1864 CONFEDERATE MANUSCRIPT FIELD ORDER By MAJOR RANDOLPH re: BATTLE OF PIEDMONT

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1864 CONFEDERATE MANUSCRIPT FIELD ORDER By MAJOR RANDOLPH re: BATTLE OF PIEDMONT:
$217.50

Exceptionally rare and fascinating, original May 30th, 1864 Autograph Letter / Field Communication / Appointment Document written and signed by Confederate Civil War Major Beverley Randolph giving Colonel (previously General) Kenton Harper command of \"all forces to be raised by my order today\". The Manuscript Document confers the command of a regiment raised from reservist companies located in the Shenandoah Valley known as the Valley Reserves. Kenton Harper led them during the Valley Campaigns of 1864, taking part in the Battle of Piedmont on June 5–6, and then the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia on March 2, 1865. Harper\'s command was routed during both of these Confederate defeats.

This Confederate Manuscript Order / Appointment came to us as part of a small archive of Confederate, Civil War Documents and Letters belonging to Confederate General Kenton Harper who commended the Valley Reserves at the battle of Piedmont.

This wonderful piece of Confederate communication is written on a single sheet of paper that measures approx. 7 3/4” by 5”. The original communication was written signed and issued by Confederate Major Beverley Randolph who, at the time was in charge of the ordnance stores at Staunton, Virginia. This Letter was written just 6 days before the troops under Kenton Harper would fight to defend their city at the Battle of Piedmont. The Letter is dated May 30th, 1864 from “Hd Qrs Staunton\". It reads in full:

“Col. Kenton Harper will take command of all forces to be raised by my order of today - He will assemble + organize them by eight o\'clock tomorrow morning or as soon thereafter as possible at the Court House, preparatory to joining Brig. Gen\'l. J.D. Imboden, Comdr. Valley District.

B. Randolph
Maj. Comdg\"

After the Confederate defeat at New Market, the majority of the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley joined the Army of Northern Virginia, leaving only Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden\'s brigade and the Valley Reserves under the command of (newly re-commissioned) now Colonel Kenton Harper (previously General of the Virginia Militia) to confront Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter and his vastly superior force who were intent on capturing the towns at this important crossing of the North River. Imboden kept Robert E. Lee informed of Hunter\'s movements, but could do little to slow Hunter with his meager forces. Hunter set his sights on Staunton, an important railroad and logistics center for the Confederacy. Hunter’s forces arrived in the area on June 3rd, 1864 and 2 days later the Confederate forces were routed at the Battle of Piedmont. The Order offered here was certainly issued in an effort to asses the strength of the Division following the Battle.

This very rare, original Civil War Manuscript Document is in very good condition. The Sheet has vertical creases as folded and sent to Kenton Harper. The manuscript text is dark and bold and easily readable and the sheet is generally clean and crisp.

The Letter came to us with a small collection of Civil War documents from and relating to Confederate General Kenton Harper and all of the manuscript and the signature are unconditionally guaranteed to be original and written in the hand of Confederate Major Beverley Randolph.

A VERY rare and fascinating, original, 1864 Autograph Letter / Field Communication / Appointment Document written and signed by Confederate Civil War Major Beverley Randolph giving Colonel (previously General) Kenton Harper command of the Valley Reserves just prior to the Battle of Piedmont and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

Kenton Harper (1801 – December 25, 1867) was an American printer, soldier, town mayor, banker, newspaper editor, and legislator. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War and later as a Confederate general officer during the American Civil War. He also reportedly played a role in the nicknaming of Stonewall Jackson.

During the Mexican War, Harper was a captain in the 1st Virginia Infantry, commanding the volunteer company from Augusta County that served in the northern frontier of Mexico. However he never saw combat and returned home to muster out in August 1848. Harper then was appointed acting inspector general of his brigade, and later was the military governor of Parras in the Mexican state of Coahuila. From 1851 to 1852, he was the United States agent to the Chickasaws at Fort Washita in the Indian Territory. After the war, Harper served as the assistant U.S. Secretary of the Interior in Washington, D.C. He also was appointed a major general in Virginia\'s state militia.

When the Civil War began in 1861 Harper chose to follow his home state and the Confederate cause. Still a major general in Virginia\'s state militia, he was given command of the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment on April 10. Eight days later a force of 2,400 men led by Harper and Brig. Gen. William H. Harman seized the U.S. Army arsenal located at Harpers Ferry in modern-day West Virginia. Despite the fires set by the Union Army forces as they withdrew, Harper\'s militia were able to salvage 4,000 of the approximately 15,000 muskets in storage there, as well as 300 of the arsenal\'s milling machines and metal working lathes, plus about 57,000 tools and wooden stocks, all items used in rifle production. Throughout the month this material was sent to Richmond, Virginia. On April 28 Confederate Col. Thomas J. \"Stonewall\" Jackson arrived to assume command of the forces at Harpers Ferry and began to organize the militia into regiments.

On May 1, 1861, Harper was appointed a brigadier general in the Virginia Provisional Army, an organization soon to be added to the overall Confederate States Army. Seven days later he was commissioned a colonel and given command of the 5th Virginia Infantry, one of the regiments that made up the Stonewall Brigade. Harper and the 5th Virginia fought well during the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, \"where his soldierly ability attracted the notice of the army commander.\" He resigned from the Confederate Army on September 11 following Jackson\'s refusal to grant permission for Harper to return home to be with his terminally ill wife.

Harper returned home to the Shenandoah Valley and was again elected into Virginia\'s legislature to represent this area until 1864. On June 2 of that year Harper was re-appointed a colonel in the Confederate Army and given permission to form a regiment out of the reservist companies located in the Shenandoah Valley. He led them during the Valley Campaigns of 1864, taking part in the Battle of Piedmont on June 5–6, and then the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia on March 2, 1865. Harper\'s command was routed during both of these Confederate defeats.

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