General Edward M. McCook wrote this letter from the headquarters of the 1st Cavalry Division in Macon, Georgia to an unidentified friend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 1, 1865. He reports that during his latest expedition, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Cavalry under the command of Brevet Major General Wilson captured Selma, Tuscaloosa, Columbus, Montgomery, West Point, and Macon. He goes on to say that Union troops have managed to destroy all the arsenals, iron works, rolling mills, machine shops, foundries, and factories in Alabama and Georgia, leaving the Confederacy hopelessly crippled. McCook also mentions the terrible rumors that have reached him regarding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, which he prays are false. He ends the letter with well wishes to his friend and his family.