| Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia |
| Camp on the Opequon, near Smoketown, September 24,
1862 |
| |
| Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith |
| Commanding &c. |
| Richmond, Va. |
| |
| General, |
| I have received your letter of the 19th
instant, and am much gratified with the arrangements you have
instituted in and around Richmond. I hope there is an error in the
report you received as to the number of arms and the other property {including
railroad rolling stock} scattered on the battle-field of
Manassas. Detachments were set to work the day after the battle to
collect and transport them to the rear, and a regiment of cavalry,
under Colonel Flournoy, was left on the ground to guard and aid in
the operations. He only joined his brigade yesterday near
Charlestown. I have had no report from him, but, unless driven back,
I hardly think he would have left his work undone, but if he has, I
trust the arrangement you have made and the orders given to Colonel
Chambliss will accomplish it. |
| ***** |
| We have been able to gather some iron
for the use of the army at Martinsburg, and if the rails could be
removed from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through the valley
and transported to Richmond it might be of benefit to the service,
but I have no means of doing it. I am destroying the railroad
bridges within my reach, but the system adopted by the enemy of
repair and substitution of trestle-work for permanent bridges is so
perfect that I fear it will only cause a delay of a few days in the
operations of the road. The iron viaduct over the Monocacy was
destroyed when the army was in Maryland, but that, I presume, will
soon be replaced by a wooden trestle. |
| ***** |
| I am, most respectfully, yours, |
| R. E. Lee |
| General |
|