SEWELL MOUNTAIN,
October 7, 1861
. . . The enemy was threatening an attack, which was
continued till Saturday night, when under cover of darkness and our usual
mountain mist, he suddenly withdrew. Your letter, with the socks, was handed to
me when I was preparing to follow. I could not at the time attend to either,
but I have since; and as I found Perry1 in desperate need, I
bestowed a couple of pairs on him as a present from you; the others I have put
in my trunk, and suppose they will fall to the lot of Meredith,2
into the state of whose hose I have not yet inquired. Should any sick man
require them first he shall have them, but Meredith will have no one near to
supply him but me, and will naturally expect that attention. The water is
almost as bad here as in the mountains I left. There was a drenching rain
yesterday, and as I left my overcoat in camp, I was thoroughly wet from head to
foot. It has been raining ever since, and is now coming down with a will; but I
have my clothes out on the bushes, and they will be well washed. The force of
the enemy, estimated by prisoners captured, is put down at from 17,000 to
20,000 — General Floyd thinks 18,000. I do not think it exceeds 9,000 or
10,000, but it exceeds ours. I wish he had attacked, as I believe he would have
been repulsed with great loss. The rumbling of his wheels, etc., were heard by
our pickets; but as that was customary at night in moving and placing his
cannon, the officer of the day, to whom it was reported, paid no particular
attention to it, supposing it to be a preparation for an attack in the morning.
When day appeared the bird had flown, and the misfortune was that the reduced
condition of our horses for want of provender, exposure to cold rains in these
mountains, and want of provisions for the men, prevented the vigorous pursuit
of following up that had been prepared. We can only get up provisions from day
to day, which paralyzes our operations. I am sorry, as you say, that the
movements of the armies cannot keep pace with the expectations of the editors
of papers. I know they can regulate matters satisfactory to themselves on
paper. I wish they could do so in the field. No one wishes them more success
than I do, and would be happy to see them have full swing. General Floyd has
three editors on his staff. I hope something will be done to please them.
__________
1 His colored servant from Arlington.
2 A colored servant from the White House.
SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of
Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 151-2
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