Summary:
Confederate General Francis Nicholls reports to Adjutant General Samuel Cooper on December, 1863, efforts to stop Union General William Averell's raid. Nicholls reports maintaining communication with Staunton.

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Gen. S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector Gen.:

LYNCHBURG,

December 17, 1863.

GEN.:

Information which I deem reliable represents Averell to have retreated by the Sweet Springs or New Castle road. They are about 2,500 strong, with artillery. I have communicated from the beginning with Staunton.

FRANCIS T. NICHOLLS,
Brig.-Gen., Cmdg.

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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 878, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.