About a week later the following telegram was sent to General Anderson:
On or about the 9th of April, finding that the enemy had nearly ceased his operations against Charleston and the coast, and believing he could, under such circumstances, absent himself from his command, without inconvenience to the service, General Beauregard notified the War Department that he would soon apply for a short leave of absence; intending, as he had done in June, 1862, to repair to Bladon Springs, Alabama, to seek that quietude of mind and relief from the incessant routine of duty which, on a former occasion, had produced the most beneficial effect upon him. His despatch read as follows:
The next day he wrote as follows to General Gilmer: