The town had been the scene of a bombardment unparalleled; two fearful battles had been fought here, with their accompanying destruction of property and consumption of food and family supplies; the town had been in possession of both armies at different times; therefore these families were destitute of food and the comforts of life, and now comes the order for the arrest and imprisonment of those whom God had given them to protect and provide for them. Notwithstanding the intense excitement of the people of the town, and the sufferings and entreaties of the bereaved ones, it was thought prudent to defer public action until further developments, in the hope that the prisoners would be released and allowed to return to their homes. Having impatiently awaited the release of the prisoners, and their hopes not being realized, on the 31st of May a meeting of the Common Council was called, and upon assembling the Mayor informed the body that the object of the meeting was to take some steps for the relief of those citizens who had been arrested and who were then suffering in prison at Fort Delaware. A paper was submitted by Mr. Wm. A. Little, which was unanimously adopted, looking to their release. As the paper contains the views of the citizens of Fredericksburg, with reference to the arrest of the Federal soldiers, and also the names of the citizens arrested, it is here copied in full, as follows: FREDERICKSBURG, VA., May 31st, 1864. _To the Honorable James A. Seddon, Secretary of War of the Confederate States, Richmond, Virginia._ At a meeting of the Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held this 31st of May, 1864, a committee of two citizens, to wit: Montgomery Slaughter and John F. Scott, were appointed to repair to Richmond and present to you the following statement and application. _Statement._ On Sunday, the 8th instant, a number of slightly-wounded and straggling Federal soldiers, who entered the town, many of them with arms in their hands, and with the capacity and intention, we feared, of doing mischief in the way of pillage and injury to our people, who were unprotected by any military force, were arrested by order of our municipal authorities and forwarded to the nearest military post as prisoners of war, under the guard of citizens. These prisoners amounted to about sixty men, of whom but few are said to have been slightly wounded. In retaliation of this act, the provost marshal, under orders from the Secretary of War at Washington, arrested on the 20th instant some sixty of our citizens and forwarded them to Washington, to be held as hostages for said prisoners. Ten of the citizens were afterwards released in Washington, and have returned to their homes, leaving some fifty-one citizens still in confinement, who have been sent to the military prison at Fort Delaware.