Depot, Telegraph and Express Offices:

Ewell's Station, Nashville & Decatur Railroad.

Post Office, Spring Hill, Maury Co., Tenn.

PRICES quoted in this

Letter subject to change , Spring Hill, Tenn.,......July 17-.....1886

without notice.

In reply to your letter of 14- inst.

Gen. Henry J. Hunt,

Washington, D.C.

Dear General,

I am much obliged by your prompt reply to my letter and particularly by the extracts from your article.

I notice one error - probably made in copying - in the transcript of the "points" in my letter to you, of which you retain the original. Under No. 10, it reads: "Ewell___had available___not over 800 (this should be 8,000) men"

The strength of Milroy at Winchester, as stated by you, is a surprise to me - or probably I misinterpret you in the following sentence: "Milroy's Federal Division, about 9000 strong, occupied winchester, with McReynolds' brigade in observation at Berryville". a few lines lowerit is mentioned that McReynolds, on Rodes' advance, withdrew to Winchester. We never estimated Milroy's strength at more than 6,000 of all arms - and were unaware that any considerable body of infantry succeeded in passing Johnson's blockade of the road. We knew that his cavalry & all who could get horses had made their way out. it was singular that we never suspected the retreat of anything like a body of troops toward hancock, at the time nor afterwards. Our underestimate of Milroy's force aided the darkness in covering the escape of these, as we thought all the organized infantry force had surrendered, and consequently made no systematic search for them.

Under point No. 8 in my letter, I should have added that Gordon was detached by Early, not by Ewell - a pointnot material to your narrative, of course.

I must thank you earnestly for the justice done to Ewell in your article. The extracts you send me are highly pleasing to my sense of justice and I discover nothing to change or cut out. It has always seemed to me that Gen. meade had scanty measure of praise from his own side for a well fought batle at Gettysburg and a capitally conducted campaign in Virginia the following winter - where lee failed to even hold his own at the Bristow Station & the Rappahannock bridge affairs.

I shall have my memoranda & narrative copied & return the originals to you, within a few days - so that they may certainly be at hand when needed.

With great respect I remain

Sincerely yours,

Campbell Brown

I have made memoranda on my narrative extracts, in reply to your queries in the margins. They will reach you in three of four days at the farthest, after this arrives.