Winchester, June 14th.   
My dear mother:         [1861] 
 We left Staunton on last Wednesday and arrived here yesterday evening all well safe and sound.  I do not know when we will leave here; I expect we will remain some time but do not know.  The Rockbridge Companies came here this morning, except Capt. Pendleton's, which will come this evening.  All were glad to see us.  As soon as they heard that the company was here our quarters were full of their men, everyone asking a thousand questions and giving time for no answers.   
 There are about 5000 men here and more are on their way, they are coming from Harpers Ferry as fast as they can, it will be evacuated soon and blown up.  The men as fast as they leave bring away 
 
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as much as they can and what they cannot bring they are ordered to burn.  Gen. Johnson will be here this evening.  The cause of evacuation is not known but the troops here from there think it is because the Federal troops will not attack it as long as we have troops there and there are now these 35,000 men doing nothing whom they intend to send west.  The ROckbridge companies leave this evening for the west. 
 The Federal troops came to Romney, the county seat of Hampshire, in order to cut off the supplies from Harpers Ferry which come from here. 
 As we were coming here some man came galloping up to the wagons saying that the Federal troops were about two miles off and were advancing upon this 
 
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place.  We were soon formed and came up towards Winchester at a double quick, guns loaded and ready for a fight or run as soon as we saw the enemy, but no enemy came and we sat down nearby, given out, having run about one and half miles.  The Rockbridge cavalry, Capt. White, were stationed in Berkley County.  They had several skirmishes with the enemy.  Greenlee, who was at college this year, shot one Yankee, Bob Estill shot another, another of the company shot three.  The Yankees killed nary one of our men, they say they shoot about ten feet above their head.   
 We have very good fare here today; a Captain Roberts who joined us at Staunton opened a box which was sent to him and 
 
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invited all hands to help themselves.  We were all standing around expecting something good when he got the lid off; it would have done you good to see them fall back – such a scent as arose from that box, all the dead horses in Reid's Cedars was not a patching, they had put in a chicken which had spoilt all the things in the box – cake, biscuit, strawberries and all sort of good things.  All well, Good bye,  Ted