From Arlington to Appomattox: Robert E. Lee's Civil War Day by Day, 1861–1865

By Charles R. Knight

“Brilliant . . . really gives one a sense of what it took to both lead and run an army in the Civil War. . . . Superb.” —Chris Kolakowski, author of The Virginia Campaigns: March–August 1862
 
In From Arlington to Appomattox, Charles Knight does for Robert E. Lee and students of the Civil War what E. B. Long’s Civil War Day by Day did for our understanding of the conflict as a whole. This is not another Lee biography, but it is every bit as valuable as one. We know Lee rode out to meet the survivors of Pickett’s Charge and accept blame for the defeat, that he tried to lead the Texas Brigade in a counterattack to save the day at the Wilderness, and took a tearful ride from Wilmer McLean’s house at Appomattox. But where was Lee and what was he doing when the spotlight of history failed to illuminate him? Focusing on what he was doing day by day offers an entirely different appreciation for Lee. Readers will come away with a fresh sense of his struggles, both personal and professional, and discover many things about Lee for the first time through his own correspondence and papers. From Arlington to Appomattox is a tremendous contribution to the literature of the Civil War.
 
“Knight’s study will become the standard reference work on Lee’s daily wartime experiences.” —R. E. L. Krick, author of Staff Officers in Gray
 
 “A staggering work of scholarship.” —Jeffry D. Wert, author of A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee’s Triumph, 1862–1863
 
"A pleasure to read.” —Michael C. Hardy, author of General Lee’s Immortals
 
“Keeps the reader engaged.” —Journal of America's Military Past

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781611215038

Book preview

April 1861

The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 led to the secession of seven Southern states. Resignations of officers from states comprising the new Confederacy flooded the War and Navy departments in Washington, D.C. The fate of the Upper South and border states remained in question in April when the Rebels fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina All eyes looked to Virginia, for it was widely believed many of these states would follow her lead.

Colonel Robert E. Lee, one of the most gifted officers in the U.S. Army, watched with sorrow as the Union disintegrated. He did not believe in secession but looked at his native Virginia as his true home. Virginia’s course would determine his own.

Lee’s was a distinguished career. The son of Revolutionary War hero Henry Light Horse Harry Lee graduated second in the West Point class of 1829, was an engineer of great ability, and served with distinction on commanding general Winfield Scott’s staff during the Mexican War. Lee had served as the superintendent of West Point, and had recently led the forces that captured John Brown at Harpers Ferry. In early March 1861 he returned to Arlington, the plantation overlooking Washington that his wife Mary Anna Randolph Custis—great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington—inherited from her father, George Washington Parke Custis. Several weeks after his arrival Lee was promoted to colonel of the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Rumors circulated that he was marked for higher command should war come.

On or about April 1, Lee went to Washington to discuss his future with Brevet Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, commanding general of the Army. Like Lee, Scott was a native of Virginia; but unlike Lee Scott did not intend to follow his state out of the Union. Although exactly what transpired at this meeting is not recorded, it is known that Lee received a cold reception from Scott’s military secretary, Massachusetts-born Lieutenant Colonel Erasmus Keyes, with whom Lee had previously enjoyed a cordial relationship. Keyes felt Lee too sympathetic toward secession, an accusation which must have rankled Lee.1

In Virginia’s capital Richmond on April 4, a special convention rejected an ordinance of secession by nearly two to one. On April 12 open hostilities erupted with the firing on Fort Sumter. On the 15th President Lincoln issued a call for volunteers to put down the Southern rebellion, prompting Virginia’s Governor John Letcher to tell Lincoln that his state would not comply. Two days later the convention met again. This time it voted 88-55 in favor of secession, pending a public referendum on May 23. Virginia would join the Confederacy.2

Lee’s daughter Agnes captured the feeling at Arlington: We are all very sad here at the present state of affairs…. I learned… Virginia had seceded. I cannot yet realize it, it seems so dreadful. But she had to take one side or the other and truly I hope she has chosen the right one. It is a very solemn step and I fear we will have to go through a great deal of suffering.3

* * *

April 17, Wednesday (Arlington): Lee receives invitations from General Scott and Francis P. Blair, advisor to President Abraham Lincoln, to call on them in Washington tomorrow. Blair’s note is delivered by Lee’s cousin, John Lee. Rain during the night.4

April 18, Thursday (Arlington/Washington): Lee meets for several hours with Francis Blair at the Blair home on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Secretary of War Simon Cameron (and possibly President Lincoln himself) asked Blair to offer Lee command of the U.S. Army in putting down the rebellion. Lee tells Blair that although he is not in favor of secession and hopes that peace may yet be restored, he cannot take up arms against the Southern states or his native Virginia. Lee then calls upon Gen. Scott at the War Department to inform him of the discussion with Blair. When he learns why Lee turned down the offer of command, Scott advises Lee to resign from the Army.

After meeting with Scott, Lee visits his brother Sidney Smith Lee, who is stationed in Washington, to discuss the offer of command of the Army vs. resignation from it, as well as Smith’s future with the U.S. Navy. No firm decisions are reached, and Lee returns to Arlington after dark.5

April 19, Friday (Arlington/Alexandria): Lee goes to Alexandria in the morning with his wife and eldest daughter, Mary, where they learn of Virginia’s secession; Lee tells another, I am one of those dull creatures that cannot see the good of secession. That evening friends and relatives are at Arlington, but Lee spends most of the evening by himself, walking the grounds and later upstairs in his bedroom. Mrs. Lee reportedly hears him pacing for hours, several times kneeling in prayer.6

April 20, Saturday (Arlington): In the very early hours of the morning Lee writes his resignation from the U.S. Army, sending a very succinct one-sentence letter of resignation to Secretary of War Simon Cameron. In a longer letter to Gen. Scott, Lee writes save in defense of my native state, I never desire again to draw my sword and thanks Scott for all he has done for Lee. This letter is delivered to Scott by Perry Parks, one of the Arlington slaves. Lee writes also to his brother Smith, sister Anne Marshall in Baltimore, and cousin Roger Jones informing them of his decision.7

Immediately after finishing breakfast Henry Daingerfield of Alexandria and another man come to Arlington to meet with Lee. The three men retire into his office, where they inform Lee of the riot that occurred in Baltimore the previous day and show him a copy of the Baltimore Sun. Lee passes the newspaper on to his daughter Mary because it contains an account of the killing of her friend Robert W. Davis in the riots. After the visitors depart, Lee calls his wife and daughters into his office and reads to them a copy of his letter to Scott. He is met with silence, which he interprets to mean they think he has done wrong. Daughter Mary eventually breaks the silence, telling him, I don’t think you have done wrong at all.

Several visitors from Washington ride to Arlington, but Lee does not see any of them. Cousin Orton Williams, who is serving on Gen. Winfield Scott’s staff, arrives in the afternoon and tells the family that Lee’s resignation has caused quite a stir in the nation’s capital, and that Gen. Scott took it particularly hard— laying on a sofa and refusing to see anyone, mourn[ing] as for the loss of a son. During the afternoon, Lee’s eldest son, George Washington Custis, arrives to discuss his future course with the U. S. Army. Lee gets a message from Judge John Robertson of Richmond requesting an audience with him, to which Lee replies that he will meet Robertson at 1:00 p.m. the next day in Alexandria. The Alexandria Gazette promptly publishes an editorial urging Virginia officials in Richmond to immediately appoint Robert E. Lee as the head of the commonwealth’s military forces.8

April 21, Sunday (Arlington/Alexandria): Upon going to Alexandria in the morning, Lee learns of a prevalent rumor then circulating that he had been arrested upon resigning. The Lees attend service at Christ Church in Alexandria in the morning. Lee waits in the churchyard for Judge Robertson, who he is supposed to meet with him at 1:00 p.m.; Robertson, however, has been detained in Washington, where he meets with Gen. Winfield Scott in a failed attempt to lure the aging general to follow the state of Virginia.9

Lee goes for a walk after church with his cousin Cassius F. Lee, discussing the political situation and Lee’s future. Afterward, Lee joins his daughter who went to the nearby home of John Lloyd to wait for her father; upon departing Lee requests a kiss from Lloyd’s daughter who refuses unless Lee promises to take command of the state’s forces. With no word from Judge Robertson, the Lees return to Arlington.

After dark, Judge Robertson sends word to Arlington that Governor Letcher wants to see Lee in Richmond the next day. Lee replies that he will join Robertson at the train station in Alexandria the next morning to go to Richmond together. Virginia’s Council of Three —comprised of Francis H. Smith, Matthew F. Maury, and Judge John J. Allen—advise Governor Letcher to make Lee the commander of Virginia’s military forces.10

April 22, Monday (Arlington/Alexandria/ Richmond): Lee leaves Arlington and joins Robertson at the Orange & Alexandria station in Alexandria. Robertson discusses Lee joining Virginia’s forces, but does not mention Letcher’s offer of the supreme command. Lee makes short public appearances along the way at Orange, Culpeper, Gordonsville, and Louisa.

Upon arriving in Richmond in late afternoon, he and Robertson are met by Virginia Adjutant General William H. Richardson, who escorts Lee to the Spotswood Hotel. Lee meets with Governor Letcher and accepts command of the state’s forces. A large crowd gathers at the Spotswood in the evening calling for Lee to make a speech; Richmond Mayor Joseph Mayo emerges and tells the crowd that Lee is too busy at present to do so.11

April 23, Tuesday (Richmond): Lee establishes his Richmond headquarters and issues General Order [GO] 1, announcing himself as major general commanding Virginia’s forces. He is interrupted by a delegation of the state’s secession convention led by Marmaduke Johnson, who escorted Lee to the Capitol about noon. The group arrives early and waits in the Rotunda outside the House of Delegates chamber around the George Washington statue, where Lee tells one of the group, I hope we have seen the last of secession. Lee enters the chamber where convention president John Janney reads an eloquent address welcoming him, after which Lee is formally given command. He humbly replies, I would have much preferred your choice fallen upon an abler man. Trusting in Almighty God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow citizens, I devote myself to the service of my native State, in whose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword.12

After the ceremony, around 1:00 p.m., Alexander Stephens, the vice president of the Confederate States of America, meets with Governor Letcher, Lee, the Council of Three, and most of the convention members to discuss Virginia joining the Confederacy. Lee then returns to his office, where he receives a summons from Stephens to discuss Virginia’s military situation. In the evening Lee goes to the vice president’s room at the Ballard House, where the Georgian explains that since Virginia will be joining the Confederacy, Lee will very soon have no command as its troops will fall under the command of the new Confederacy and its officers, rather than Virginia state officers. A band comes to the Spotswood to serenade Lee, unaware he is away at the Ballard House.13

April 24, Wednesday (Richmond): Lee begins planning for the defense of Virginia’s rivers and discusses a defensive-only posture with Governor Letcher. In the morning Lee meets with cousin Charles Lee Jones regarding a commission in Virginia’s forces. He sends instructions to Brigadier General Daniel Ruggles at Fredericksburg to act solely on defensive, and to Brig. Gen. Philip St. George Cocke at Alexandria placing batteries along the Potomac River and Aquia Creek under his command, but reiterates that Cocke is to act solely on the defensive: Let it be known that you intend no attack, but invasion of our soil will be considered an act of war. Cocke replies that he can remove channel markers and other navigational aids along the Potomac River without military force. Lee is in favor of this, as it will solidify the blockade of the Potomac, but he refers the final decision to Governor Letcher. Lee accepts via telegram General P. G. T. Beauregard’s offer of two shot furnaces from Charleston for use on the Potomac. Rain.14

April 25, Thursday (Richmond): Lee’s resignation from the U.S. Army becomes official and Virginia temporarily joins the Confederacy, pending public vote May 23. Lee writes to his friend and former mentor Andrew Talcott—now serving as Virginia’s chief engineer— regarding the defenses in and around Norfolk and the important naval facilities there. Virginia’s chief of ordnance Col. Charles Dimmock informs Lee that the Richmond Arsenal cannot provide heavy artillery at present and that such must come from the supplies recently captured at Norfolk. Lee, however, deems it not safe at present to move heavy artillery from Norfolk to the Potomac. He submits to the governor a list of officers with recommended ranks for service in the state’s armed forces, including Joseph E. Johnston as major general, John B. Magruder and Robert S. Garnett as colonels, and Henry Heth and Richard S. Ewell as lieutenant colonels. Garnett is then assigned to Lee as his first staff officer.15

Lee writes to Richmond attorney James Lyons declining his offer to serve on Lee’s staff, telling him Nothing is organized yet. My personal staff will necessarily be small and must be qualified to hold their positions and free up the commanding general for other tasks. Lee receives a letter from Peter V. Daniel, Jr., president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, detailing what his railroad can do for the war effort. Impressed with Daniel’s ideas, Lee recommends that the letter be distributed to all railroads.

Lee receives a letter from his cousin Cassius Lee which reads in part: I hoped your connection with the Virginia forces … might lead to some peaceful settlement of our difficulties. I hoped this from the friendship between yourself and Gen. Scott. I … offer my earnest prayer that God may make you instrumental in saving our land from this dreadful strife. Cassius encloses a letter from a friend which reads in part Col. Lee … might, by God’s blessing, bring peace to our distracted country. O how my heart leaped at the thought. How many thousands, yea millions, would rise up to bless the man that should bring this to pass.… Should Col. Lee be a leader in this matter or place his native state in this grand position… he will have an honor never reachedby Napoleon or Wellington. Lee replies to Cassius’s letter regretting that he cannot give his nephew a position on his staff, but also regretful that he could not spend more time with Cassius before leaving for Richmond. He also writes to his wife hoping that war can yet be avoided, to resist aggression and allow time to allay the passions and permit Reason to resume her sway, and if it cannot that the South’s best hope for success is to act on the defensive.16

April 26, Friday (Richmond): Col. Garnett assumes his duties as Gen. Lee’s adjutant, taking over the drafting of orders and handling much of Lee’s outgoing correspondence. At Lee’s request, Navy lieutenant John M. Brooke is also assigned to his staff as a naval aide, and Major James R. Crenshaw assumes charge of the general’s commissary department.

Lee sends instructions to Maj. Gen. Kenton Harper, commanding at Harpers Ferry, regarding the arms and armory machinery there, and orders Lt. Col. D.A. Langhorne to take command at Lynchburg and prepare a camp for the garrison and incoming recruits. Lee submits another recommended list of officers to Governor Letcher, including Samuel Jones as lieutenant colonel and Lunsford Lomax as captain. He names Walter Gwynn as commander at Norfolk and Joseph Johnston as commander at Richmond, and meets with D. G. Duncan of the Confederate War Department, urging restraint as Virginia’s forces are nowhere near combat ready and that Maryland is helpless to join the Confederacy. Lee sends a circular to the heads of all the railroads in the state, outlining steps he would like to see them all adopt for the safety of the railroads and their cooperation in the defense of Virginia. Lee writes to Mary that she must leave Arlington immediately, taking the Washington family pieces from Mount Vernon with her— war is inevitable [and] there is no telling when it will burst around you.17

April 27, Saturday (Richmond): Lee focuses on Harpers Ferry, meeting with Governor Letcher and Col. Thomas J. Jackson regarding the latter’s assignment to command there. Col. Dimmock gives his recommendations to Lee regarding the removal of the valuable firearms manufacturing machinery at Harpers Ferry, and for the organization of the state’s ordnance department. Lee gives Jackson written instructions to organize the troops at the ferry into battalions under their senior captains until field officers are appointed, and to send the arsenal machinery to Richmond.

In response to concerns from residents of the lower Shenandoah Valley over their safety, Lee writes to several prominent citizens of that area that Jackson has been ordered to take command at Harpers Ferry and will organize the assortment of companies and militia officers there. Lee issues orders regarding responsibility for the state’s artillery, placing Dimmock in charge of all field ordnance and Capt. George Minor of the Virginia Navy in charge of all fixed position ordnance. Lee inquires of Governor Letcher where and how he is to procure horses and wagons. Joseph R. Anderson, head of Richmond’s Tredegar Iron Works, offers Lee the use of his family’s pew at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.18

April 28, Sunday (Richmond): Lee meets with Armistead T. M. Rust of Loudoun County who was referred by Cassius regarding a commission. He relieves Kenton Harper and his militia from duty at Harpers Ferry with Jackson now in command of the post and instructs that all weapons taken from the armory by the militia are to be turned over to Jackson. U.S. Brig. Gen. William S. Harney arrives in Richmond as a prisoner in the evening and visits with Lee.19

April 29, Monday (Richmond): Lee’s trunk with much of his clothing and his sword arrive from Arlington. He instructs Col. Talcott to lay out defensive works on the James River at Burwell’s Bay near Smithfield, and more works at the mouth of the Appomattox River near City Point, assisted by Capt. H. H. Cocke and Lt. Catesby Ap. R Jones of the Navy. Lee instructs Maj. Powhatan R. Page to muster in the companies from Gloucester County and assist with the fortifications at Gloucester Point.

Turning his attention to western Virginia, the general orders Maj. Alonzo Loring at Wheeling and Maj. Francis M. Boykin at Grafton to raise whatever troops they can in their respective vicinities and to do all they can to protect the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and Lt. Col. John McCausland to raise a regiment in the Kanawha Valley. All three officers are reminded that they are to act on the defensive only.20

Lee’s efforts at organizing the troops are hampered by ignorance of military regulations among the volunteers, which leads to the issuance today of several General Orders: GO4—regarding the proper filing of returns with Richmond; GO5—regarding the authorization and keeping of records for all expenditures; GO6—announcing Lt. Col. Henry Heth as quartermaster general and Maj. James Crenshaw as commissary general. In the afternoon Lee receives an invitation to dinner from a Mr. Rutherford, but due to the hour at which it was received he declines. Lee’s personal effects and uniforms are shipped by Adams Express from Alexandria to Richmond by order of Gen. Scott and at the expense of the U.S. Army.21

April 30, Tuesday (Richmond): Lee receives a request from Governor Letcher for a report on the number of the state’s forces; in reply Lee concedes that he only has that information for Harpers Ferry, but hopes to have it from all other points in a few days.

Lee receives authorization to issue state arms to whatever parties he deems necessary and subsequently issues instructions to Dimmock to send small arms and artillery to the Kanawha Valley. Lee asks Gen. Gwynn at Norfolk if defenses are planned for the mouth of the Nansemond River as it affords an avenue of approach to the Navy Yard.22

Lee writes to Talcott offering him a commission in Virginia’s forces, and that he will defer to Talcott’s discretion for placement of defenses along the James. Lee also mentions having a conversation with Talcott’s son Charles today. Lee places Lt. Col. William Mahone in charge of a battery at Burwell’s Bay and mustering a regiment to garrison it, and instructs Maj. John P. Wilson to do likewise for Fort Powhatan. Lee orders the withdrawal of all Confederate troops from between Long Bridge and Alexandria. Maj. Robert Johnston joins Lee’s staff.

Lee writes to Mary, again urging her to leave Arlington immediately with what she can, and that he has told their youngest son Robert Jr. to remain in school for the present rather than enlist.23

1 Douglas S. Freeman, R.E. Lee: A Biography, 4 vols. (New York, 1934-5), vol. 1, 431-2.

2 E. B. Long, The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861-1865 (New York, 1971), 53, 59-60.

3 Agnes Lee to Mildred Lee, April 19, 1861, Mary Coulling Papers, W&L.

4 Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 435; Emory M. Thomas, Robert E. Lee (New York, 1995), 187-8; Burke Davis, Gray Fox (New York, 1956), 12-3; Robert K. Krick, Civil War Weather in Virginia (Tuscaloosa, AL, 2007), 23.

5 Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 435-8, 633-6; J. William Jones, Personal Reminiscences, Letters, and Anecdotes of Gen. Robert E. Lee (New York, 1875), 141; Elizabeth B. Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time of Thy Visitation, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 119, no. 3, 289. The meeting with Blair occurred at his son Montgomery Blair’s residence at 1651 Pennsylvania Ave., on Lafayette Square. William Allan, Memoranda of Conversations with General Robert E. Lee, in Gary W. Gallagher, ed., Lee the Soldier (Lincoln, NE, 1996), 10, 20. Scott’s aide Col. E. D. Townsend attempted to leave Lee and Scott alone to confer in Scott’s second floor office but Scott requested him to stay. Freeman, Lee, vol 1, 636-7. Scott told Lee You have made the greatest mistake of your life but I feared it would be so. Davis, Gray Fox, 13-4. Lee’s daughter wrote that Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of War Simon Cameron also met with Lee (her phrasing suggests that they were present with Gen. Scott), but Lee wrote that he met only with Blair and Scott. Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time, 289. Appendix 1-1 in Freeman Lee vol. 1 examines the offer of command extended to Lee.

6 Agnes to Mildred, April 19, 1861, Coulling papers, W&L; Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 439; Davis, Gray Fox, 15; William J. Johnson, Robert E. Lee the Christian (Arlington Heights, IL, 1993), 61; Murray H. Nelligan, Custis-Lee Mansion: The Robert E. Lee Memorial (Washington, DC, 1962), 19, 37; George L. Upshur, General Robert E. Lee and Arlington, Jan. 19, 1932, George L. Upshur papers, UNC. Upshur’s dramatic account has been widely accepted by authors for decades, but much of it is called into question by the discovery of an account of this period written by Lee’s eldest daughter Mary. See Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time.

7 Upshur, Lee and Arlington, Upshur papers; Nelligan, Custis-Lee Mansion, 19; R.E. Lee to Simon Cameron, April 20, 1861, RG-94, Records of the Adjutant General, NA; Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 440-1; Jones, Personal Reminiscences of REL, 138-40; REL to Roger Jones, April 20, 1861, REL papers, VHS; Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time, 290. Sidney Smith Lee joined the Confederate Navy, though with a much less distinguished career than his brother. Roger Jones did not resign from the Army although two of his brothers, Catesby and Charles, both served in the Confederate Navy. Mrs. Lee wrote that this decision was the severest struggle of his life to resign a commission he had held for more than 30 years. Robert E. L. deButts, Jr., ed., Mary Custis Lee’s ‘Reminiscences of the War,’ VMHB, vol. 109, no. 3, 314. One writer proposed that it was Orton Williams who carried Lee’s letter directly to Gen. Scott, but Mary’s letter clearly states that the letter was entrusted to Perry. Richard B. McCaslin, Lee in the Shadow of Washington (Baton Rouge, LA, 2001), 73-4.

8 Upshur, Lee and Arlington, Upshur papers; Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time, 290; Mary P. Coulling, The Lee Girls, (Winston-Salem, NC, 1987), 82-3; Thomas, Lee, 188; George G. Kundahl, Alexandria Goes to War: Beyond Robert E. Lee (Knoxville, TN, 2004), 26. The Lee family was largely anti-secession; daughter Mary was the only one of the immediate family who leaned toward secession. She wrote an account in late 1870 or early 1871 for Charles Marshall of her father’s struggles with secession and his resignation which changes much of what has been accepted as fact about Lee during these few days in April 1861. Elizabeth Pryor used this letter as the basis for her article in VMHB cited above (the article includes Mary’s letter verbatim). Mary wrote that Lee made it clear to his family that he made his decision to resign before learning of the Baltimore riot and that it played no role in his decision. Custis was at the time a first lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, stationed at Fort Washington on the Maryland shore of the Potomac.

9 Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time, 291; Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 445-6; John Robertson to John Letcher, April 23, 1861, Executive Papers of Governor John Letcher, LVA. Mary did not specify who went with Lee to Alexandria but makes it clear that it was more than just her and her father as has previously been accepted. She also mentioned that the rumor of Lee’s arrest caused her brother William Henry Fitzhugh Rooney Lee to detain several Northern boats and their crews at his Pamunkey River estate White House, east of Richmond. Her account also suggests that Judge Robertson did not begin looking for Lee until the 21st rather than on the 20th as has long been accepted. The end of her account is missing so it is impossible to gauge her version of Judge Robertson. Pryor, Thou Knowest Not the Time,289-91. It is not known exactly who accompanied Lee to church, as various accounts have different daughters with him; it was likely Agnes and/or Mary. Elizabeth B. Pryor, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters (New York, 2008), 294.

10 Ludwell Lee Montague, ed., Memoir of Mrs. Harriotte Lee Taliaferro Concerning Events in Virginia, April 11-21, 1861, VMHB (Oct. 1949), vol. 57, no. 4, 419-20; Coulling, Lee Girls, 83; Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 445-7; Thomas, Lee, 188-9; Davis, Gray Fox, 17-8; John Robertson to Letcher, April 23, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA; Mary Lindsey, Historic Homes and Landmarks of Alexandria, Virginia (Alexandria, VA, 1962), 11; The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, DC, 1880-1901), Series 1, vol. 51, pt. 2, 21 (hereafter OR; all references are to Series 1 unless otherwise indicated). One of Cassius’s daughters wrote 40 years later that Lee was approached in the churchyard by a delegation from Richmond. Sarah L. Lee, War Time in Alexandria, Virginia, South Atlantic Quarterly (Winter 1905), 235. John Lloyd’s wife was a Lee cousin and the Lees often visited the Lloyd residence at 220 N Washington St. after church; the building today houses the Office of Historic Alexandria. The Council of Three served as Governor Letcher’s advisory council.

11 Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 448, 462-4; Robertson to Letcher, April 23, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA; Davis, Gray Fox, 17-8; Patricia J. Hurst, Soldiers, Stories, Sites and Fights: Orange County, Virginia 1861-1865 and the Aftermath (Rapidan, VA, 1998), 10; J. William Jones, Life & Letters of Gen. Robert Edward Lee (Harrisonburg, VA, 1986), 136-7; Richmond Dispatch, April 23, 1861; Thomas, Lee, 189-91. Although Lee went to Alexandria and Washington after the war, there is no evidence he ever returned to Arlington. According to Freeman, Gov. Letcher sent a messenger to Lee on the 21st informing him of his selection to command, but the message never reached Lee. Lee, vol. 1, 463-4. It has been proposed Lee must have known the reason for the summons to Richmond and possibly had already agreed to command Virginia’s army. Alan T. Nolan, Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History (Chapel Hill, NC, 1991), 42-5. An observer at Culpeper noted: The train arrived, the crowd surged around it, with enthusiastic calls for ‘Lee, Lee.’ At first he declined to appear, but the call was so persistent that he had to yield. He appeared on the rear platform of the coach, dressed in citizen’s apparel.… He simply bowed to the crowd, said no word, re-entered the car, and the train passed on. W. W. Scott, Some Personal Memories of General Robert E. Lee, William and Mary Quarterly (Oct. 1906), vol. 6, no. 4, 280. Richardson, a War of 1812 veteran, served as Virginia’s AG for decades. Jennings C. Wise, The Military History of the Virginia Military Institute from 1839 to 1865 (Lynchburg, VA, 1915), 50. The popular Spotswood Hotel was located at the intersection of 8th Street and Main Street in Richmond. It is uncertain whether the meeting with Gov. Letcher occurred in the capitol building or at the adjacent Governor’s Mansion. William Seale, Virginia’s Executive Mansion (Richmond, VA, 1988), 70-1.

12 Thomas, Lee, 191-4; Davis, Gray Fox, 20-2; OR 2, 775-6; OR 51, pt. 2, 27; Jones, Personal Reminiscences of REL, 140-1; William P. Snow, Lee and His Generals (New York, 1996), 42-4; Armistead L. Long, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee (Secaucus, NJ, 1983), 96-8. Freeman put Lee’s initial office at either the city post office or the old state General Court building, and moving to Mechanics Hall very soon thereafter, possibly within only a few days. Lee, vol. 1, 464, 489. Jeffry Wert wrote that Lee was at Mechanics Hall within three days of his appointment. Jeffry D. Wert, Lee’s First Year of the War, in Robert E. Lee: Recollections and Vignettes with an Appraisal by Glenn Tucker (no place, no date), no pagination. Mechanics Hall was at the corner of 9th and Bank streets; it later became the Confederate War Department and was destroyed in the evacuation fire April 2-3, 1865. Lee had no staff or aides at this time and wrote GO1 himself. Marmaduke Johnson was former commonwealth’s attorney and later commanded an artillery battery in the Army of Northern Virginia. Michael B. Chesson, Richmond After the War: 1865-1900 (Richmond, VA, 1981), 21.

13 Thomas, Lee, 191-4; Davis, Gray Fox, 20-2; OR 1, Series 4, 242; Stanley F. Horn, The Robert E. Lee Reader (New York, 1949), 108-9; Myrta L. Avary, ed., Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens (New York, 1910), 80; REL notes, Robert W. Winston papers, UNC. The best account of the ceremony for Lee’s acceptance of command is in Snow, Lee and His Generals, 42-4. That ceremony was the first time Alexander Stephens met Lee; following their discussion that evening, Stephens wrote of Lee: I had admired him in the morning, but I took his hand that night at parting with feelings of respect and almost reverence, never yet effaced. Horn, Lee Reader, 109.

14 George W. Munford to REL, April 23, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA; Charles Lee Jones to REL, April 24, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA; OR 2, 777-8; OR 51, pt. 2, 30; Krick, CW Weather, 21. Lee’s defensive proposal centered around Alexandria and not provoking Lincoln into sending troops to seize Arlington Heights and Alexandria; it then grew into a larger overall defensive strategy. Lee very likely recognized that it was only a matter of time before Alexandria and Arlington Heights would be seized, given their proximity to Washington and the fact that guns placed around Arlington could shell the capital city. Charles Lee Jones was the former adjutant general of the Washington, D.C., militia and had commanded the DC battalion during the Mexican War. Lee recommended Jones for a lieutenant colonel’s commission but for now unknown reasons it was not issued. Jones became all but destitute during the war and multiple times sought positions with the Confederate government, but rumors of drunkenness seem to have intervened. See Jones’s Confederate Civilian File, NA. Ruggles was a native of Massachusetts but married into a Virginia family; he spent most of the war in the western theater. Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders (Baton Rouge, LA, 1959), 265-6. Cocke was from Fluvanna County, VA, and a noted agriculturist; he resigned in late 1861 and committed suicide Dec. 26, 1861. Warner, Generals in Gray, 56-7. Letcher ultimately approved removing navigational aids along the Potomac.

15 Frederick Maurice, Robert E. Lee: The Soldier (New York, 1925), 55; Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 442, 487; OR 2, 781; Charles Dimmock to REL, April 25, 1861, Charles Dimmock, Compiled Service Record, NA; OR 51, pt. 2, 35-6, 38-9; Robert S. Garnett CSR. Andrew Talcott was one of the U.S. Army’s most gifted engineers before resigning in the mid-1830s to pursue a railroad career, including construction of the Richmond & Danville Railroad in the 1840s. Talcott was a native of Connecticut, but did not fight during the war apart from assisting Lee in the early weeks of the war in his role as Virginia’s chief engineer; instead Talcott went to Mexico to work on a railroad there to avoid having to choose sides. One of his sons, Charles, was superintendent of the Richmond & Danville during the war, and another of his sons, Thomas, served on Lee’s staff and later was colonel of the 1st CS Engineer Regiment. This Charles Dimmock should not be confused with his son of the same name, who was a noted Confederate engineer and laid out the defensive lines around Petersburg, VA. Garnett was Lee’s adjutant when he was West Point superintendent. It is possible that Lee met with Col. J. T. L. Preston of VMI on this date regarding how the institute would function during hostilities. See Randolph R. Shaffner, The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J. T. L. Preston, CSA (Jefferson, NC, 2014), 139.

16 REL to James Lyons, April 25, 1861, Robert A. Brock collection, Huntington Library; OR 1, Series 4, 240-1; Cassius F. Lee to REL, April 23, 1861, Lee papers, SH; James May to Cassius F. Lee, April 22, 1861, Lee papers, SH; REL to Cassius F. Lee, April 25, 1861, Lee papers, SH; Johnson, Lee the Christian, 68-9. James Lyons was a former member of the Virginia legislature, and served in the Confederate Congress later in the war. On this date Lieutenant Walter H. Taylor wrote to his uncle in Richmond seeking a staff position. WHT to Richard Taylor, April 25, 1861, Letcher papers, VHS. One week later Taylor was assigned to Lee’s staff.

17 Freeman, Lee, vol. 1, 489; George M. Brooke, Jr., John M. Brooke: Naval Scientist and Educator (Charlottesville, VA, 1980), 228; Robert E. L. Krick, Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia (Chapel Hill, NC, 2003), 105; OR 2, 781-3; OR 51, pt. 2, 39-41; Circular to Railroad Presidents, April 26, 1861, Records of the Virginia Forces, RG-109, NA; Clifford Dowdey and Louis H. Manarin, eds., The Wartime Papers of R. E. Lee (New York, 1961), 12-3. Garnett likely began working with Lee on the 25th, although he was not officially announced until today; at least one letter on the 25th was written and signed by him. Garnett to Kenton Harper, April 25, 1861, VAF, NA. Crenshaw served as a department head only briefly, as he was gone by July 1 when he became lieutenant colonel of the 15th VA; he later became a Confederate commissary agent in the Bahamas. Krick, Staff Officers in Gray, 105. Harper was appointed colonel of the 5th Va. Inf. in May; he resigned in September to return home to be with his dying wife. Bruce S. Allardice, More Generals in Gray (Baton Rouge, LA, 2005), 117. Daniel A. Langhorne became lieutenant colonel of the 42nd VA. Robert K. Krick, Lee’s Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia (Dayton, OH, 1996), 230. Gwynn came from one of Virginia’s oldest families, a 10-year army veteran, and a very accomplished antebellum railroad engineer. Allardice, More Generals in Gray, 110. Lee was almost daily sending to the governor lists of recommendations for officers commissions–only the noteworthy highlights from these lists are mentioned here. Mary’s father inherited much of his grandparents’—George and Martha Washington—furnishings from Mount Vernon. Lee feared for the safety of these items if left behind at Arlington, as their Washington connection would surely make them targets for souvenir hunters. It was very likely on this date when Lee met with Joe Johnston; but as Johnston gives no date for the meeting, it could have occurred on the 25th. Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations during the Civil War (New York, 1990), 12. Brooke wrote at this time, Gen. Lee is a second Washington if there ever was one. Brooke, John M. Brooke, 228.

18 Undated clipping of Richmond Whig, acc # 23476bb, LVA; Dimmock to REL, April 27, 1861, Dimmock CSR; OR 2, 784-5; REL to Robert Conrad, James Marshall, Edmund Pendleton, Hugh Nelson & Alfred Barbour, April 27, 1861, REL papers, MOC; OR 51, pt. 2, 49; OR 2, 784; J. R. Anderson to REL, April 27, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA. Jackson was at this time stationed at Camp Lee in Richmond with the cadets from the Virginia Military Institute. It is possible that Francis H. Smith, superintendent of VMI and one of the governor’s Council of Three, and/or Adjutant General Richardson also were included in the meeting with Jackson—the wording of the original article is vague in this regard. Undated clipping of Richmond Whig, acc # 23476bb, LVA. Garnett must have erred in the numbering for General Orders because he issued GO3 twice: once on the 26th announcing Joe Johnston’s command of Richmond, and the orders concerning Dimmock and Minor on the 27th are also headed as GO3. St. Paul’s is located on Grace St. at the northeast corner of Capitol Square; Lee and Jefferson Davis often attended service there during the war.

19 Cassius Lee to REL, April 27, 1861, Letcher papers, LVA; OR 2, 786-7; Richmond Daily Dispatch, May 6, 1861. Rust was colonel of the 57th VA Militia and was subsequently appointed colonel of the 19th VA Inf.; he later served as a military judge in the Department of Southwest Virginia. Rust CSR. Harney was captured at Harpers Ferry on the 25th, en route to Washington from Missouri by rail; he and Lee knew each other from the antebellum army. Upon Harney’s arrival in Richmond, Letcher ordered his immediate release and offered a guard to escort him to Washington, which Harney declined. Harney, one of only four generals in the antebellum army, was a native Tennessean—his arrival in Virginia sparked rumors he would join the Confederacy. It is possible that Lee broached the subject with him; however, Harney returned to his command in Missouri and retired in 1863. Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders (Baton Rouge, LA, 1999), 208-9; Richmond Daily Dispatch, May 6, 1861. Lee very likely attended church at St. Paul’s in the morning, but there is no concrete evidence of this, only Anderson’s offer of his pew on the 27th.

20 Dowdey, Wartime Papers, 14-5; REL to P. R. Page, April 29, 1861, VAF, NA; OR 2, 788; REL to Boykin, April 29, 1861, Francis M. Boykin papers, VMI. Page’s regiment became the 26th VA; he was killed at Petersburg, June 17, 1864. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 296. Boykin was major and later lieutenant colonel of the 31st VA; he lost his position in the Spring 1862 reorganization and later commanded a company in the 25th VA Battalion. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 64-5. McCausland was a professor at VMI; his regiment would be designated the 36th VA, with him as colonel. He was later promoted to brigadier general and is most noted for burning Chambersburg, PA, in July 1864. Warner, Generals in Gray, 197-8.

21 GO4 & GO6, April 29, 1861, Boykin papers, VMI; OR 51, pt. 2, 52-3; REL to Mr. Rutherford, April 29, 1861, REL papers, W&L; Adams Express Company receipt, April 29, 1862, (Acc. #2004.20.14) Clarke County Historical Association. Heth offered his services to Jefferson Davis on the 17th; Davis noted in his endorsement that Heth was a first rate soldier and worthy of special attention. Heth to Davis, April 17, 1861, Heth CSR. Heth succeeded William Mahone as quartermaster, who was appointed on or about the 23rd, but Mahone may never have actually performed the duties of the office before he was reassigned. William Mahone biographical sketch, William Mahone papers, VMI. The identity of Mr. Rutherford is not known.

22 REL to Letcher, April 30, 1861, VAF, NA; OR 51, pt. 2, 54-6; OR 2, 791. Apparently Lee lacked copies of nearly every form used in the army except muster rolls, as Garnett wrote to Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper on this date requesting copies of each of the forms the AG supplied. Garnett to Cooper, April 30, 1861, VAF, NA.

23 REL to Talcott, April 30, 1861, Talcott papers, VHS; REL to Mahone, April 30, 1861, VAF, NA; REL to J. P. Wilson, April 30, 1861, VAF, NA; Jed Hotchkiss, Virginia–vol. 3 in Clement Evans, ed., Confederate Military History (Secaucus, NJ, 1975), 92; Krick, Staff Officers in Gray, 174; Dowdey, Wartime Papers, 15. Wilson commanded what became the 5th VA Battalion and later served in the 9th and 13th VA regiments. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 402. Johnston remained on Lee’s staff only until mid-June when he was appointed colonel of the 3rd VA Cav. Krick, Staff Officers in Gray, 174. Rob was a student at the University of Virginia; he eventually joined the Rockbridge Artillery and later served on his brother Rooney’s staff.

May 1861

Robert E. Lee settled into his role as commander of Virginia’s forces that May. His was a daunting task, however, because of supply shortages and poorly trained officers and men.

Lee was in essence building an army from scratch while at the same time scraping together troops to defend strategic points. None were more important than Norfolk with its Gosport Navy Yard, and Harpers Ferry and the Federal arsenal there. The heavy guns captured at Norfolk were vital to river and coastal defense, and its shipbuilding facilities were critical to the nascent Virginia and Confederate navies. Although the weapons captured at Harpers Ferry helped arm the influx of volunteers, more important was the machinery for the production of more firearms. The town of Harpers Ferry itself was indefensible because of the surrounding mountains that commanded the place, but Lee knew it had to be held long enough for the vital machinery to be removed. Accordingly, these two points received priority. Lee described his own efforts: Since my arrival I have used every exertion to organize troops and prepare resistance against immediate invasion, which has appeared imminent, and as almost everything had to be created except the guns found at the Gosport Navy Yard, these preparations have absorbed all the means I can command.1

Lee’s staff began to come together; joining him in May were Walter H. Taylor, John A. Washington, and Francis W. Smith. Of his new staff duties, Taylor wrote:

There is a great difference between my present work and what I was required to at [the] bank; I now begin in the morning after breakfast and am kept constantly at it until 10 or 11, only allowing myself intermission for meals. The most amusing part of it is that ‘tis all for Love and Glory; but everybody must exert themselves and make any sacrifice now for the good of the Old Commonwealth.… I do not object to the hard work for many reasons, not the least of which is that the General [Lee] does the same.2

Inspection tours took Lee away from Richmond for several days, first to Norfolk and then to Manassas. In neither instance did he like what he found, and both trips resulted in command changes. These were not the only changes. Lee also sought to replace militia commanders and officers sometimes unknown to him with men he knew he could trust. Harpers Ferry—which was first seized by Virginia militia under militia officers—was perhaps the best example of this. Lee sent Col. Thomas J. Jackson—the future Stonewall—to replace the militia general on site, followed by his longtime friend Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.

Federal movements around Newport News in the latter half of the month caused quite a stir as Lee and others feared that it portended an impending move against Norfolk, Yorktown, or both. He knew the troops, and in far too many cases, their commanders as well, were not ready to meet an attack in southeast Virginia or elsewhere. Lee struggled in the fight to make the politicians and the population at large realize this. Urging caution was not a popular stance, regardless of whether it was the right one militarily.3

Lee’s daily routine included meetings with office seekers—some known to him, others strangers—and often meetings with Governor John Letcher and his advisory council and other department heads.4 One Richmond newspaper editor wrote of Lee during this time: He sat almost daily in the military council with Governor Letcher and others; here performed an amount of labor that was almost incredible, yet always working with ease and exactness, and he made the reputation of a skillful organizer of armies, before he commenced the career of active commander in the field.5 On May 23, Virginia’s voters took the commonwealth out of the Union.6 Six days later Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived in Richmond following a vote by the Confederate Congress to relocate the capital from Montgomery, Alabama, to Virginia.7 Although for a brief period he was placed in command of all Confederate troops in the state, Lee’s authority quickly diminished when the Confederacy’s highest ranking officials arrived in Richmond.

Lee’s eldest two sons followed him out of the U.S. Army and into Virginia’s and, ultimately, the Confederacy’s. The decision left them without a home. Because of Arlington’s commanding position on the southern bank of the Potomac River overlooking Washington, the estate was seized by Federal troops on the night of the 23rd. Most of the family possessions were lost; some have never been recovered while others eventually found their way back to the family or the estate during the last century and a half.8

* * *

May 1, Wednesday (Richmond): One of Lee’s uniform coats arrives from Arlington today. Lee directs Jackson at Harpers Ferry to call out volunteers from lower Valley counties and to be on the lookout for an attack coming from Pennsylvania; the bridge over the Potomac may be destroyed if necessary but Jackson must get the weapons and machinery removed from the arsenal as quickly as possible. Lee informs Kenton Harper that he has been appointed colonel and is to report to Jackson. Lee notifies Benjamin S. Ewell that he has been appointed major and instructs him to raise six companies from James City County and fortify a position defending Williamsburg.9

Lee notifies J. W. Allan, William H. Harman, and W. T. H. Baylor of their commissions in Virginia’s forces and orders them all to report to Jackson at Harpers Ferry, and informs Jackson to which regiment each should be assigned. Lee requests Edward Marshall, president of the Manassas Gap Railroad, to alter the schedule on his line to coincide with that of the Orange & Alexandria and the Winchester & Potomac railroads to facilitate travel between Richmond and Harpers Ferry; Lee subsequently informs W. L. Clarke, president of the W&P, of the desire to have the trip between Richmond and Harpers Ferry take no more than 24 hours.10

May 2, Thursday (Richmond): Lee advises Gen. Philip Cocke that weapons and ammunition are being sent to Alexandria for his use and that he is to place Lt. Col. Algernon S. Taylor in command of the troops at that point. Cocke is also to make arrangements with Orange & Alexandria Railroad officials for the removal of locomotives and rolling stock from Alexandria and destruction of track in the event the city is evacuated. Lee learns from Dimmock that much of the vital machinery at the Harpers Ferry arsenal has not yet been removed. Instructions are sent to Gen. Gwynn at Norfolk to remove all surplus material there as an attack is feared imminent. Lee assigns Lt. Col. Robert H. Chilton as Superintendent of the Recruiting Service for the state’s forces and charges him with assigning commands to junior officers. Lee issues orders regarding railroad company charges to transport state military personnel and supplies.11

An invitation arrives from Dr. J. J. Simkins of Norfolk inviting Lee to visit the city and stay with Simkins, but the general declines the invitation due to the pressing nature of his duties which require his constant attention and presence. Lee writes to the Reverend Cornelius Walker of Alexandria’s Christ Church thanking him for his good wishes. He writes also to Mary, advising her not to go to the Valley, that it is too exposed to the enemy, and requests that Perry, one of their slaves, be sent to him. Lee notes as well that he made his resignation on April 20, not the 25th which is the effective date the Army has— he refuses to accept pay for the intervening days. Lt. Walter H. Taylor is ordered to join Lee’s staff as aide de camp. Custis resigns from the U.S. Army.12

May 3, Friday (Richmond): Governor Letcher puts out his first official call for volunteers for Virginia’s armed forces. Lee has breakfast at the Spotswood, after which he informs the Governor’s Council of the necessity for a railroad connecting Winchester and Strasburg. He later has a meeting with Charles Talcott, who offers the locomotives and rolling stock of his Richmond & Danville Railroad to remove ordnance from the Norfolk Navy Yard to the state’s interior. Lee orders Walter Gwynn to remove all excess guns and ammunition from the Navy Yard and mentions Talcott’s offer. Gwynn and Cocke are ordered to muster companies raised in their areas into regiments.13

Lee informs William B. Taliaferro of his appointment as colonel and instructs him to take command at Gloucester Point and cooperate with the Navy in the construction of fortifications there. Similar notification is sent to Christopher Q. Tompkins and that he is take command of the troops being mustered in the Kanawha Valley, including those under McCausland. Lee forwards to Governor Letcher a letter from Gwynn requesting 5,000 troops to properly defend Norfolk; Lee notes that he has ordered all Georgia and Alabama troops currently in Virginia to report to Gwynn. He attempts to sort out difficulties at Norfolk between Gwynn and the naval commander, Commodore French Forrest, by putting Gwynn in overall command there, but with Forrest retaining command of all naval operations, personnel, and institutions in and around the important city. Lt. Col. John A. Washington is ordered to report to Lee as an aide de camp.14

May 4, Saturday (Richmond): Lee and Governor Letcher meet with Andrew Talcott. The Governor’s Council requests Lee to procure a percussion cap machine from New York for state use. Lee sends instructions to Jackson to call out additional troops from the central Valley, and tells Maj. Loring that he has authority to call out troops only from counties around Wheeling. Lee orders Col. George Porterfield to take command at Grafton, and instructs Gen. Ruggles to use the troops he is mustering at Fredericksburg for defense along the lower Potomac, Rappahannock, and Aquia Creek. Lee receives a proposal from J. B. Tree of Norfolk regarding a telegraph system.15

Lee orders all Georgia troops in Virginia to Norfolk, and instructs Walter Taylor to report to Adjutant General Richardson for assignment to headquarters. Orton Williams comes to Arlington to warn Mary that Federal troops will seize the estate tomorrow and that she needs to pack what she can and evacuate.16

May 5, Sunday (Richmond): John Bell Hood reports to Lee for duty, Lee tells him I am glad to see you. I want you to help me. Lee answers the letter of an unidentified young Northern female admirer, who requested a photo of him. He sends word to Gwynn that 25,000 of the 100,000 rounds he requested have been ordered to him, Gwynn will have to fabricate the remainder from supplies on-hand at Norfolk. Garnett issues GO10 regarding the mustering and acceptance of companies, and GO11 concerning the creation of muster rolls and issuance of arms and equipment. Mary writes to Gen. Scott thanking him for his kindness to Lee and includes a newspaper account of Lee’s reception in Richmond.17

May 6, Monday (Richmond): Lee directs Gen. Cocke to personally see to the defense of Manassas and writes to Jackson to establish an outpost at Martinsburg, advising a move against the B&O and the Chesapeake & Ohio canal. He also suggests making contacts in Maryland to destroy the B&O bridge over the Monocacy River near Frederick or to drain the C&O canal. Col. Jubal Early is ordered to take command of all the troops being mustered at Lynchburg; Lt. Col. Langhorne is notified that Early will take command of the post. Langhorne is also advised that some of the troops he is mustering into service are intended to go to northern Virginia, and others will remain at Lynchburg. Lee orders Lt. Col. John Echols to organize a pair of regiments at Staunton from companies raised in southwestern.18

Gen. Ruggles is ordered to assist the Navy in establishing a battery on the Potomac and to destroy the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad in the event of a withdrawal. Lee receives a proposal from Gen. John H. Cocke regarding the field uniform to be adopted by the state’s forces. Rooney is commissioned as a captain. Orton Williams comes to Arlington in the morning to see Agnes; in the afternoon he is arrested when attempting to resign his commission in the U.S. Army.19

May 7, Tuesday (Richmond): Andrew Talcott meets with Lee and Governor Letcher. Lee telegraphs President Davis that Joe Johnston is ill and Lee is too busy at present to leave Richmond but Senator R. M. T. Hunter is en route to Montgomery to brief him on the situation at Norfolk. Lee also tells the president that my commission in Virginia [is] satisfactory. Governor Letcher places Lee in command of troops from other states stationed within the borders of Virginia unless President Davis specifies otherwise. Lee advises Jackson that he can accept volunteers from Maryland if they are willing to serve in Virginia units. Lee orders Maj. John M. Patton to take command at Jamestown Island, and Col. J. B. Baldwin to muster in troops from central Virginia at Richmond. He inquires of Cocke his effective strength and reminds him that per orders that information must be submitted to headquarters by the first of each month.20

May 8, Wednesday (Richmond): Lee sends instructions to Col. Taliaferro at Gloucester Point that if an enemy vessel attempts to pass he is only to engage if it does not stop in response to warning shots. Lee responds to a complaint by Gen. Cocke about Lt. Col. A. S. Taylor—according to Cocke, Taylor violated orders in his evacuation of Alexandria on the 5th; Cocke wants to arrest Taylor but Lee will not allow him to do so and insists that Taylor provide an explanation before any further action is taken. Lee writes to George Mason of Alexandria attempting to assuage the fears of many in that region about the lack of troops there to defend them. He writes as well to Gen. Ruggles regarding the fortifications guarding Aquia Creek. Lee informs Col. A. G. Blanchard that Lee has been given authority over non-Virginia troops in the commonwealth and that Blanchard is to take his 1st Louisiana to reinforce Gwynn at Norfolk. He informs Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper that he instructed Early and Langhorne at Lynchburg to deal only with Virginia troops, not those from other states sent there by the Confederate government in Montgomery.21

Lee announces the assignment of Col. John B. Magruder to command around Richmond and recommends to Governor Letcher that William Allen be allowed to resign his current commission in order to take command of a battery he raised at Jamestown Island. Lee writes to Capt. James R. Branch, thanking his company for adopting the name Lee’s Life Guard to honor him. Lee’s daughters Mary and Agnes leave Arlington and go to Ravensworth, home of their Fitzhugh cousins in nearby Fairfax County, taking along a piano and many of the paintings, wines, and other valuables. They leave behind their younger sister Mildred’s kitten, Tom, who they entrust to one of the house slaves, Uncle George. Mrs. Lee and Custis remain behind for the time being. Lee writes to his wife, grieving that they have to leave Arlington.22

May 9, Thursday (Richmond): A delegation from the Richmond city council meets with Lee to discuss constructing fortifications around Richmond. Lee interviews Thomas S. Knox of Fredericksburg regarding a possible quartermaster position. Lee writes to Jackson advising him not to intrude upon the soil of Maryland unless compelled by the necessities of war. He adds that arms, ammunition, and artillery under Capt. William N. Pendleton are en route to Harpers Ferry. Cocke is advised that several companies under Col. J. T. L. Preston and Samuel Garland have been ordered to him.23

Jubal Early is notified that Col. R. C. Radford will assume command of the troops at Lynchburg that are designated for Cocke in northern Virginia. Lee informs William E. Jones at Abingdon that he has been appointed to major and that he shouldmuster troops from southwest Virginia at Abingdon. Lee also notifies Col. George Porterfield at Grafton and Maj. Michael Harman at Staunton that he has ordered arms and ammunition to be sent to Staunton from the arsenal at Lexington, and that when they arrive, they are to be issued to Porterfield’s troops. The general also writes to James Barbour of Culpeper, informing him that the county’s troops will not be returned from Harpers Ferry until other troops are designated to be posted to the ferry and arrive to assume their place.24

May 10, Friday (Richmond): The War Department orders Lee to assume control of the forces of the Confederate States in Virginia and assign them to such duties as you may indicate, until further orders. Lee orders Cocke and Col. George H. Terrett to withdraw from towns in northern Virginia and place the men in camps where their instruction may be uninterrupted and rigid discipline established; Cocke is to send Preston’s and Garland’s regiments to reinforce the Manassas line. Lee chides Jackson for occupying Maryland Heights as premature, and it may invite an attack. Lee tells the commanders at Staunton and Lynchburg to send troops to reinforce Jackson as soon as possible. With supply problems at Lynchburg, Langhorne is directed to forward companies to their destination once ready and able to make the move, without waiting for them to be fully formed into regiments.25

Lee writes to Francis H. Smith relaying a request from Jackson to have a detachment of VMI cadets assigned to him at Harpers Ferry; Lee defers this decision to Smith, but requests that Smith let him know his decision so that he may notify Jackson accordingly. Lee announces his new authority over all Confederate forces in Virginia, and also Ruggles as commander of all troops around Fredericksburg and Jackson in charge of all troops at Harpers Ferry and Staunton; he publishes also the parameters for free travel on railroads, boats, etc. for official use. Custis is commissioned major of engineers in Virginia’s forces.26

May 11, Saturday (Richmond): Lee meets in