Robert E. Lee, as Confederate General

Letter signed ("R E Lee | Genl Commg"), 1 page (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 248 x 196 mm) on, "Head Quarters Va. Forces," Richmond, 3 June 1861, to Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding at Harper's Ferry; some staining in lower corners and left and right margins.

Letter signed ("R E Lee | Genl Commg"), 1 page (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 248 x 196 mm) on, "Head Quarters Va. Forces," Richmond, 3 June 1861, to Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding at Harpers Ferry; some staining in lower corners and left and right margins.
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As North and South position themselves for war, Lee details the initial deployment of Confederate troops to his second in command: "As regards Harper's Ferry, its abandonment would be depressing to the cause of the South."

On 18 April 1861—the same day that R. E. Lee declined Lincoln's offer of command of the United States armies—the Federal arsenal and armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, was abandoned and set fire to by Union troops. (This was of course the same arsenal where a year and half earlier Lee had quashed John Brown's ill-planned slave insurrection.) Confederate troops under Joe Johnston were able to salvage many arms, rifle and pistol parts, and ammunition rounds, as well as the machinery needed to manufacture more weapons. However, the region around Harper's Ferry was staunchly pro-Union—it formed part of the area that entered the United States as the free state of West Virginia in 1863—and Johnston had evidently indicated to Lee that his troops should fall back from their position at the former federal arsenal. Lee's response explains his reluctance to adopt this course of action:

"I have received your letter of the 1st enclosing report from Col. Allen and a paper in relation to affairs near Grafton. In reference to the last, the latest reports received from Col. Porterfield are more favorable than the report from Col. Allen. A party has been ordered to secure the road at Cheat River and East of it, which I hope will effectively prevent its use.

"As regards Harper's Ferry, its abandonment would be depressing to the cause of the South. And I have thought it possible that you might detach a portion of your force towards Martinsburg, the occupation of which or a point on the Ofequan [Creek], would strengthen your posts in front of Williamsport, and at Shepherdstown. In addition to the 1st Tennessee Regiment, a Regiment from Georgia has been ordered to join you."

The Confederate reinforcements, however, could not overcome the combination of local sentiment and the 20,000 Union troops that General McClellan brought into the region. In September Lee himself attempted to wrest control of western Virginia from the North, but he was repulsed at Cheat Mountain by General Joseph J. Reynolds. Lee's "first campaign," wrote Freeman, "had ended ingloriously" (Lee 1:574).