"Camp Gauley Bridge, West Virginia,

"May 14, 1862.

"To the Editors of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung,

"Chicago, Illinois.

"Hoffmann's Dragoons (Captain Schambeck) kindly request that you publish the enclosed lines in your highly esteemed newspaper:

"We regret to have received reliable information that some of our German citizens of Chicago are dissatisfied because we have been inactive at Gauley for such a long time. We, too, are greatly displeased because we have to spend so much time in idleness while many of our war comrades are bravely fighting at various points for the cause of liberty, justice, and humanity. All the efforts of our able captain to induce his superiors to order us to one of the battlefields have been in vain. Even several brigadier generals, including 2R. L. McCook and A. Moore, have brought our desires to the attention of higher authorities, requesting that our Company be placed under their command, but to no avail.

"Last year, when more than 200,000 men were 'resting' for many months, camped on the banks of the Potomac, our little group was under long and strenuous service, fighting or marching day and night, and we always performed our tasks to the complete satisfaction of our leaders. Nor did the other contingents with whom we fought side by side utter a single complaint; and they will, I am sure, always be willing to vouch for our efficiency, and our readiness to serve wherever and in whatever capacity we can. At present we have only seventeen horses that we can depend upon for good service; and although we were promised long ago that we would receive better mounts, we have seen nothing of them to date.

"We cannot pack and go wherever we want to; otherwise we certainly would no longer be here. We believe that this attempt to humiliate us is unjust, since 3we are forced to be idle. If we should happen to be called upon to face the enemy, and we hope we shall be called very soon, you may rest assured that we who are now inactive in Camp Gauley will do our duty, and do it well. Then no fair-minded citizen of Chicago will have reason to be ashamed to admit publicly that Schambeck's Dragoons are from Chicago.

"Respectfully yours,

"Hoffmann's Dragoons."

Nobody who knows the situation will count it against these brave Chicago soldiers, since they are not to blame for their enforced stay at Camp Gauley. At least, every reader of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung knows that Captain Schambeck and his Dragoons have done their duty and have brought great honor to the Germans of Chicago. The exemplary discipline which they have maintained while forced to remain at Camp Gauley is certainly a model for other companies, and is just as admirable as the bravery which they displayed on the battlefield. However, we hope that their present superior officer, General Fremont, will soon give them an opportunity to show once more their fortitude and ability in battle.

Then we will again report a lot of news about Schambeck's Dragoons, as we did last summer and fall during the West Virginia campaign.--The Editors of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung.