Unknown to Montgomery C. Meigs, August 15, 1865

Quartermaster-General U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.:

General: In compliance with General Orders, No. 39, Quartermas¬ ter-General’s Office, dated July 1, 1865, I have the honor to submit the following personal narrative of my services since July 1, 1864, accompaniecl by statements required therein :

On the 1st of July, 1864, I was on duty at City Point, Va., assisting Capt. P. P. Pitkin, assistant quartermaster and depot quartermaster at that point. On the 11th day of July I was assigned to duty as chief quartermaster Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, by com¬ mand of Lieutenant-General Grant; entered immediately on duty as ordered ; shipped the First and Third Divisions, Cavalry Corps, on board transports for Washington, D. C., and was soon after ordered by Gen¬ eral Sheridan, commanding, to join him at Harper’s Ferry, Ya. The order being approved by Lieutenant-General Grant, I immediately i:)roceeded to comply therewith. On my arrival at Harper’s Ferry I found General Sheridan’s headquarters at Winchester, Ya. I pro¬ ceeded to Winchester and reported to General Sheridan, when I was directed to report in person to General Torbert, chief of cavalry, as chief quartermaster of the cavalry. Middle Military Division; served in that capacity until the death of Colonel Tolies, chief quartermas¬ ter Middle Military Division, which position I retained until the division was dissolved. During my service as chief quartermaster of the cavalry the battles of the Opequon, of Winchester, and Fisher’s Hill were successfully fought, the cavalry taking a conspicuous part in all these engagements. No transportation or other public prop¬ erty of imporrance fell into the hands of the enemy. During my service as chief quartermaster of the Middle Military Division my attention was particularly attracted to the Army of the Shenandoah, numbering from 50,000 to 60,000 men. In consequence of the Win¬ chester and Potomac River Railroad having been entirely destroyed l^reviously, this large number of men, with some 26,000 animals, had to be sui3plied by teams from Martinsburg, W. Ya.

It will be seen that it was no small task to properly arrange the running of these large trains so that the army might not at any time be in need of subsistence, forage, or clothing. The large number of cavalry rendered the suj^ply of forage a difficult task, when it is taken into consideration that the army was in no position to be supplied by means of water transports.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was our only dependence, and great credit is due to the officers of the road for the manner in which supplies were forwarded, and for the promptness in complying with any demands of the commanding general relative to the movements of troops and supplies. It is also becoming in me to mention the effi¬ ciency of the chief quartermaster’s department. West Virginia, in supplying the army with forage. I am also indebted to Capt. James T. Wray, assistant quartermaster, then depot quartermaster at Martinsburg, for the interest manifested by him in the success of the army in the field, and for the manner in which the quartermaster’s depart¬ ment at Martinsburg was conducted by him. His duties were ardu¬ ous, but were discharged with ability and to my entire satisfaction.

Late in the month of November, 1864, the U. S. Military Railroad Department succeeded in completing the railroad from Harper’s Ferry to Stephenson’s Station, a point about five miles from Winchester, that being deemed by General Sheridan the most practicable point for the terminus of the road.

Field repair shops were here established under the immediate direc¬ tion of Capt. James T. Wray, assistant quartermaster, who had been ordered here from Martinsburg. These shops were calculated to keep thoroughly in repair all wagons and ambulances in the army, and to keep the animals well shod, so that in the spring, an active cam¬ paign being contemplated, on close inspection the transportation was found to be in as good condition as any in the field, and fit for any emergency.

It affords me great pleasure to testify to the untiring energy dis¬ played by Mr. O. I. I. Dorrance, the efficient superintendent of the road, and I can safely say that no effort was left unmade by him to answer promptly the requirements of the army to be supplied by the road.

This road being completed, the necessity of running large trains from Martinsburg to points in the field (sometimes 100 miles distant) was obviated, and the transportation of the army was permitted to recu¬ perate. After the successful series of battles in the fall of 1864 in the Shenandoah Valley, the veteran and distinguished Sixth Corps was again sent to the Army of the Potomac. This movement was conducted with celerity and reflects great credit on the Military Rail¬ road and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad companies. The trains belong¬ ing to the corps, which were in splendid condition, were sent via Fred¬ erick City, Md. , to W ashington, D. C. The Provisional Division of the army was then transferred to the Army of the James. No discredit can be attached to any one for the manner in which this movement was conducted. Later in the winter one division of the late Nine¬ teenth Army Corps was shipped en route for Savannah, Ga. , which movement was conducted with ability. That portion of the Army of West Virginia not including the cavalry was ordered along the Bal¬ timore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. The army to which my immediate attention was attracted was now composed only of the cav¬ alry-three divisions, numbering about 20,000 men and animals; one division of infantry, about 10,000 men, and six batteries of artillery. The great cavalry expedition under the command of Major-General Sheridan was now fitted out and on the 27th day of February started for the Army of the Potomac. All are conversant with the success which attended this expedition. The supply train of this command was sent to Washington. Soon after this expedition started, MajorGeneral Hancock being in command, four regiments of his First Army fall of Richmond and the surrender of the different armies of the rebellion having followed the united efforts of our commanding gen¬ eral, the anxiety for the success of our armies soon abated, and soon the mustering out of the troops comprising the army commenced. Every effort has been put forth since that time to curtail the expenses, and on the 30th of June, 1865, the Army of the Shenandoah numbered only 15,000 men, for the most part made up of infantry from the West¬ ern States, five regiments of cavalry, and five batteries of artillery.

I have been closely identified with this army since July, 1864, and it affords me great pleasure to say that I know of no officer of the Quartermaster’s Department in this army but that has rendered me every assistance in the discharge of my duties.

Having discharged my duties to the satisfaction of the command¬ ing general (as will be seen by General Sherman’s [Sheridan’s] letter), I sincerely trust that the same will meet with the approval of the department.

very respectfully, your most obedient servant, Lieutenant-Colonel and Quartermaster^ U. S. Volunteers,