Summary:
Ulysses S. Grant writes General Franz Sigel with orders for an April, 1864,
advance in western Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. Grant orders Sigel to cut
the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and also provides instructions should Sigel
need to go to Staunton.
Maj. Gen. FRANZ SIGEL,
Cmdg. Dept. of West Virginia,
Cumberland, Md.:
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
April 4, 1864.
In my letter of instructions for organizing an expedition from your department for the purpose of cutting the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, I fixed the route by Covington and the number of troops of each arm to be sent, on limited information of the country to be traversed and on examination of your last returns. I understood the best and most accessible route was from Covington. If this is not the case I do not insist upon the route, but only upon the work to be done.
If you can increase the cavalry force to go with the expedition, do so. As the first part of the route to be traveled by this expedition is through a country that will furnish but little subsistence or forage a larger train will have to accompany it than I designed. This will be pretty well exhausted of supplies before reaching Lewisburg, where the country becomes rich, and the most of it can be returned to Beverly under an escort of, say, 800 to 1,000 men, which will have to be detached from the expedition for that purpose.
This expedition, being co-operative with movements made by other armies, cannot leave Beverly until the other armies are ready to leave also. I am now satisfied preparations cannot be made elsewhere before the 20th instant. You may understand, then, you have until the 20th instant to concentrate your forces.
It is possible the expedition with Gen.'s Ord and Averell may have to return to you by way of the Shenandoah Valley. To provide against this contingency you should collect any available force you may have at a convenient point from which to march on Staunton to meet them. Should you find it necessary to go to Staunton, you will want to take as large a supply train as you can, to not only provide for the troops you take with you, but to feed those you go to meet. Please consult Gen. Averell as to the most practicable routes for accomplishing the object to be attained, and advise with me by telegraph and letter of your conclusions.
U. S. GRANT,
Lieut.-Gen.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 33, Serial No. 60, Pages 798-799, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
