March 16, 1863
In a dispatch dated March 16, 1863, General-in-Chief Henry Halleck ordered Major-General Ambrose E. Bierce to take command of the Department of the Ohio.
Headquarters of the Army
Washington, March 16, 1863
Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, Washington:
General: By direction of the Secretary of War, you will resume command of the Ninth Army Corps, and immediately relieve General H. G. Wright of command of the department of the Ohio. One division of the Ninth Army Corps will be left, for the present, in the command of General Dix, and the other two divisions will immediately proceed to the Department of the Ohio. You will arrange with the Quartermaster-General for transportation. This order will be shown to General Dix, as authority for detaching the two divisions from his command. As soon as you have made the proper arrangements, you will repair to Cincinnati and assume command of the department, leaving the officer next in rank to superintend the movement of the troops.
These instructions will at present be regarded as confidential.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H.W. Halleck,
General-in-Chief
