Cox' Mill Gilmer Co W>Va.
May 3rd 1864
W. Geo. W. Brown Q.M. General
Dr Sir,
I belong to a home guard called the Troy home guards John H Bush is capt.
Now sir I wish to inform you that the orderly & 2nd LT. has captured & sold from 80 to one hund dollars worth of Property. Which they are smuggling Towit | horse captured from Hiram Short & sold by orderly. Our mare & colt &[?] which the 2nd LT cried off last fall. If you will require the capt to investigate this & report the facts he will do it you will pleas not tell who reported this as I have a greatdeal of trouble with these thieves in this county. The capt did report to the Geol the horse had been captured from Short but [?] he [?]
Yours Respectfully
Geo. K. Cox
Transcription by Byron Holmes, undergraduate student enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Introduction to Public History" at West Virginia State University