Summary:
Confederate Colonel John Baldwin writes Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin
concerning the state of supply facing his men in the Alleghany Mountains in
October, 1861. Baldwin states that Staunton is one of the only reliable sources
of supply, and discusses the route to the town.
CAMP OF FIFTY-SECOND VIRGINIA REGT.S,
Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War:
Top of Alleghany Mountains,
October 16, 1861.
SIR:
Having been stationed at this place with my regiment for two weeks past, I hope it will not be considered a violation of any of the rules of the service if I address to you directly a suggestion or two, involving, as I believe, the safety of my command and of all the Confederate forces on this time.
You are no doubt aware that the army on this line cannot depend upon the surrounding country for supplies of any kind. The country at the best is sparsely populated, and produces no surplus of any kind of provision except live stock, and the troubles of the times have brought upon the people an unusual scarcity of all kinds of supplies. The only points from which any supply of food or forage has been drawn in the past are the Hardy Valley and the region about Staunton, and there is no other promise for the future so far as I know. As to the Hardy Valley, the supply has been much interrupted by incursions of the enemy, who have succeeded in capturing some of our trains and have produced men to engage in the transportation of supplies to our army. At the best the distance from this point to Petersburg is at least 70 miles, and the road one which in winter would hardly be practicable for loaded wagons. As to the other route, from Staunton, the distance to this point is 60 miles, and to the principal camp at Greenbrier River is 68. The road in summer is good, but in winter may fairly be said to be impassable for wagons, and even now is in such a condition as to require the constant services of a large force to keep it in a tolerable condition. Since I have been stationed at this rations of corn, and for nearly all the time they have been wholly without forage of any kind. They are now subsisting upon the only hay to be procured within 10 miles of the camp, and that supply is only for a very few days.
I by no means seek to obtain information which in the discretion of my superior officers is withheld from me, but if it is the purpose of the Government to retain troops upon this line, it seems to me to be of high, concern to know that a single snow-storm, such as is by no means uncommon in these mountains at this season, would starve every horse in this army, and, unless the other troops are supplied differently from my regiment, would seriously endanger the entire command. Independent of any of these considerations I deem it proper to state that the advance of the season admonishes us of the rapid and near approach of winter. Two weeks from to-day the winter in these mountains may be said to have set in. As yet there is no preparation for the wintering of troops here; no huts or houses have been prepared, nor can any be found in this region already built. I have upon my own responsibility instituted inquiries for the tools necessary to enable my men to build for themselves if required, and to my surprise and alarm I find that we have not in this army enough tools of the most common kind to enable us to use the timber which is so abundant all around us. Already the weather has been such as to freeze the tents of my regiment solid after a soaking rain and to coat the water in vessels with thick ice, and I am satisfied that this is not more than what may be expected at this season in these mountains. If, as I have stated, it is the purpose to retain troops here for the winter, measures cannot be too promptly or energetically taken and pressed for putting them into habitable winter quarters. These facts and my impressions upon them I have felt bound to communicate as a part of my duty to the Government and to the regiment, composed of my neighbors and friends, which has been instructed to my care.
I hope I shall not be understood as disposed to avoid any fair share of the labors and sacrifices which must fall upon all engaged in our national defense. My men have made no complaint, but are looking forward with calm confidence in the provident care of the Government.
I trust their confidence will be fully justified in their future history.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN B. BALDWIN,
Col. Fifty-second Virginia Regt.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 5, Serial No. 5, Pages 899-900, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
