Summary:
Staunton, Virginia, served as an important base of supply for the Confederate armies as evidenced by this 1862 letter in which Lee requests that baggage kept in Staunton be sent to the front. He also refers to Union oppression of the inhabitants of the Valley.

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Col. H. B. DAVIDSON,
Cmdg. at Staunton:

Camp near Fredericksburg, Va.,

December 29, 1862.

COL.:

I have received your letter of the 24th instant. Directions will be given for the baggage of the different brigades of this army, and the men guarding it, to be recalled from Staunton as soon as possible. I also direct that Jenkins' cavalry brigade be ordered to the valley, if they can be spared from the Department of Western Virginia.

I have directed Gen. W. E. Jones to concentrate the troops in the Valley District, and to drive the enemy, if possible, beyond the Potomac. I am glad to find that you consider our forces sufficient for the purpose. I hope the troops under Gen. Jones, those under you and Col. Imboden, with such other aid as can be obtained, will be able speedily to rid that section of country of the presence of the enemy, and prevent the oppression of the inhabitants which they seem to premeditate. I rely greatly upon the co-operation of yourself and Col. Imboden.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,
Gen.

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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 1081, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.