Robert C. Kent to Judah P. Benjamin, November 10, 1861

WYTHEVILLE, November 10, 1861.

J. P. BENJAMIN,  Secretary of War:

Following dispatch received:

Mr. Branner, president East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, came up this evening, and says Union men are gathering; about 1,500 at Carter's Depot. See commander of forces at Wytheville and urge him to come out. This is no sensation report, but truth. Bridges have been burned on East Tennessee Road. General Marshall left here for Kentucky to-day. Commanders of forces here have marching orders to follow. Will you comply with request and send troops from here to Tennessee? Reply. Battery and one regiment here.

R. C. KENT.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 235

J. W. Lewis to Jefferson Davis, November 11, 1861

CLEVELAND, TENN., November 11, 1861.

JEFFERSON DAVIS,  President:

Several bridges burned on E. T. Road. The country in great excitement and terror. The Twenty-third Regiment, Colonel Hutcherson's. Georgia Volunteers, leaving Camp McDonald to-day for Richmond. Can you order them temporarily to Knoxville, Tenn.? You could dispatch to Marietta and Augusta, Ga.

J. W. LEWIS. Supt. E. T. and Va. R. R.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 235