Summary:
Union General Henry Halleck responds to General Grant in May, 1864. He says that
despite Grant's request that General Franz Sigel advance on Staunton, Sigel was
actually retreating with his men to Strasburg.
Lieut.-Gen. GRANT,
Near Spotsylvania, Va.:
WASHINGTON,
May 17, 1864
Sheridan has anticipated your orders, and moves to-day on his return to the Army of the Potomac. All the horses we can collect will be put in the hands of veteran cavalrymen and sent to the Army of the Potomac. I have sent the substance of your dispatch to Gen. Sigel. Instead of advancing on Staunton he is already in full retreat on Strasburg. If you except anything from his you will be mistaken. He will do nothing but run. He never did anything else. The Secretary of War proposes to put Gen. Hunter in his place. Send him up immediately. Bridges at Harper's Ferry carried away. I have sent pontoons to-day to replace them. Butler has fallen back to-day. Do not rely on him. Sherman is doing well. I will push forward railroad from Aquia Creek with all possible dispatch. More re-enforcements will leave here to-morrow. I will run them up in a few days from 25,000 to 30,000.
H. W. HALLECK,
Maj.-Gen. and Chief of Staff.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 36, Serial No. 68, Pages 840-841, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
