Lexington, Virginia, March 9, 1866.
General J. Longstreet:
My Dear General,--Your son Garland handed me a few days since your letter of the 15th of January, with the copies of your reports of operations in East Tennessee, Wilderness, Virginia, and of some of my official letters to you. I hope you will be able to send me a report of your operations around Suffolk and Richmond previous to the evacuation of that city, and of any of my general orders which you may be able to collect.
Can you not occupy your leisure time in preparing your memoirs of the war? Every officer whose position and character would give weight to his statements ought to do so. It is the only way in which we may hope that fragments of truth will reach posterity. Mrs. Longstreet will act as your amanuensis. I am very sorry that your arm improves so slowly. I trust it will be eventually restored to you. You must present my kindest regards to Mrs. Longstreet. I hope your home in New Orleans will be happy; that your life, which is dear to me, may be long and prosperous.
Most truly yours,
R.E. Lee
Source: From Manassas to Appomattox
Commentary
Curiously, not long after writing to Longstreet regarding his attempts to begin writing a history of the Army of Northern Virginia, General Lee wrote the following letter to Longstreet suggesting he begin work on his own memoirs. While no one can be certain, some students of Lee's life believe he had an internal feeling that he would never finish the task and wanted to make sure those who were in a position to know the most began working on that history before it was too late.