Autograph letter signed by Alfred Pleasonton, as Brigadier General, to General R.B. Marcy. Hayale's?, [Virginia], 13 August [1862]. 2 pages, 8vo. 

A remarkable wartime autograph letter signed by General Alfred Pleasonton (1824-1897) reporting on information provided to him by a contraband spy. 

Here, he writes to General Randolph B. Marcy (1812-1887), Chief of Staff to General George B. McClellan, with newly acquired information given to him by an unnamed contraband (a self-emancipated slave who fled to Union lines during the Civil War). 

In full: "I have just heard that the cavalry which has been serving on Malvern Hill has been changed. The regiment that was there belonged to the Georgia troops & has gone to Hanover Courthouse, most probably with Longstreet as he's a Georgian. The regiment now on the Hill is a Virginia one & it is said not as good as that which has left. This information comes thro' a contraband of Ladd's, & goes to confirm the report that Longstreet has moved away."

He continues in a postscript: "It is said the rebels have moved a considerable force to Hanover, if this be so, it shows they are uneasy for Jackson's rear from this army. This also comes thro' contraband."  

Pleasonton was at the time in command of the 2nd Brigade of the Cavalry Division in the Army of the Potomac, having just engaged in skirmishing near Malvern Hill. He would later lead his cavalry to notable successes, most prominently at the Battle of Gettysburg, where they distinguished themselves in action.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]

Repair to lower right edge of second leaf.