Summary:
Robert E. Lee writes General John Imboden on July, 1, 1863, during the battle of
Gettysburg. He orders him to Chambersburg to relieve George Pickett's division,
and send it to the front. Lee also issues Imboden orders about procuring
supplies and guarding reserve trains.
Brig. Gen. J. D. Imboden, Comdg., &c.:
Greenwood,
July 1, 1863.
Gen.:
I have received your letter of 7 a. m. yesterday, from near Mercersburg. I regret the capture of Capt. Irwin and part of his company at McConnellsburg, especially as it appears to have been the result of want of proper caution on this part. I hope it will have the effect of teaching proper circumspection in future.
Upon arriving at Chambersburg to-day, I desire you to relieve Gen. Pickett, who will then move forward to this place. You will, of course, establish guards on the roads leading to your position, and take every precaution for the safety of your command. Obtain all the flour that you can load in your wagons from the mills in your vicinity, and if you cannot get sufficient, I believe there are 700 or 800 barrels at Shippensburg, about 10 miles north of Chambersburg, on the Carlisle road. You must turn off everybody belonging to the army on the road to Gettysburg. The reserve trains of the army are parked between Greenwood and Cashtown, on said road, and tomorrow I desire you to move up to this place, establish yourself so as to command the cross-roads and roads leading into town, throw out pickets on the roads to Shippensburg, New Guilford, Chambersburg, and Greencastle, and establish a separate picket at Greencastle, to turn off all persons seeking the army by the direct road from Greencastle to Greenwood. It will be necessary for you to have your men well together and always on the alert, and to pay strict attention to the safety of the trains, which are for the present placed under your charge, and upon the safety of which the operations of this army depend.
You will at the same time have an opportunity of organizing your troops, refreshing them for a day or two, and getting everything prepared for active operations in the field, for which you will be speedily wanted.
Send word to Gen. Pickett at this place to-morrow, which is 8 miles from Chambersburg, the hour when you will arrive here, in order that he may be prepared to move on your arrival. My headquarters for the present will be at Cashtown, east of the mountains.
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 27, Serial No. 45, Pages 947-948, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
