Summary:
Union General Robert Patterson, commanding at Chambersburg, writes Secretary of War Simon Cameron in June, 1861, to request that mail be forwarded to his army once it leaves Chambersburg for Hagerstown.

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Hon. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War, Washington:

CHAMBERSBURG,

June 13, 1861.

SIR:

On Saturday, the 15th, I propose to throw a strong force in front of Hagerstown, the remainder of the command to follow as speedily as my limited means of transportation will permit. We will then be beyond the telegraph, and have but one mail a day. The railroad company runs two trains a day, and the postmaster informs me that the additional cost of carrying the mail by both trains would not exceed fifty dollars a month. I venture to request that the contractors be directed to forward the mails twice in twenty-four to the Army under my command wherever located.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,

R. PATTERSON,
Maj.-Gen., Commanding.

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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 2, Serial No. 2, Pages 680, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.