Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia,
December 3, 1862
Lieut. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson,
Commanding Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia:
General: I find, from a report just received from General Pendleton, that, deducting the batteries in the general reserve artillery, composed of Colonel Cutts’ and Major Nelson’s battalions, and consisting of six companies, which are for general service, that there are one hundred and twenty-seven pieces of artillery in your corps and one hundred and seventeen pieces in General Longstreet’s. In your corps there are fifty-two rifles, eighteen Napoleons, and fifty-seven smooth-bores. In General Longstreet’s, forty-six rifles, thirteen Napoleons, and fifty-eight smooth-bores. General D. H. Hill’s division, in your corps, has no Napoleon guns; neither have General Anderson’s, General McLaws’, and General Ransom’s, in Longstreet’s corps; but General A. P. Hill’s division, in your corps, has eight Napoleons, General Early six, General Jones three, and Colonel Brown’s battalion one. You will, therefore, be able, by a proper distribution of Napoleon and rifle guns in your corps, to give General D. H. Hill a fair proportion, and I recommend that this be done. The four particular Napoleons which General D. H. Hill desires, and which, he says, were captured by him at the battle of Seven Pines, I understand were assigned to the Louisiana battery, whether by my order or General Longstreet’s I now do not remember; but if it will be more pleasing to General Hill to have those guns than others, I know of no objections to their being exchanged, provided you send four Napoleons from your corps to replace them. General Hill has been anxious to get these guns, and I am desirous to gratify him, and will see General Longstreet on the subject.
I observe, from General Pendleton’s report, that more of the captured guns are in your corps than in General Longstreet’s.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant.
R E Lee
General
Source: The War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 21, pp. 1043-1044
Transcribed by Colin Woodard, 2018 January 16
