Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas	Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman

	Headquarters, Military Division of the Mississippi, In the Field, Savannah Geo., January 21,1865
Maj. Genl. Geo. H. Thomas Comdg. Army in the Field, N. Alabama via Nashville. General,      Before I again dive into the Interior and disappear from view I must give you in general terms such instructions as fall within my province as Commander of the Divn.      I take it for granted that you now reoccupy in strength the Line of the Tennessee, from Chattanooga to Eastport. I suppose Hood to be down about Tuscaloosa & Selma and that Forrest is again scattered to get horses & men, and to divert attention (paper damaged) You should have a small cavalry force of say 2000 men to operate from Knoxville through the Mountain Pass along the French Broad into North Carolina, to keep up the belief that it is to be followed by a considerable force of Infantry. Stoneman could do this, whilst Gillem1 merely watches up the Holston.      At Chattanooga should be held a good reserve of provisions & forage, and in addition to its garrison a small force that could at short notice relay the Rail road to Resacca, prepared to throw provisions down to Rome on the Coosa. You remember I left the Railroad track from Resacca to Kingston & Rome with such a view. Then with an army of 25,000 Infantry & all the cavalry you can get under Wilson, you should move from Decatur and Eastport to Some point of concentration about Columbus Miss., and thence march to Tuscaloosa and Selma, destroying fences, gathering horses, mules, (wagons to be burned,) and doing all the damage possible, burning up Selma, that is the Navy Yards the Rail road back towards the Tombee, and all Iron foundries, mills & factories. If no considerable army opposes you, you might reach Montgomery and deal with it in like manner, and then at leisure work back along the Selma & Rome Road, via Talladega, & Blue Mountains to the Valley of Chatooga, to Rome, or Lafayette. I believe such a Raid perfectly practicable and easy, and that it will have an excellent effect. It is nonsense to Suppose that the People of the South are enraged or united by such movements. They reason very differently. They see in them the Sure and inevitable destruction of all their property, they realize that the Confederate armies cannot protect them, and they see in the repetition of such raids the inevitable result of starvation & misery. You should not go south of Selma & Montgomery because south of that Line the Country is barren & unproductive. I would like to have Forrest hunted down & Killed, but doubt if we can do that yet. Whilst you are thus employed I expect to pass through the center of South & North Carolina, and I suppose Canby will also Keep all his forces active & busy. I have already secured Pocataligo & Grahamville, from which I have fine roads into the Interior. We are all well. yrs. truly
W. T. Sherman
Maj. Gen. Comdg.