Summary:
Confederate General Arnold Elzey reports to Adjutant General Samuel Cooper on his
efforts to form the Maryland Line at Staunton, Virginia. He reports that the
troops are in a state of disarray.
Gen. S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector Gen.:
RICHMOND, VA.,
June 13, 1864.
GEN.:
I have the honor to report that up to this time my efforts to organize the Maryland Line have been fruitless. I found about fifty of Gilmor's dismounted men at Staunton, and only about thirty transferred men reported to me at Camp Maryland. They were sent from Charleston, and were men who had been confined in jail. When Gen. Imboden was pressed in the Valley I sent this detachment of about eighty men, under Capt. Stith, to join his forces. My experience goes to prove the impossibility and impracticability of forming the Maryland Line, and I would respectfully recommend that the order be revoked. I repaired to Gen. Lee's headquarters on Saturday last to report to him, but he informed me that he had no command to give me and nothing for me to do. I now respectfully report myself to you for duty.
With great respect, your obedient servant,
ARNOLD ELZEY,
Maj.-Gen.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 40, Serial No. 81, Pages 650, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
