| War Department |
| Richmond |
| May 11, 1864 |
| |
| General Bragg |
| |
| General, |
| General Lee, by telegraph to
the President, seconding urgent calls from the chief commissary and
quartermaster of his army, calls for a special train of subsistence
stores to be sent him to Guiney's Station {on
the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac RR, 49 miles north of
Richmond}, as soon as possible. I had ordered it to proceed
at once to-night; but on information received to-night of the rather
adverse results of the fighting by General Stuart with the enemy
to-day and of their present position, I have yielded to the decided
opinion of the Quartermaster-General and the superintendent {of
the Virginia Central RR}, Mr. Whitcomb, for whose opinion I
have great respect, not to venture to-night, and it has been
arranged that without other unfavorable intelligence, the train
shall start early in the morning. It is the more important this
train should not fail or be lost, as the Central road has no other
engine on this side of the break at Beaver Dam {40
miles north of Richmond on the Virginia Central RR}, and we
could not therefore renew the experiment. If this train is to go out
in the morning, I venture the suggestion it should be covered by an
attack at an early hour, with infantry to aid, on the enemy's
cavalry. If this or something like it cannot be done, the train will
have to be held back still longer. Do you not think so? ***** |
| Very truly, yours, |
| J. A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
|