Summary:
Robert E. Lee writes Secretary of War James Seddon regarding December, 1862,
movements in the Shenandoah Valley. Lee reports on the withdrawal of Union
troops that had been recently threatening Staunton.
Hon. JAMES A. SEDDON, Secretary of War:
December 5, 1862.
SIR:
A report from Col. Imboden, on the Shenandoah Mountains, states that the enemy, who have recently been threatening Staunton, have fallen back beyond Beverly, leaving a guard of about 200 men at that place. There are none of the enemy at Moorefield, one company at Springfield, one at Paw Paw, one at the mouth of Little Cacapon, and three at Oldtown, in Maryland. Milroy has retired to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Gen. W. E. Jones, commanding in the valley, reports that Gen.'s Cox and Milroy had marched from New Creek toward Martinsburg, and that Gen. Geary, with his division, had advanced from Harper's Ferry to within 4 miles of Winchester on the evening of the 3d instant. Gen. Jones still held Winchester on the 4th, having sent his trains to Strasburg. I have directed Gen. Jones to call upon Col.'s Imboden and Davidson for re-enforcements, and directed the latter officers to send to him all their available force. If Gen. Cox has retired from the Kanawha Valley, our troops in the vicinity of Lewisburg could operate to advantage under Gen. W. E. Jones. I request that Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones be instructed accordingly, should the information communicated by Gen. W. E. Jones be correct.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
Gen.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 21, Serial No. 31, Pages 1050-1051, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
