Washington, and I send a special messenger to apprise you of this fact that you may be on your guard and take this force into consideration with others that may be brought to oppose you.

In your further operations you must of course be guided by the circumstances by which you are surrounded, and the information you may be able to collect, and must not consider yourself committed to any particular line of conduct, but be governed by your good judgment. Should you find yourself obliged, in consequence of the forces opposed to you, to return to the south side of the Potomac, you can take advantage of the fords east of the Blue Ridge, keeping your cavalry well to your front and causing them to retire by fords between you and Washington. In the event of your recrossing the Potomac, your route through Loudoun will facilitate the procurement of provisions, forage, &c., for your command, and will be otherwise most advantageous, giving you a strong country through which to pass, and enabling you, if pressed, to retire into the Valley and threaten and hang upon the enemy's flank should he push on toward Richmond.

I recommend that you have the fords of the Potomac examined by a competent officer, and held by a small force of cavalry or infantry, as you may deem most advisable. I can tell you nothing further of the expedition mentioned to you in my letter of the 3rd instant than was stated in that letter, having heard nothing from it since, except that the subject was a matter of general conversation in Richmond, which may tend to frustrate it.

You can retain the special messenger until you may wish to send him back for any purpose. I need not state to you the advantage of striking at the bodies of troops that may be collected to oppose you in detail before they are enabled to united. None of the forces that I have mentioned, nor any reported in the Northern papers as being likely to oppose you, will be able in my opinion to resist you, provided you can strike them before they are strengthened by others. Should you hear of the near approach of General Hunter, and can strike at him before he is re-enforced by troops from the east, you can easily remove that obstacle from your path, in my opinion.

Trusting you and our cause to the care of a merciful Providence, I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,

General.

GENERAL ORDERS,
HEADQUARTERS VALLEY DISTRICT, Numbers --.
July 15, 1864.

All officers of this army who have drawn pay in Federal currency will immediately refund the same to the quartermaster from whom it was drawn.

By command of Lieutenant General J. A. Early:

A. S. PENDLETON,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS VALLEY DISTRICT,
July 15, 1864.

Major-General BRECKINRIDGE:

GENERAL: The order of march for to-morrow is: First, Gordon's division in front, accompanied by King's battalion of artillery;