ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, January 3,1861.
SIR: A picked company of eight non-commissioned officers and sixty privates, under First Lieutenant Roger Jones, mounted riflemen, has been ordered, without delay, to Harper's Ferry armory, Virginia, to report to you there. The Secretary of War directs that you repair to Harper's Ferry and assume the military command of the armory; that without making a display of your force, you so dispose it as to prevent the success of an attack upon the United States property there should one be attempted. The company will go without arms or accoutrements, but you will equip it from the stores in the armory. In your selection of the kind of arms for your command, you will be guided by circumstances which will appear to you readily, such as the manner in which the men have been drilled and the kind of arms disposable. If you do not find the proper ammunition there, make a requisition for it through this office and it will be sent from the arsenal in this city.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
S. COOPER,
Adjutant General.
Brevet Major H. J. HUNT,
Captain 2d Artillery, Washington, D. C.
WASHINGTON, January 14,1861.
COLONEL: In my letter of instructions from your office, dated January 3, it is stated that "The Secretary of War directs that you repair to Harper's Ferry and assume the military command of the armory; that without making a display of your force you so dispose it as to prevent the success of an attack upon the United States property there should one be attempted."
The regular force at my disposal is one officer and sixty men. Two Companies, composed of workmen in the armory, and numbering some 120 men, could probably be relied upon to assist in repelling any attack not authorized or countenanced by the State; if such attack should be authorized, many of the men would possibly join in it, and from the peculiarity of their position might surprise us in spite of any vigilance.
Shall I resist such an attack?
The armory is, in its present condition, from the nature and position of the buildings, almost entirely indefencible by a small force. The present garrison, if attacked by superior numbers, could only hope to defend, itself, and that for a limited time. To do this it would be necessary, besides other preparations, to take possession, when attacked, of one or more private buildings near and commanding the arsenal. It could not protect the public property against a well organized or persistent effort to capture it.
From the nature of my instructions, I have not considered it proper to make any of the usual military preparations for defence except to keep my command on the alert. Any measures to be at all effectual would be of such character as to excite the already feverish feeling of the neighborhood, and perhaps induce an attempt on the armory. I have, therefore, abstained from all such labors or acts as would serve to increase the present excitement.
As the two duties prescribed - to make no display, yet to take measures to prevent the success of an attack - would seem to be incompatible with each other, I respectfully request more definite instructions. I do not feel authorized, without such, to put the place in a defensive attitude, and unless this is done any defence, however destructive to either party, must be feeble. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
HENRY J. HUNT,
Brevet Major U. S. A., Captain 2d Artillery.
Colonel S. COOPER,
Adjutant General U. S. A.
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, January 16, 1861.
SIR: Your letter of the 14th instant has been submitted to the Secretary of War, and is now returned to this office with the following indorsement:
"WAR DEPARTMENT, January 16, 1861.
"Major Hunt will conform strictly to the instructions originally given him. His present command would not be available for purposes of defence, against any powerful organized force. It is desirable to avoid all needless irritation of the public mind, and in any effort to strengthen himself for the purpose of protecting the public property from any irregular unorganized assault, he will proceed quietly, so as to avoid all military display.
"J. HOLT,
"Secretary of War, ad interim."
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
S. COOPER,
Adjutant General.
Major H. J. HUNT,
United States army, Washington, D. C.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: January 1861