which ought to have been saved, that it was in each and every instance because of violations of my express orders; and upon the whole I aver further that for raw troops, unofficered and unorganized, in various detachments, at distances not supporting each other, in front of a foe more than double their number, the retreat was creditable. My reasons for concurring in the orders, to retreat are to be found in my letters to General Lee, of August 1, 1861* (dated at Bunger's Mill, 4 miles west of Lewisburg), and August 4, from the White Sulphur Springs, the latters I was caused to report to General Lee an error as to the number of desertions from the State volunteers. Many of the officers and men who were reported as deserters had received written furloughs, unknown to me, from some of their commanding officers.

The main confusion and difficulty in retreating from the Kanawha was owing to the erroneous impression which most of the men had taken up that they were not bound to march out of the valley of the Kanawha or to fight elsewhere than there, which idea was both inculcated and encouraged by many of their officers, several of whom ultimately tendered their resignations, and were obviously bent on impairing if not breaking up my command. Happily their efforts had no effect upon the Legion, but only upon a few of the State volunteers, and the two regiments of Colonels Tompkins and McCausland were reduced to less than 400 men each, while the Legion was unimpaired except by measles and typhoid fever, but the most of the men of the State volunteers proved ultimately to be pure patriots and proud soldiers. Most continued on duty,a nd many who were said ot have deserted returned to duty after the expiration of furloughs actually received; but both Colonel Tompkins' command and mine, both the legion and the State volunteers, were extremely worn and worsted by two months of excessively hard service. When they arrived at the White Sulpur they had worn-out everything and were supplied with nothing, and required at least one month for refreshment and refitting. The infantry and artillery alone were taken there, and the cavalry, under Colonel Davis, was left as a rear guard of the passes from Fayetteville, Gauley, and Summersville. The cavalry alone, with other precautions, effectually checked the advance of the enemy; all of which was approved by General Lee in his letter dated Huntersville, August 5. It was here, at the White Sulphur, that both Colonel Tompkins and myself hoped and implored to be permitted to refit our commands.

During all this time that our forces were worn and torn by the service for more than sixty days General Floyd was raising his command and fitting it out with every supply he could procure, and at last, when he arrived at the White Sulphur, he brought with him less than 1, 200 men, all told. He required us, panting with the fatigue of service, to hasten back over grinding roads, over which our men had just marched almost barefooted, almost shiftless, and quite tentless. His very first approach to my command was nothing lees than one of reproach, which, in manner as well as substance, was wounding to those who had been doing their utmost to serve the cause of the State and of the Confederacy. He had not re-enforced us in the valley of the Kanawha, but required me, tattered and torn by service, to turn upon an ordered retreat and to re-enforce him, with but two regiments under his command. I begged for delay. I protested against the necessity of hurrying unsupplied and unprovided men back to a fruitless contest

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*In Chap. IX, Vol. II, of this series, p. 1011.

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