_Washington, March 12, 1864_.
The President of the United States orders as follows:
I. Major-General H.W. Halleck is, at his own request, relieved from duty
as General in Chief of the Army, and Lieutenant-General U.S. Grant is
assigned to the command of the armies of the United States. The
headquarters of the Army will be in Washington and also with
Lieutenant-General Grant in the field.
II. Major-General H.W. Halleck is assigned to duty in Washington as
chief of staff of the Army, under the direction of the Secretary of War
and the Lieutenant-General Commanding. His orders will be obeyed and
respected accordingly.
III. Major-General W.T. Sherman is assigned to the command of the
Military Division of the Mississippi, composed of the departments of the
Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee and the Arkansas.
IV. Major-General J.B. McPherson is assigned to the command of the
Department and Army of the Tennessee.
V. In relieving Major-General Halleck from duty as General in Chief, the
President desires to express his approbation and thanks for the able and
zealous manner in which the arduous and responsible duties of that
position have been performed.
By order of the Secretary of War: