I have therefore to ask that you will request General Grant to proceed to some point on our Mexican frontier most suitable and convenient for communication with our minister, or (if General Grant deems it best) to accompany him to his destination in Mexico, and to give him the aid of his advice in carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State, a copy of which is herewith sent for the General's information.
General Grant will make report to the Secretary of War of such matters as, in his discretion, ought to be communicated to the Department.
SIR: General Ulysses S. Grant having found it inconvenient to assume the duties specified in my letter to you of the 26th instant, you will please relieve him from the same and assign them in all respects to William T. Sherman, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States. By way of guiding General Sherman in the performance of his duties, you will furnish him with a copy of your special orders to General Grant, made in compliance with my letter of the 26th instant, together with a copy of the instructions of the Secretary of State to Lewis D. Campbell, esq., therein mentioned. The Lieutenant-General will proceed to the execution of his duties without delay.
SIR: In the report of General Grant of the 27th ultimo, inclosed in your communication of that date, reference is made to the force at present stationed in the Military Department of Washington (which embraces the District of Columbia, the counties of Alexander and Fairfax, Va., and the States of Maryland and Delaware), and it is stated that the entire number of troops comprised in the command is 2,224, of which only 1,550 are enumerated as "effective." In view of the prevalence in various portions of the country of a revolutionary and turbulent disposition, which might at any moment assume insurrectionary proportions and lead to serious disorders, and of the duty of the Government to be at all times prepared to act with decision and effect, this force is not deemed adequate for the protection and security of the seat of Government.
I therefore request that you will at once take such measures as will insure its safety, and thus discourage any attempt for its possession by insurgent or other illegal combinations.