Summary:
Robert E. Lee writes General Samuel Jones on Union General Robert Milroy's
December, 1862, efforts to bring portions of the Valley under authority of the
state of West Virginia. Lee, alarmed by these attempts to make citizens take an
oath of allegiance to the U. S. government, orders a concentration of troops at
Staunton to oppose Milroy.
Maj. Gen. SAMUEL JONES,
Cmdg. Department of Western
Virginia:
Camp near Fredericksburg, Va.,
December 29, 1862.
GEN.:
It is reported by Gen. W. E. Jones, in command of the Valley District, that Gen. Milroy has established himself at Petersburg and in the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac, and has issued orders with a view of bringing the citizens of that section under the government of the so-called State of Western Virginia. From copies of the orders transmitted to me, and the oath of allegiance prescribed, it is plain that great oppression and injustice is contemplated to our citizens. I have directed Gen. Jones to concentrate all the troops in the valley, and to endeavor to drive the enemy across the Potomac. I understand that there are three companies of Jenkins' cavalry brigade scattered over Augusta and Rockbridge Counties, and that these companies are to reassemble at Salem, Roanoke County, on the 5th proximo. I have thought it probable that the whole brigade might be available for service in the valley, which would make the expulsion of the enemy easier and more certain. Should this be so, or should there be any other troops in your department more available for this purpose, I request that you will unite them to the command of Col. H. B. Davidson, at Staunton.
Very respectfully, 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 1081-1082, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
