December 3, 1862 (Wednesday): Jackson's Guns

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, December 3, 1862.
Lieutenant General THOMAS J. JACKSON,
Commanding Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia:
GENERAL: I find, from a report just received from General Pendleton, that, deducting the batteries in the general reserve artillery, composed of Colonel Cutt's and Major Nelson's battalions, and consisting of six companies, which are for general service, that there are one hundred and twenty-seven pieces of artillery in your corps and one hundred and seventeen pieces in General Longstreet's. In your corps there are fifty-two rifles, eighteen Napoleons, and fifty-seven smooth-bores. In General Longstreet's, forty-six rifles, thirteen Napoleons, and fifty-eight smooth-bores. General D. H. Hill's division, in your corps, has no Napoleon guns; neither have General Anderson's, General McLaws', and General Ransom's, in Longstreet's, in Longstreet's corps; but General A. P. Hill's division, in your corps, has eight Napoleons, General Early six, General Jones three, and Colonel Brown's battalion one. You will, therefore, be able, by a proper distribution of Napoleon and rifle guns in your corps, to give General D. H. Hill a fair proportion, and I recommend that this be done. The four particular Napoleons which General D. H. Hill desires, and which, he says, were captured by him at the battle of Seven Pines, I understand were assigned to the Louisiana battery, whether by my order or General Longstreet's I now do not remember; but if will be more pleasing to General Hill to have those guns than others, I know of no objections to their being exchanged, provided you send four Napoleons from your corps to replace them. General Hill has been anxious to get these guns, and I am desirous to graffify him, and will see General Longstreet on the subject.
    I observe, from General Pendleton's report, that more of the captured guns are in your corps that in General Logstreet's.
    I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,


    R. E. LEE,
    General.

HDQRS. SECOND CORPS, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, December 3, 1862.
General R. E. LEE,
Commanding Army of Northern Virginia:
GENERAL: Your letter of this date, recommending that I distribute the rifle and Napoleon guns so as "to give General D. H. Hill a fair proportion," has been received. I respectfully request, if any such distribution is to be made, that you will direct your chief of artillery or some other officer to do it; but I hope that none of the guns which belonged to the Army of the Valley, before it became part of the Army of Northern Virginia, after the battle of Cedar Run, will be taken from it. If since that time any artillery has improperly come into my command, I trust that it will be taken away, and the person in whose possession it may be found punished, if his conduct requires it. So careful was I do prevent any improper distribution of the artillery and other public property captured at Harper's Ferry, that I issued a written order directing my staff officers to turn over to the proper chiefs of staff of the Army of Northern Virginia all captured stores. A copy of the order* is herewith inclosed.
    General D. H. Hill's artillery wants existed at the time he was assigned to my command, and it is hoped that artillery which belonged to the Army of the Valley will not be taken to supply his wants.
     I am, general, your obedient servant,


    T. J. JACKSON,
    Lieutenant-General.

*Not found.

Official Records, Series I., Vol. 21, Part 1, Page 1044.

Jackson is an interesting character study.  Although now a corp commander in the Army of Northern Virginia, his interest and affections obviously still tend toward his Army of the Valley.  Ironically, he is reluctant to turn guns over to D. H. Hill, who was his brother-in-law.  What pains Jackson most is his belief he has carefully followed procedure in allocating guns which came into his possession at Harper's Ferry.  It seems he is taking a mundane request and making it a federal case, or at the minimum, a Confederate case.