Summary:
Robert E. Lee reports to Jefferson Davis on the military situation in August,
1864. He mentions that cavalry troops crossed the Potomac with orders to move
through Chambersburg and raid the Pennsylvania countryside.
His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS:
Petersburg, Va.,
August 4, 1864.
Mr. PRESIDENT:
In my dispatch of this evening I informed you of the report that forty-six transports (seventeen of which contained cavalry) loaded with troops had descended James River up to last night. This information comes from Lieut. Woodley, of the Signal Corps, stationed at Fort Boykin. Lieut. Welch, of Gary's scouts, stationed on the north side of James River, reported up to last night nine steamers descending the river with troops, four of them conveying horses. Some of these, he stated, were wounded men and some prisoners. He does not, therefore, entirely corroborate Lieut. Woodley's statement. I think it probable that they have sent to Washington that portion of the Nineteenth Corps which was lately operating on the north side of the James River, with some cavalry. A scout reported that on Sunday, the 31st ultimo, a body of cavalry, estimated at two brigades, moved toward James River in the direction of City Point, and this may be the force of cavalry which has been shipped north. I fear that this force is intended to operate against Gen. Early, and when added to that already opposed to him, may be more than he can manage. Their object may be to drive him out of the Valley and complete the devastation they commenced when they were ejected from it. Gen. Grant's plan of operations here appears to be to mine and bombard our lines, with a view of driving us from them, and as he is very strongly fortified he can operate with fewer troops and enable him to detach a sufficient force for the purpose indicated. The largest force which I can detach would be Kershaw's and Field's divisions, and that would leave not a man out of the trenches for any emergency which might arise. If it is their intention to endeavor to overwhelm Early I think it better to detach these troops than to hazard his destruction and that of our railroads, &c., north of Richmond, and therefore submit the question to the better judgment of Your Excellency.
On the 29th ultimo McCausland's and Johnson's brigades of cavalry crossed the Potomac at Clear Spring, with orders to proceed to Chambersburg, thence west to Cumberland and destroy the bridges over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the machinery, &c., at the coal-pots in the neighborhood, and after gathering all the cattle in Allegheny and adjacent counties in Pennsylvania to return through Hardy. To cover this movement two divisions of infantry moved to Williamsport, and a third brigade of cavalry proceeded to Hagerstown, where they burned a train of twenty or thirty cars, loaded with stores. On the 30th ultimo Gen. Early returned to Martinsburg by the west road to avoid observation. Learning that the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps were moving up from Washington, the Sixth Corps having reached Halltown, he determined to fall back to Winchester, where he could deliver battle to greater advantage. I do not think that the whole of the Nineteenth Corps could have reached the Valley, but it seems that Gen. Early's presence in the Valley tends to excite the apprehensions of the Federal authorities and to cause a detachment of troops from Grant. If Morgan could have struck the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the neighborhood of Cheat River, and have proceeded into Washington County, Pa., as I had projected, he would have created a valuable diversion in Early's favor.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
Gen.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 42, Serial No. 88, Pages 1161-1162, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
