Richmond, Va., January 4, 1864
General R. E. Lee,
Commanding Army of Northern Virginia:
General: Your letter of 2d received. The Commissary-General of Subsistence has ordered some 90,000 pounds of salt meat from Wilmington for your army. He has no knowledge of the droves of cattle referred to. The emergency justifies impressment from stock on hand for year’s consumption by private parties and corporations of so much as is required for immediate use of army. This should be done so as to be most equal and least odious. The progress on the boats of the Neuse and Roanoke is slow and too uncertain to fix a date for completion. Your suggestion is approved, but who can and will execute it? You could give it form, which would insure success, but without your personal attention I fear such failures as have elsewhere been suffered. It would be well to send the brigade, and if circumstances permit, you had better go down; otherwise, I will go myself, though it could only be for a very few days, Congress being in session.
Very respectfully and truly, yours,
Jefferson Davis
Source: The War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 33, p. 1064
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2018 January 2
