Summary:
Union General David Hunter writes from occupied Staunton to reassign General
Julius Stahel who received a wound at the June, 1864, Battle of Piedmont.
Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,
Chief of Staff, U. S. Army,
Washington, D. C.:
Staunton, Va.,
June 9, 1864.
GEN.:
I have the honor to inform you that in consequence of a wound received while gallantly leading his division, in the recent battle of the 5th instant, at Piedmont, I have relieved Maj. Gen. Julius Stahel from service with forces in the field, and have ordered him to Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry for the purpose of collecting and organizing all troops that can be spared from the defense of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and returning to this army in charge of the important train about which I have had the honor to telegraph to you in cipher. I beg that if you can aid Gen. Stahel to collect the detachments belonging to this command from the Dismounted Camp, in Pleasant Valley, Md., you will do so; and that you will be kind enough to forward his views under the instructions he has received. It is but justice to Maj.-Gen. Stahel to state that in the recent engagement he displayed excellent qualities of coolness and gallantry, and that for the final happy result the country is much indebted to his services. I part with Gen. Stahel with regret, and trust most respectfully that there will be no delay in forwarding the train with which, and the troops collected at Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry, from the Kanawha and Pleasant Valley (if possible), he is to return.
I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant.
D. HUNTER,
Maj.-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 612, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
