Major-General William T. Sherman to Brevet Major-General John A. Rawlins, May 19, 1865

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,           

Camp near Alexandria, May 19, 1865.

General JOHN A. RAWLINS,

Chief of Staff, Washington, D.C.:

GENERAL: I have the honor to report my arrival at camp near the Washington road, three miles north of Alexandria. All my army should be in camp here by to-day. The Fifteenth Corps, the last to leave Richmond, camped last night at the Occoquan. I have seen the order for the review in the papers, but Colonel Sawyer says it is not here in official form. I am old-fashioned and prefer to see orders through some other channel, but if that be the new fashion, so be it. I will be all ready by Wednesday, though in the rough. Troops have not been paid for eight or ten months, and clothing may be bad, but a better set of legs and arms cannot be displayed on this continent. Send me all orders and letters you may have for me, and let some one newspaper know that the vandal Sherman is encamped near the canal bridge half way between the Long Bridge and Alexandria to the west of the road, where his friends, if any, can find him. Though in disgrace he is untamed and unconquered.

As ever, your friend,

W. T. SHERMAN,

Major-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 47, Part 3 (Serial No. 100), p. 531