Summary:
Robert E. Lee writes General John Imboden, commanding at Staunton, regarding October, 1863, action in northern Virginia. Lee orders Imboden to operate in the Valley and secure the mountain gaps.

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Brig. Gen. J. D. IMBODEN,
Cmdg., &c., Staunton, Va.:

October 19, 1863.

GEN.:

Your letter of the 14th instant is received. After my letter of the 9th, the army moved against Gen. Meade, who retreated rapidly and was forced to retire into Fairfax County. We then returned to the Rappahannock. The cavalry is still in Fauquier County, and until its withdrawal I wish you to continue to scout toward the gaps of the mountains, to secure if from any advance in that direction. Your plan of keeping the enemy at the lower end of the valley is approved, and I hope you may be able to break up the railroad.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,
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 29, Serial No. 49, Pages 794, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.