Summary:
Union General George Meade writes Darius Couch, commanding at Chambersburg, in
July, 1863, regarding the defense of Maryland Heights.
Maj. Gen. D. N. Couch, Chambersburg:
Hdqrs. Army of the Potomac,
July 19, 1863
As I shall leave the line of the Potomac to-day, and thus be separated from communication with Harper's Ferry, I request that you will assume command of the troops at Maryland Heights and vicinity. These troops number about 4,000 men, and are under the command of Brig.-Gen. Lockwood, who has been directed to look to you for further instructions. If, however, you desire that Gen. Schenck should command at that point, you can arrange for it, through the Gen.-in-Chief. I have broken up the depots at Frederick, and surplus stores left at Berlin will be sent to Sandy Hook for the use of the command at Maryland Heights.
You can supply the troops at Hagerstown and Williamsport, while railroad communication with the former place is interrupted, by the way of Frederick.
GEO. G. MEADE,
Maj.-Gen., Comdg.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 27, Serial No. 45, Pages 725, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
