Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889 to [Henry Knox Craig]

Written from "Camp near Warrenton Junction, Virginia." Discusses supplies, reservists and conscription. "There is a notable difference in the manner in which supplies are now furnished from that practiced after the battle of Antietam, the drag seems not to be on now…No sign of immediate action. I suppose that, unless we are attacked, we will be quiet until the conscripts begin to fill up our ranks…it has been directed that the Artillery receive no recruits until the Infantry is filled up…The neglect I almost may say antipathy to the artillery passes my comprehension." Has requested three times to be relieved from his position, as "General M" [possibily Meade] has not put him in command of artillery despite McClellan's confirmation that Hunt's job description calls for that authority and more. "The whole mischief comes from a want of knowledge of organization of Armies - what 'command' means…and a fancied interference with their function." The question as to whether or not Hunt was formally in command of artillery at this time would come back to haunt him. Much of the later correspondence in this archive relates to that issue. Craig, former chief of Washington, D.C.'s ordnance bureau and a brevet brigadier general, was Hunt's father-in-law.