I recieved your letter of the 1st instant with great pleasure, and fully appreciate your difficulties in organizing the 1st N. C., F. A., as I have three regiments of the same kind on my hands. I made the same fight for an experienced officer to command the 1st Tenn. and with the same lack of success.

The bonds of discipline prevent the expression of my opinion of such a policy, but I may perhaps express my regret that the days of miracles are past.

You may be certain that no officer will be eliminated until he has had every opportunity to make good and until he has fallen so far behind his fellows as to be hopeless in the opinion of all the senior officers here.

In reply to your query as to Colonel Cox, I may say that he is an exceptionally fine man and is making good as are all the field officers of the regiment. My troubles are with captains and lieutenants who must have mathematical ability enough to handle the guns. Some have it in them and some have not and that is about all there is to it. Many of these should be transferred to the infantry, but the infantry will not take what they regard as our discards and much difficulty has been met in attempts at such transfers which have been numerous.

It has been an up hill job, but the command is progressing as well as could be expected and will make good.