Fayetteville, Western Virginia, January 28, 1862.
Dear Brother William : — The excellent glass has reached me. It is all I could ask. I will settle with you when I see you. In the meantime, accept thanks.
I have applied for leave of absence during February, and if granted, shall leave for home the last of the week. We are a good deal in the field just now, and have made some good moves lately, considering the weakness of our forces, and that we have but forty cavalrymen. I see in the papers a good deal said about “too much cavalry accepted.” If we had only five hundred now, we could do more injury to the enemy than has yet been done by the Port Royal expedition. We are elated with the victory in Kentucky. I am especially pleased that McCook gets the plumes.
Sincerely,
R. B. Hayes.
W. A. Platt,
Columbus, Ohio.
