[Civil War]. Confederate Brigadier General George H. Steuart Autograph Letter Signed "Geo. H. Steuart." Three pages (of a bifolium), 5" x 8", Winchester, Virginia; September 25, 1862. Letter from Steuart to Colonel H. B. Davidson (1831-1899), commander of the Confederate military post at Staunton, Virginia, concerning stragglers and needed supplies for troops. "Colonel I heard this morning with great pleasure you are in command at Staunton, having been under the impression there was no commanding officer at that point. I am endeavoring in every way to stop the stragglers from the army, but there are a great many who are wandering about the country, and manage to pass around this place. If you have any forces at your command, could you not manage to stop them before reaching Staunton? I allow no officer, soldier, or citizen to leave here without a pass signed by my Provost Marshall.... Do you know whether there is a Provost Marshall at any of the towns on the road between this and Staunton? I suspect you will find a number of the stragglers will try to pass around Staunton making for Lynchburg, Charlottesville and other places. We are endeavoring to have bread baked here for troops passing through. If you could do the same, it would greatly facilitate matters.... Cooking utensils are scarce, and the men have great difficulty to cook their rations. A supply of shoes is greatly needed. General Lee has directed me to push forward all recruits, and detachments of troops as rapidly as possible. I send this by my Brigade Quarter Master Major Charles A. Harding, and I hope you will give him every facility in procuring the articles he is sent for. You will greatly oblige me by communicating as often as you deem necessary any information relative to troops coming from Staunton, and to other matters." George Hume Steuart (1828-1903) served thirteen years in the U.S. Army before resigning his commission at the start of the Civil War. He joined the Confederate States Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the Army of Northern Virginia. Wounded at Cross Keys on June 8, 1862, Steuart was out of the war for almost a year while recovering from a shoulder injury. He was reassigned to Robert E. Lee's army shortly before the Battle of Gettysburg. Steuart was captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, and exchanged in the summer of 1864. He held a command in the Army of Northern Virginia for the remainder of the war. Steuart was among the officers with General Lee when he surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Condition: Letter has the usual folds; otherwise good. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved