Kelley, Benjamin Franklin (1807-1891) to Eliakim P. Scammon
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01903 Author/Creator: Kelley, Benjamin Franklin (1807-1891) Place Written: Clarksburg, Virginia Type: Manuscript telegram Date: 5 July 1863 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 22 x 14 cm. Order a Copy
States that Union General Henry W. Halleck reported that the captured dispatches between Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee shows that there is no rebel force left between Lee's Army and Richmond, Virginia. Orders that Scammon "...at once organize a force and send it to cut the Virginia and Tennesse Rail Road." Advises to use his judgment as to the best point to do this and to send a reliable officer to command. U.S. Military Telegraph marked "Cifer," [Cypher] on front. Recipient's copy. Docketed by Scammon. Kelley signs as Brigadier General. Written the day after Gettysburg.
Scammon was commissioned colonel of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in June 1861. He was promoted to brigadier general October 15, 1862 and commanded the District of Kanawha until February 3, 1864 when he was captured and held as a prisoner of war until August 3, 1864. In the last months of the war, he commanded the District of Florida.
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