Summary:
General Grant writes General in Chief Henry Halleck with May, 1864, plans for an
advance in the Valley led by General David Hunter. Grant hopes that Hunter can
attack Staunton and disrupt the supplies flowing to Lee on the railroad from
that town.
Maj.-Gen. HALLECK, Washington, D. C.:
NEAR SPOTSYLVANIA COURT-HOUSE,
May 20, 1864.
In regard to the operations it is better for Gen. Hunter to engage in, with the disposable force at his command, I am a little in doubt. It is evident that he can move south, covering the road he has to guard, with a larger force than he can spare to be removed to re-enforce armies elsewhere. Then, too, under the instructions of Gen. Sigel, Crook was to get through to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, cut New River bridge, and move eastward to Lynchburg, if he could; if not, to Fincastle, Staunton, and down the Shenandoah Valley. Sigel was to collect what force he could spare from the railroad, and move up the Valley with a supply train to meet him. The enemy are evidently relying for supplies greatly on such as are brought over the branch road running through Staunton. On the whole, therefore, I think it would be better for Gen. Hunter to move in that direction; reach Staunton and Gordonsville, or Charlottesville, if he does not meet too much opposition. If he can hold at bay a force equal to his own he will be doing good service.
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 37, Serial No. 70, Pages 500, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
