LEE WRITES TO FLOYD AS HE ENDS THE ILL-FATED KANAWHA VALLEY CAMPAIGN, HIS CAUTION IN WESTERN VIRGINIA A NOTABLE CONTRAST TO HIS LEGENDARY BATTLEFIELD AUDACITY 

I advised you in my letter of the 20th of the necessity of the return of the troops under Genl Loring to the Huntersville line, & of the withdrawal of the line Legion to this place....I shall visit the Hospitals at Lewisburg & the White Suppler to day & proceed thence to Richmond....

Autograph letter signed by General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) to General John B. Floyd (1806-1863), Commanding Army of Kanawha. 29 October 1861. "Hd Qrs: M Bluff." [Meadow Bluff, (West) Virginia]. 2pp, 4to. Circular stamp to recto "War Records / Copied / 1861-1865." 

Though Robert E. Lee is remembered today for tactical brilliance and battlefield prowess even when significantly outnumbered by Union forces, this 1861 letter reflects a commander who is resolved to a retreat from engagement and deeply concerned for the welfare of his troops.

Following Virginia's secession ordinance (17 April 1861), Lee assumed command of all Virginia state forces while simultaneously Virginians in the largely non-slaveholding, mountainous areas in the northwest of the state sought to solidify their place in the Union. The battle to secure western Virginia would soon commence. Union forces under General George B. McClellan entered the western portion of the state to prevent Confederate occupation and secure key transportation infrastructure. Generals John B. Floyd and Henry A. Wise were placed in charge of Confederate troops in the Kanawha Valley region. General Robert E. Lee was sent to oversee the three-month campaign which culminated in a defeat for Lee at the Battle of Cheat Mountain. 

From September 12-15, 1861, Lee's Confederate forces attempted to surround the Union garrison atop Cheat Mountain, but the main attack was never launched, in part due to poor communication among Confederate commands. In the aftermath of the battle, Lee departed Cheat Mountain ultimately arriving at Meadow Bluff, (West) Virginia, on 21 September 1861, and assuming the command of the Confederate forces then operating under General John B. Floyd. Another planned Confederate offensive at Big Sewell Mountain was cancelled due to poor weather, impassable roads, and low supplies. Lee then returned to Meadow Bluff on 21 October 1861 and remained there until October 29th, the day he wrote this letter.

The letter reads, in full:

"I advised you in my letter of the 20th of the necessity of the return of the troops under Genl Loring [Brig. Gen. William Wing Loring] to the Huntersville line, & of the withdrawal of the line Legion to this place.

The latter force with Col. Clarkes regt: N.C. Vols: [Colonel William J. Clarke, 14th North Carolina Volunteers] are here encamped. All the sick requiring Hospital treatment, belonging to the troops operating in this valley, have been sent to the Hospitals. A portion of the Mississippi regt: Col Russells [Col. Daniel R. Russell, 20th Mississippi Infantry], is encamped here, & reported by the attending physician as doing well. The sick at the Blue Sulphur are improving, some deaths have occurred there, & the Hospital is badly managed. I gave in a visit to it, all necessary instructions, but the difficulty lies in the execution of orders. There is no proper person in charge. Lt Col Venable [likely Lt. Col. Thomas Brown Venable, 24th North Carolina Infantry] was absent.

I shall visit the Hospitals at Lewisburg & the White Sulphur to day & proceed thence to Richmond, I have endeavored to find a better encamping ground than this at this season of the year, & one more defensible with the present force, but have not succeeded. The scarcity of water is the obstacle. There is a full supply of provisions for the troops & I have sent back the wagons to bring up all the clothing that may be at Jacksons river for the regts: here stationed.

Col. J. Lucius Davis [Virginia 10th Cavalry] is in command of the troops, who is directed to keep you advised of occurrences." Signed "RE Lee / Genl Commg."

Lee's letter to Floyd hints at some of the obstacles that proved disastrous to his first campaign: flooding rains, muddy quagmires, limited provisions, and disease among the troops. The intentionality of his visits to multiple hospitals suggests a commander deeply concerned with the well-being of his injured soldiers; while his discussion of the encampment location and available provisions suggests a pragmatic commander who was resigned to retreat from the Kanawha Valley. In the wake of his defeat at Cheat Mountain and inability to launch a Confederate offensive, Lee was recalled to Richmond by Confederate President Jefferson Davis having achieved little in western Virginia. He departed the day after he wrote this letter.

Southern newspapers questioned Lee's caution during the Kanawha Valley Campaign, mocking him with the nickname "Granny Lee." An editorial in the Richmond Examiner argued that Lee had been "outwitted, outmaneuvered, and outgeneraled." Meanwhile, the Union maintained its hold on western Virginia. On 24 October 1861, western Virginians voted overwhelmingly to secede from Virginia and form a new state. Statehood became official on 20 June 1863 when West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the 35th state. Lee went on to take command of the Army of Northern Virginia in June 1862. In February 1862, Floyd took command of Fort Donelson in northwestern Tennessee. Fearing capture and arrest for treason, Floyd fled the fort on 17 February with his second-in-command leaving General Simon B. Buckner to surrender over 13,000 troops and the fort to General Ulysses S. Grant. President Davis relieved Floyd of command on 11 March 1862.

A historic letter exemplifying a realistic and sympathetic commander, one who had not yet earned the reputation as one of the war's most skilled tacticians.

This letter comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from John Reznikoff, University Archives. 

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