Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to William Henry Seward, October 7, 1864
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Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to William Henry Seward, October 7, 1864
transcriber
Transcriber:spp:obm
student editorTranscriber:spp:msr
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1864-10-07
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Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to William Henry Seward, October 7, 1864
action: sent
sender: William Seward
Birth: 1839-06-18
Death: 1920-04-29
location: Martinsburg, WV
receiver: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16
Death: 1872-10-10
location: UnknownUnknown
transcription: obm
revision: crb 2016-09-02
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Martinsburgh Va Oct 7/ 64
My dear Father
I arrived here & assumed
command Wednesday noon having stopped over
at Harpers Ferry Ferry ^one train to see Genl Stevenson
for labor at present & am doing my best to put
matter in good shape, this is now the base
of Genl Sheridans
making up & sending forward large train, cattle,
communication &c. There is also here a dismounted
camp for Cavalry in which Cavalry men are mount-
-ed equiped & sent forward. My garrison here consists
of five regiments of infantry & one Battery of Artillery
this entire force is occupied loading & unloading stores
grounding supplies trains & c so that I have not an
idle man or hardly enough for picket duty. I have
recommended to Genl Stevenson that he send a regt
to Bunker Hill if possible which would render the
road from here to Winchester much safer & our trains
require less guard, at present we are oblige to
send very heavy guard as the guerillas are very
active. We are much in need of a regiment
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2
of Cavalry here, not only to use as escorts
pbut for scouts, I think if had one I could
do much toward stopping the depredation
I shall tomorrow make application to the War
Dept through Gen Stevenson for one of the old
Cavalry regiments which have been stationed here
before. The time of two of regiments of
Infantry expire shortly & I am very much in
hopes that my regiment may be sent here before
they leave.
Since I took command here Genl Stevenson has
ordered one regiment at Hedgesville & one at Kearneys-
ville to report to me so that my line on the Balt
O R.R extends from one of those places to the
other, I find much contraband trade going on
& shall use every effort to suppress it, I have issued
An order closing unauthorized traders stores &c until
I can ascertain who are loyal & who are rebel
I hope to be able to do my duty here satisfactorily
here but am not sure that I shall be able to
accomplish it. Gen Neill
when I arrived but he has sufficiently recovered
to start for Washington to day. He was exceedingly
polite to me & rendered me every assistance in
Page
3
his power
The trains on the RR are running regular
now & you or Fred
time.
Your affectionate son
W H Seward Jr
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4
Martinsburgh Va Oct 7/ 64
My dear Father
I arrived here & assumed
command Wednesday noon having stopped over
at Harpers Ferry Ferry ^one train to see Genl Stevenson
Birth: 1821-06-08 Death: 1897-01-22
^ I find a large fieldfor labor at present & am doing my best to put
matter in good shape, this is now the base
of Genl Sheridans
Birth: 1831-03-06 Death: 1888-08-05
supplies & we are continually making up & sending forward large train, cattle,
communication &c. There is also here a dismounted
camp for Cavalry in which Cavalry men are mount-
-ed equiped & sent forward. My garrison here consists
of five regiments of infantry & one Battery of Artillery
this entire force is occupied loading & unloading stores
grounding supplies trains & c so that I have not an
idle man or hardly enough for picket duty. I have
recommended to Genl Stevenson that he send a regt
to Bunker Hill if possible which would render the
road from here to Winchester much safer & our trains
require less guard, at present we are oblige to
send very heavy guard as the guerillas are very
active. We are much in need of a regiment
of Cavalry here, not only to use as escorts
pbut for scouts, I think if had one I could
do much toward stopping the depredation
To subject to plunder and pillage • To destroy by eating; devour • To commit waste •
of guerillasI shall tomorrow make application to the War
Dept through Gen Stevenson for one of the old
Cavalry regiments which have been stationed here
before. The time of two of regiments of
Infantry expire shortly & I am very much in
hopes that my regiment may be sent here before
they leave.
Since I took command here Genl Stevenson has
ordered one regiment at Hedgesville & one at Kearneys-
ville to report to me so that my line on the Balt
O R.R extends from one of those places to the
other, I find much contraband trade going on
& shall use every effort to suppress it, I have issued
An order closing unauthorized traders stores &c until
I can ascertain who are loyal & who are rebel
I hope to be able to do my duty here satisfactorily
here but am not sure that I shall be able to
accomplish it. Gen Neill
Birth: 1826-04-09 Death: 1885-03-12
I found quite unwellwhen I arrived but he has sufficiently recovered
to start for Washington to day. He was exceedingly
polite to me & rendered me every assistance in
his power
The trains on the RR are running regular
now & you or Fred
Birth: 1830-07-08 Death: 1915-04-25
could come at any time.
Your affectionate son
W H Seward Jr