March 5, 1862

March 5, 1862

Headquarters, Centreville,

March 5, 1862.

To His Excellency.

Mr. President: In connection with one of the subjects of my letter of the 1st inst., I respectfully submit herewith a handbill said to be circulating in our camps. Several such recruiting advertisements have been pointed out to me in the newspapers. It is said that such cases are common -- that many officers profess to have letters from the Honorable Secretary of War authorizing them to raise troops endowed with special privileges, which would render them useless as soldiers, should their generals be weak enough to respect such privileges.

It is easy to perceive how ruinous to the reoganization of our excellent infantry such a system must be, and how it is calculated to produce present discontent and future mutiny.

I have just directed that a citizen should be excluded from the camps who professes to have the privilege, granted by the War Department, of raising troops in this army for local service -- in "the Valley."

Most respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

J. E. Johnston, General.