Depot Quarter Masters Office
New Creek W Va April 15th 1864
Capt Geo W Harrison
A. Q. H. [?]
Cumberland, Md.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter enclosing one received by you from Capt Geo W Brown, Q. M. General of West Virginia, making inquiries in regard to some guns and ammunition shipped by him to Capt E.L. Harper, commanding a company of State Troops, and respectfully report:
What the boxes were received here sometimes in the latter part of Dec 1863, consigned to Mr John Hughes, who, I am informed, declined to receive them. After laying where unloaded from the cars for a week or ten days, they were placed in the Government warehouse by some of Capt Harper's men, on storage, and subject to the order of Capt Harper. Subsequently (perhaps a month later) I am informed by Mr William Forsyth, [?] the receiving and shipping clerk, that an order was presented to him purporting to be signed by Capt Harper, for the delivery of the ordinance [?] stores to the parties presenting the order, and that the guns and ammunition were so delivered and placed in a wagon by the parties presenting the order. Unfortunately the order has been mislaid, and cannot now be found. The stores are not now in possession of the Post
The information received by Capt Brown, as stated in his letter, that I "refused to deliver them to Capt Harper ," is certainly erroneous as will be seen by the accompanying statement signed by Capt Harper
Very Respectfully
Your Obt Sevt
H. S. Winants
Q. M. Agent
Transcription by Brittani Lynch, undergraduate student enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Introduction to Public History" at West Virginia State University