Summary:
Union General Franz Sigel forwards a December, 1862, scouting report to General Burnside. The report, made by one Joseph Snyder, describes all manner of Confederate activity. He reports sick being sent to Staunton, gives a description of the industry, hospitals, and defenses of the town, and reports that it forms the only telegraph link between Winchester and Richmond. Snyder also reports on the farming and wheat production of Valley citizens.

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Maj.-Gen. BURNSIDE,
Cmdg., &c.:

Fairfax Court-House, Va.,

December 3, 1862.

GEN.:

The following is a report of Joseph E. Snyder, one of the best scouts in this corps. He was, as he says, taken prisoner and conveyed to Richmond. His report is full of interesting details and valuable information, and indicates that he is a close and accurate observer of objects and movements. I regard him as a very reliable man, but desire that his report be not published in the newspapers, as he is still a scout, and might be tried as a spy in case he was again made a prisoner.

I forward it for your examination.

Very respectfully, your most obedient servant

F. SIGEL,
Maj.-Gen., Cmdg. Eleventh Corps.

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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 820-823, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.