Summary:
Union General Thomas Neill reports to General Halleck on the October, 1864, situation in the Shenandoah Valley. Neill reports that Union cavalry remain in undisputed possession of the Valley, and that no Confederate units larger than disorganized bands can be found in Staunton or elsewhere. He also mentions the large herds of livestock being driven in by Union cavalry.

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Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,
Chief of Staff:

MARTINSBURG, W. VA.,

October 3, 1864.
(Received 1 p. m.)

Gen. Wilson, who is to take command of all of Sherman's cavalry, has just reached here, forty-six hours from Sheridan, who was in Harrisonburg. Our cavalry is in undisputed possession of the Valley, destroying all mills and grain in the Valley, and driving in immense herds of cattle and sheep. Most of the enemy's force is at Mechum's Station, covering Charlottesville, on the railroad, about twelve miles east of Waynesborough and twenty-five miles west of Staunton. No enemy at Staunton or elsewhere in the Valley, except in small disorganized bands.

T. H. NEILL,
Brig.-Gen., Cmdg.

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Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 43, Serial No. 91, Pages 271, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.