until every difficulty among the Indians and their allies had been permanently settled, the brigade of Tennessee volunteers. This painful feeling would he greatly heightened by any disaster which may possibly result from their absence. If they were here, 1 fell convinced that the moral effect of their presence, even should there be no fighting, would be of more value lo the country and the service, than ten times the amount of their pay, and that a comfortable as well as a profitable tour of service might be calculated on. We occupy a high healthy country, having excellent springs, and pure air, without mosquitoes, with an abundant supply of excellent flour, pork, beef, sugar and coffee, with corn for 3,000 horses six monll1s, or for fifteen hundred horses for twelve months. To which l may add the important consideration, that I have nowhere seen better instructed troops, particularly the 6th U. Stales regiment, than those now with me. Indeed, this frontier, should we have some active movements in the presence of an enemy, or even in reconnoitiring the military school, where a few monlhs' tour of service would give to the Tennessee volunteers, a perfect knowledge of all the tactics, and other duties of the company and the battalion, necessary to make them in the highest degree of battle. They would then, when added to the regular forces, under any probable change of circumstances, afford complete protection; that sort of protection which is guaranteed by the constitution of the United States to the people of the United Stales-the whole of the people, including the pioneer, the orphan and the widow, inhabitants of the frontier camp or cabin, as weU as Lhe polished and wealthy citizen of the great emporium of party politics, of commerce and fashion-that protection, which should, if pos.sible, commence before the work of destruction on the frontier has begun-protection to the living citizens rather than to the ashes of the slain. The Tennessee volunteers would moreover have the advan- tage of studying and acquiring a knowledge of the topography of this all-important border of our national domain, which, with their military knowledge and known powers, would fit them as veterans for greal future usefulness, when some foreign power, in order lo cripple or divide us, shall again tamper with our Indians, or sent to Texas an overwhelming force to operate against us. Under all these circumstances of the service, 1 think it my duty to request your excellency, to authorise the brigade of Tennessee volunteers,
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