter the river or the city of Matamoras, for the purposes of barter or traffic, on account of any person whatever, whether sutlers in the army or private dealers. Any liquors found, in violation of this order, will be confiscated and sent to the quartermaster in New Orleans, to be sold-one-half of the proceeds for the benefit of the informant, the other half to be applied to the support of the hospital department.. The merchants in Matamoras will be permitted to vend the liquors. they may actually have on hand, but to receive no new supplies. The commanding general issues this order under the sanction of the general government, and calls upon all officers to give their aid in executing its provisions. The quartermaster's department and Colonel Clarke will take the necessary measures to have it communicated to the persons interested-particularly to the dealers in Matamoras and the masters of all public transports or other vessels in the river. Any steamboat captains, or other hired persons, that are found violating it, will be at once discharged from the service By order of Major General Taylor: W. W. S. BLISS, Assistant Adjutant General. Orders No. 96. S HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, Statements exhibiting the name of every commissioned officer and enlisted man engaged in the affairs of the 8th and 9th of May, and in the defence of Fort Brown, will be furnished to head-quarters with as little delay as practicable. These statements will be made by companies, consolidated at regimental or battalion head quarters, and transmitted through chiefs of brigades, where corps are bri |