Summary:
In mid-July, 1861, Confederate forces under Robert Garnett met defeat at the hands of George B. McClellan's Federals in what is now West Virginia. In this letter, Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper orders General John B. Floyd to move to contain the damage. Staunton is mentioned as a possible defensive position.

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Gen. J. B. FLOYD, Wytheville, Va.:

RICHMOND,

July 17, 1861.

Information of the disaster to Gen. Garnett's command has been received, and McClellan is at Huttonsville. To oppose his seizure of the Virginia Central Railroad, a junction of your command and that of Gen. Garnett, now probably at Monterey, is desired. You will advance with your brigade by railroad to Salem, thence to Jackson's River, if your transportation will permit. If not, to Staunton.

S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector 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 2, Serial No. 2, Pages 981, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.