Winchester VA.
Jan. 5, 1863
My dear Mary,
I arrived at this place
on the 1st inst. having left Petersburg and
Moorfield on the 29th Nov. I had to leave a
regt. a section of artillery & one Cav. Co. at
Petersburg & one regt. & a section of artillery at
Moorfield very much against my will, as it is
a great violation of Military rules & of common sense
to scatter & divide a force beyond supporting
distance when near an enemy as is the case
both here & at Moorfield, but poor old (mother)
Gen. Kelley don’t know any better. I expected that
the regt. would be attacked soon after I left &
I directed Col. Washburn who I left in command
that in case of an attack upon either place, to at
once move to Moorfield & defend that place as
long as possible. On yesterday morning Moorfield
was attacked by 500 rebel cavalry. The force at
Petersburg (11 miles off) hurried over & the rebs. Were driven
off. They had seen me coming away with considerable
force & they expected to gobble up what was left,
but were most beautifully deceived & defeated.
Handwritten; 4 pages, double folded, white stationery with light blue lines
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This item is owned by the Jasper County Public Library. Permission to publish or reproduce this item is required and must be obtained from the Director of the Jasper County Public Library, Rensselaer, Indiana. Please visit www.myjcpl.org for more information.
This item is owned by the Jasper County Public Library. Permission to publish or reproduce this item is required and must be obtained from the Director of the Jasper County Public Library, Rensselaer, Indiana. Please visit www.myjcpl.org for more information.
