Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia,
Near Fredericksburg, November 25, 1862
His Excellency President Davis:
Mr. President: I have endeavored for some time to avoid the necessity of pursuing the course I am now about to take; but the representations of the division commanders under whom Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Drayton has served in this army have been so frequent, and those of General Longstreet so urgent, that I can no longer hesitate. General Drayton’s brigade has been a source of delay and embarrassment from the time the army left Richmond. At Manassas it could not be got into the battle. At South Mountain and Sharpsburg it broke to pieces. I do not mean to charge this as the fault of General Drayton; but, in addition, he does not seem able to keep up the organization of his brigade. The colonels of his regiments are absent, and he cannot keep his staff together; so it is reported by General Longstreet. He is a gentleman, and in his own person a soldier, but seems to lack the capacity to command. His brigade has been changed from one division to another more than once. At one time he was under General D. R. Jones, from whom I received frequent complaints. Then I placed it under General McLaws, who says it cannot operate as at present organized. General Longstreet says the service of the brigade as it now stands is lost to the army. I am compelled, therefore, to make a change, and wish to do it in the manner least disagreeable to General Drayton, for whom I feel great friendship. The brigade is composed partly of Georgia and partly of South Carolina troops. I propose to assign the regiments to brigades composed of troops from the respective States of each, and give Genera Drayton leave of absence for thirty days, at the end of which I hope some duty may be found for him in the South or Southwest, which he may be able to perform with advantage to the service.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R E Lee,
General
Source: The War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 21, pp. 1029-1030
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2017 December 26
