Headquarters Department of N. E. Virginia,
Arlington, June 2, 1861.
.--Statements of the amount, kind, and value of all private property taken and used for Government purposes, and of the damage done in any way to private property, by reason of the occupation of this section of the country by the United States troops, will, as soon as practicable, be made out and transmitted to department Headquarters of brigades by the commanders of brigades and officers in charge of the several fortifications.
These statements will exhibit:
First.--The quantity of land taken possession of for the several field works, and the kind and value of the crops growing thereon, if any.
Second.--The quantity of land used for the several encampments, and the kind and value of the growing crops, if any.
Third.--The number, size, and character of the buildings appropriated to public purposes.
Fourth.--The quantity and value of trees cut down.
Fifth.--The kind and extent of fencing, &c., destroyed.
These statements will, as far as possible, give the value of the property taken, or of the damage sustained, and the name or names of the owners thereof.
Citizens who have sustained any damage or loss as above will make their claims upon the
commanding officers of the troops by whom it was done, or in cases where these troops have moved away upon the commander nearest them.
These claims will accompany the statement above called for. The commanders of brigades will require the assistance of the commanders of regiments or detached companies, and will make this order known to the inhabitants in their vicinity, to the end that all loss or damage may as nearly as possible be ascertained while the troops are now here, and by whom or on whose account it has been occasioned, that justice may be done alike to the citizen and the
Government.
The name of the officer, or officers, in case the brigade commanders shall institute a board to fix the amount of loss or damage, shall be given in each case.
By order of
