[Footnote 14: Omitted.]
WASHINGTON, _February 27, 1847_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
I communicate herewith a report of the Secretary of War, with the
accompanying documents, in answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 1st instant, requesting the President "to
communicate to the House of Representatives all the correspondence with
General Taylor since the commencement of hostilities with Mexico which
has not yet been published, and the publication of which may not be
deemed detrimental to the public service; also the correspondence of the
Quartermaster-General in relation to transportation for General Taylor's
Army; also the reports of Brigadier-Generals Hamer and Quitman of the
operations of their respective brigades on the 21st of September last."
As some of these documents relate to military operations of our forces
which may not have been fully executed, I might have deemed it proper to
withhold parts of them under the apprehension that their publication at
this time would be detrimental to the public service; but I am satisfied
that these operations are now so far advanced and that the enemy has
already received so much information from other sources in relation to
the intended movements of our Army as to render this precaution
unnecessary.