Glenville W.V.a
Sept 16th 1864
Sir
I sent to Wheeling on the 14th inst in charge of Sergeant Varmer of my Company a Rebbel [sic] prisioner by the name of J.W. Greenleaves he is a noted horse theif has takin [sic] a number of horses in this county if necessary I will furnish the evidence he should not be treated as a prisoner of war I would have killed him after he surrendered but for retalliation he has two brothers here yet that are horse thieves and perfect desparados. We killed two of his friends at the time we captured him I knew that he ought to be killed without delay but I thought it might not result in good to union citzens [sic]
I also sent an other Rebbel prisoner by the name of Samuel Bush he belongs to the Reb Army some of his friends try to claim that he voluntarily surrenders to us that is not the fact I think he should be held if but for no other reason than that in 1861 he joined the Rebbel and went South he afterwards deserted & came voluntarily and took the Oath of Allegiance he reamained at home about ten months and then joined the Rebbel army in the fall of 1862 there is no reliance to put in his taking the oath for he would have no hesitation in going into the Rebbel army the next hour
I also sent a Rebbel prisoner that came and surrendered by the name of Stout Sanders he claims the benefit of the Amnesty proclamation of President Lincoln he resides in the County he entered he Rebbel army at the beginning of the war
I understand that some of these Croaking so called loyal men in the vicinity of Tray have made a sources of complaints against me to you I have no idea what the charges are but I do know that these people over there have done more or nearly as much injury to this country as the Rebbels They are divided into two parties One called the Cox party and the other the Hall party They are continually making war on each other and both of their factions tried to get me to participate with them in the strife and when they saw it useless to try - they then decided to make war on me as they do among themselves without any cause whatever
Yours Respectfully
WT Wiant
Capt Ins C SGF
To Hon FP Pierpoint
Ad Gen WVa
Transcription by Brandon Shuping, undergraduate student enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Introduction to Public History" at West Virginia State University