SIR:Yourfavorofthe21stinst。isjustreceived。UptothepresenttimeeighthundredandeighteenhorseshavearrivedheresinceCaptainHudson’svisittoSt。Louis。IwroteyouuponhisreturnseveraldaysagothatitwouldnotbenecessarytodivertshipmentstothispointwhichcouldnotreachusbeforeFebruary1st。Weshallcertainlygetoffonourcontemplatedexpeditionbeforethattime。Thenumberofhorsesestimatedforinthisdepartmentbyitschiefquartermasterwastwothousand，andthisnumber，includingthosealreadysent，will，Ithink，completelymountallthedismountedcavalryofthisdepartment。Recruitsforcavalryregimentsarearrivingfreely，andthiswillswellourrequisitionsforacoupleofmonthstocome。Iwillasfaraspossibleprocurehorsesfromtheregionsofcountrytraversedbyourcavalry。
Yourstruly，W。SOOYSMITH，Brigadier—General，ChiefofCavalry，MilitaryDivisionoftheMississippi。
MEMPHIS，TENNESSEE，January28，1864
Brigadier—GeneralGEORGECROOK，commandingSecondCavalryDivision，Huntsville，Alabama。
Istartinaboutthreedayswithseven，thousandmentoMeridianviaPontotoc。DemonstrateonDecatur，toholdRoddy。