26 June ‘64
Camp Petersburg
I recd to day dear Mary your note of yesterday with the clothes. I return in the bag my flannel drawers which please have put in my trunk. I have plenty of socks for the present. I hope it is not as hot in Richmond as here. It is perfectly stifling & then the dust is so dense that the atmosphere is distressing. The men suffer a great deal in the trenches & this condition of things with the extreme heart of the sun may put an end to military operations. I recd a kind letter from Dr Peyton1 to day saying they were all well in his neighborhood. A dispatch from F[itzhugh] to day states he had attacked the enemys cavy near Staunton river on the Danville road & driven them till dark. They had been repulsed at the river & turned down the stream. I hope all was well with him. This makes the third attack he has made upon them since they started on this raid.2
I shall continue to hope to see you before your departure. If I do not I shall with confidence commit you & my dear daughters to the hands of our merciful father in heaven with the firm belief that he will order all things for the best for us, both in this world & the next. May he have mercy on us all & specially guard & protect you. Give much love to the girls & believe me always yours & as ever yours
R E Lee
P.S. All that I can do for Mr Williams is to be represent his case to Col: Ould, which I will do.
1. See Lee’s letter of 1864 March 27 to his wife.
2. The Battle of Staunton River Bridge, fought in Randolph, Virginia, on 1864 June 25. The Confederates inflicted 116 casualties, while suffering only 34 of their own. The battle took place about 94 miles southwest of downtown Petersburg. The fighting was part of the Wilson-Kautz Raid, lasting from June 22-July 1, in which the Union unsuccessfully tried to cut rail links between Lynchburg and Petersburg.
Source: Transcribed from photocopy of original letter, Lee Family Papers, Mss1 L 51 c 529, Section 26, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2021 September 24
