(1834 - 1907) Union brigadier general who saw action at the Battles of Corinth and Port Gibson as well as in the Vicksburg and Red River campaigns. Fine military content, war date A.L.S., 2pp. 8vo., Holly Springs, MS, [ca. November, 1862], to an unnamed general, most likely Charles S. Hamilton, reporting a recent skirmish with Confederates and his attempts to communicate with Sherman. In full: ‘I sent a party through to find Genl Sherman last night. Missing roads they but just returned. Enclosed I send you his communication [not present]. I shall wait here with part of my cavalry for the guns & then move cautiously as you suggest. In yesterdays fight only one of our men wounded, lost a couple of fingers & has a hole in his arm. Among the killed of rebels is a Captain, [uncl.] He wears a good uniform, sabre &c, 3 bars on his collar. From 5 to 9 beside him were killed, reports ranging, I guess 5 the most certain. No disturbance of our pickets last night. Let me hear from you this morning if anything new has transpired on your ‘back side’, the cold water.’ He boldly signs ‘A. L. Lee’ in pencil, adding a postscript: ‘P.S. Do you see, Sherman dates his letter, & talks of, Sunday, today is Saturday by my calendar.’ Shows original mailing folds, with archival tape mounting remnants on the verso, otherwise in fine condition overall. Holly Springs was the site of a temporary supply depot and headquarters for the forces of Ulysses S. Grant during the Vicksburg Campaign. Because of this it was the site of multiple Confederate raids trying to disrupt the Union supply lines, the most notable one occurring on Dec. 20, 1862, when Confederate general Earl Van Dorn attacked with three columns of cavalry. He succeeded in destroying approximately 1.5 million dollars' worth of supplies and captured 1,500 prisoners. This event as well as Nathan Bedford Forrest's raids into Western Tennessee ultimately forced Grant to retreat and prolong his campaign.