Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee

Your last letter, Aug 23rd arrived, two days ago. I am happy to find that Spring camp has the charms of 30 cleared acres & of meeting your selection, & hope that the Cabin & its appurtenances will make it perfect in the eyes of its master, I shall not object to your having the middle portion, so it is a thing settled. I wrote to you some days since in answer to your first letter & among other things, gave out that I hoped to be able to visit you this winter, you seem to be anxious for me to come out this Fall, & even insist upon it. But not so fast My Child if you please & listen to me. Capt. Talcott (whose only Assistant I am) has been selected by the Cheif Engr. to perform some important duty on the N. W. Frontier, Such as determining the Latitude & Longitude of some important Points on the Lakes. To run a correct Boundary line between Ohio & Michigan & settle some other questions out in that country, about which now there is some difference of opinion about. He this evening received a letter from Genl Gratiot, saying that the Secretary was absent & that he had not heard from him, since he (Genl G.) had informed him of the Officer selected for the duty in question, But that he had no doubt of his appointment being confirmed & he must therefore hold himself in readiness & send on estimates for Funds, necessary for Instruments, Books, etc. etc. you see therefore Master Carter the state of the case, & how it would be impossible for me to get a leave of absence, even though being the only officer on the work, I could ask for one. Except for this, & after I am able to leave Mary, which I suppose would be early in Nov - I should like very much to go over the "Order" with you. Not that I think it would be of so much assistance to you as pleasure to myself, for I should then be able to take advantage of any circumstance that might offer, to benefit the Property, & I would take great delight in foraging over that country with you by my side & on the back of my pretty little mare. Will it not be necessary to have the land surveyed by the County Surveyor, in order that it should be registered & will a survey made by any other person be legal? (I mean if we should wish to sell) The principle of surveying is as plain as possible; I never was engaged in one of any magnitude, & except the use of the instruments & tables, I expect you have had nearly as much practice as I have - Mine has been confined to some few hundred acres, where every thing within that limit was to be put down on Paper as it stood. The best practical treatice on Surveying that I have seen is in Bowditch's Navigation, or in Gibson's Surveying & certainly enough for all common purposes. Perhaps you may meet with one of the Books out there -

Botany I know nothing about, Mineralogy very little (There being no Professor of Mineralogy at W[est] P[oint] the year I was on that subject) - The drawings I could make out, but that is of not much consequence & can be done as well at another time. However seemingly there is no chance of my getting out there till Winter & should Capt. T. not get back then, I will not be able to leave. The Cholera broke out here 12 days ago. There have been a great many deaths among the soldiers, But not more that 8 or 10 among our Labourers, These we have had to discharge & send home, as well as the Mechanics, for fear of its raging as violently among them as in Norfolk. Not a case has yet occurred over at the Rip Rap & the works there are still going on. The Steam Boats have all stopped & there is no way of getting off if we wished. I Beleive we are as safe here as any where. It has broken out in the District though the Papers give not many cases as yet. It is raging in Baltimore, Phil etc - It has decreased very much in Norf. lately & within a few days past not many cases have occured here. I hear nothing of Uncle Wms. or family, or any of them in Fauquier, Anne & Mildred & Mr C & Child are at Ravensworth, Smith was projecting a visit to Winchester in pursuit of Miss Nanie. All were well at Arlington & Mrs. C. as you already suppose very uneasy about Mary - We are all very well here I have just commenced the annual drawings of the state of the Works, which will take me a month to complete, Mary Sends a great deal of Love & says she thinks you might have invited her to pay you a visit. But at any rate she hopes you intend to come & see her the first leisure your duty affords you - I shall direct this to Spring Camp - as I find your letter has taken a week to reach me & another to return would overrun your Fortnight - Yours truly &

Affectionately

R. E. Lee