October 19, 1863
I have returned to the Rappahannock. I did not pursue with
the main army beyond Bristoe or Broad Run. Our advance went as far as Bull Run,
where the enemy was intrenched, extending his right as far as Chantilly, in the
yard of which he was building a redoubt. I could have thrown him farther back,
but I saw no chance of bringing him to battle, and it would have only served to
fatigue our troops by advancing farther. If they had been properly provided
with clothes I would certainly have endeavored to have thrown them north of the
Potomac; but thousands were barefooted, thousands with fragments of shoes, and
all without overcoats, blankets, or warm clothing. I could not bear to expose
them to certain suffering on an uncertain issue.
SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of
Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 289-90
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