Stonewall Jackson's Chief of Commissary

Item CON-59

Description

Original Civil War dated, 2 page document, written in period ink by Major Wells J. Hawks. Hawks initially served with the 2nd Virginia Infantry and then served on General Stonewall Jackson's staff as Chief of Commissary. Later he served on the staffs of Confederate Generals: Ewell, Early and Lee.

Document Reads:

Subsistence Department
Guinea Station

March 17th 1863

Colonel,

Captain Lock and myself have made out the following statement of the number of mills, their capacity and distance from county town, as correctly as possible from the information we could obtain.

I am satisfied that our estimate of the quantity of wheat in Jefferson and Clarke is not too high. And of wheat in the other counties could gain no reliable information too. Beef & bacon in small quantities could be found in all these counties. More in Loudon than any other Jefferson and Clarke have but few cattle and not more than nine hundred head and the bacon for sale.

I hear some of the farmers are selling their wheat in small quantities in Baltimore.

Jefferson County: 20 mills: capacity 400 bushels per day and all within 12 miles of Charlestown, the county seat.
Clarke County: 6 mills: capacity 150 bushels per day, within 10 miles of Bennyville, the county seat.
Berkley and Frederick have plenty of milling capacity, but the wheat nearly exhausted.

Rappahannock County:

1 mill at Washington, county town: capacity 15 bushels.
3 mills at Flint Hill.
Hart’s Mill: 4 miles from Jefferson
Hill Mill: 6 miles from Jefferson
Smith & Browning: 6 miles from Jefferson
John Jett: 10 miles from Amassville on Warrenton and Ashbyville L. Pike.
Smith’s Mill

Fauquier County:

Oak Hill Mill: 4 miles from Salem
Gap Run Mills: 5 miles from Salem
Triplett’s Mill: 5 miles from Salem

Loudoun County:

Benton and Punn’s Mill: 3 miles from Middleburg
Clifton Mills: 6 miles from Middleburg
Jonathan Evers Mills: 10 miles from Aldie
Mill at Aldie
Asa Lamay: 7 miles from Leesburg
Taylor’s Mill: 10 miles from Leesburg
Ever’s Mill: 12 miles from Leesburg
Chamblin’s Mill: 12 miles from Leesburg
Houser’s Mill on road to H. P. from Leesburg
Beau’s Mill on road to H. P. from Leesburg
Wheatland on road to H. P. from Leesburg
Waterford Mills on road to H. P. from Leesburg
Calwell’s Mills on road to H. P. from Leesburg
Taylor Town Mills: near Point of Rocks
2 mills near Leesburg
These mills range from 15 to 30 bushels per day.

I think there is 200,000 bushels bushels wheat in Jefferson County and 100,000 bushels in Chamberlain over and above what is needed for the citizens.

Very respectfully,

W. J. Hawks
Major
2nd Corps

To Colonel R. G. Cole
Chief, Comm. A.N.V.