Summary:
Confederate Congressman John W. Brockenbrough writes Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin in December, 1861. He discusses a letter from a citizen of Monterey, expressing fear for the safety of the Shenandoah Valley, including Staunton.

---

Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN,
Secretary of War:

CONGRESS HALL,

December 18, 1861.

DEAR SIR:

I beg leave respectfully to ask your attention to the inclosed letter from Adam Stephenson, esq., a leading citizen of Monterey, remonstrating against the withdrawal of our little force on the top of the Allegheny. Had this little but most gallant army been crushed by the late advance of the enemy upon our lines in seemingly overwhelming numbers, there would have been no obstacle to an onward march to Staunton, in the very heart of the Valley of Virginia. I trust there is no foundation for the rumor which has so much agitated the population of that part of the valley, that it is the purpose of the Government to deprive them of all protection.

Respectfully submitted.

JOHN W. BROCKENBROUGH.

---

Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 51, Serial No. 108, Pages 414, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.