Camp near Nestorville Barbour County W.Va.
Nov. 7th 1864
Hon. A. I. Boreman Sir
I thought to manage the rebels out here on the frontier as best I could without troubling you with small matters but there are occasionally some cases that I am compelled to submit your Excellency I will now state two or three of them
Not living since a man by the name of Peter Wilt a discharge soldier from the rebel army & William Wilson a describer from the same service [unreadable] as my head quarters I desired to take my oath of allegiance to the government of the United States which I administered to them the letters I released to after simply taking his hand in good security in the sum of one thousand dollars to keep the peace [unreadable] former [unreadable] in the same day and in the same sum to repost as my headquarters every ten days until I could learn from higher authority what do in this case
If there is anything wrong with this procedure I can arrest either or both the men any day & send them off if so ordered I would say however that in my opinion they are not dangerous mess
There are also one other case that I would beg learn to submit to your notice A certain Henry D. Auvil who left this county in the onset of the war if [unreadable] off which the rebels has seen the returned having certificates in his possession from other military commanders which certificates he presented to me & claimed the protection of the government under theses circumstances I could not see that I had any right to detain him as a prisoner and so let him go.
All of which is respectfully submitted for your disposal. I would just say here that I would have no difficulty in either of the cases [unreadable] to where it not for the fact that there are persons in the community who wish to be former captain & everything else
I have the honor sir to be your most obedient servant
M.T. Haller
Comdg Barbour Scouts
Ans Nov 17th 1864
M.T. Haller Capt Barbour Scouts
Transcription by Chad Story, undergraduate student enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Introduction to Public History" at West Virginia State University