Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia
August 10, 1863
General S. Cooper,
Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, Va.:
General: General Imboden reports that on the 5th instant, General Kelley left Bunker Hill, in the vicinity of which he had been encamped, with his infantry force, for Romney. On the same evening about 9 p.m., General Averell, with his cavalry, started for Moorefield. This movement is believed to have been occasioned by a demonstration of Captain McNeill, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad west of Cumberland, to which point he had been directed to go about the 1st of August, with this view. No report has been received from Captain McNeill, but citizens from Hampshire informed General Imboden that Captain McNeill had had a fight near New Creek, in which he had been successful, with a loss of 4 men on our side. The route taken by General Averell may force Captain McNeill to retire, by the Dry Fork of Cheat, into Pendleton County, and thus some time must elapse before he can be heard from. General Imboden believes that the enemy has evacuated the valley south of Bunker Hill.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
R E Lee
General
Source: The War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 29, Part 2, pp. 632-633
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2019 April 2
