The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1861-09-19
CORRESPONDENTS or THE tRrps..
From the Camp Near Chain pr;, ~
LETTER OF CAPT. RANDALL

Va, Sept IS, 1861 i o
EDITOR OF FREEMAN: 1t NAV ~ :
pear like egotism for me to write 81 soiasp 8
on all occasions in regard to DIV Own ~.a9nl ,
ny. l know that general INTELLIGENCE "ap /
army movement is common to svc,n IN
but as your paper circulates in tho Ooay
mediate vicinity of the homes Of al u'vIeNr
company, through that all those u =" M
relatives and friends in this coun, r' a'N
know more Immediately what p rn4' ca ca
friends have taken in all these o rro N''
hence | tell my story, leaving Others '','N
theirs. We have just had another o. wei
ment, on what we call small plon N .'stss'
the CAPITAL GUARDS had pant and d ~ q, r S'!'
| will give you the details "u'
\ party consisting Of three regipcnt. -,
Griffin's Battery and two companies +. ~. '@
ID Vermont Regiment, (Componics 4 ."5 J
were sent on the turnpike to Le%jn,r;I'a,
make a reconnaissance Of the cougtry ,''' "
lance about six mites. To reach Lc,,ir.. ~
from here we 60 to Langley on the tprp,"
road that leads to LeesvIIo and ,J,r..%
Ferry, and then turn direct to tnc .c'
is three miles to Langley and three mo,.
Townsville. AT Townsville are what
called the Cross Roads that is atLe, ~,
turn at Langley we 60 in westerly o;r@o;,
to Townsville, and ut LewinsyiIle tbuo;,.
road that crosses this at right angles ~
this cross road to the south lies a gma}, v;l,'
called Falls Church. distant from Lev;,,,,''
four miles. The read from Langley to low
insville leads directly on to Manassas by 70,
Of Fairfax, distant about fifteen miles
Our party reached Lewinsyie in s.pr
There were ab'ut twenty rebel cavalry tt-,,
who scattered on the approach Of our trom
The object of our visit Was to reconncitcr +.
place, and the Typographical corps which o..
companied our troops wished to establish
fertilization there. They were several hovn
IN making their surveys. While they aer,
doing it our commanding officer zen. on
piece of Artillery u short distance Gu Ike ro,I
to Manassas, another towards Fails Covre.
and another on the road leading in tie orr.
site direction, or north from Lewinsviac
Our Company, Or Company T., has been
detached from the Regiment to 20 With and
support Gritin's Battery. They have ~
other duties to perform aud rest and m37,
constantly with it. They have no tepts 5a
lie on the ground wherever night oyeg.2k,
them, and fight whenever the Battery
threatened. They arc not allowed 10 ersag
IL any action or discharge their piece, u1:s
the Battery is threatened They were VII.
THIS Battery on this day
Now you will see that the enea.r. il
coming from Manassas or Falls C.r4
might leave the road or cross il between Falls
Church and Townsville with It strong os
and gain the road from our camp to L9u.4,
or IRON Langley to LewinsYiiie, under Gu.
OF woods and broken ground, and cut Of cr
retreat on our camp il they were allowed 4t
ticient time. They calculated that they lsl
got that time and attempted it. But by about
two o'clock, which was earlier than the rtbcs
expected, our folks had completed their Ie.
connolsance and just got their forces ready
march, when they discovered the rebels and
their plan. The rebel force came, probably,
from Fairfax Court House, or some inferno.
date camp, OF which our folks had no know.
edge and were undoubtedly appraised Of our
presence by the cavalry scouts that we lrov:
In from Townsville. Their positioa vai
such that our artillery could not play upon
them, and our troops commenced retreatius
towards Langley, and soon gained position
from which we had a fair play at them, They
saw our advantage and run their artillery Vi?
to endeavor to give us the first shot, but one
OF Vrl1tln S pieces was too soon for them, anil
the little fellow who runs his eve along the
sights was fortunate in his aim, and sold
snot was sent among them that dismoanted
one Oh their guns, sending fragments in all d.
rections. Our General. with his glass, dis
I'll saw eight Of their number 60 tolSog
Inns caused them to scatter, but they kept up
the cannonadlng, sending shot and shell, as
,ney could get chance from behind hills aud
oushes' our troops returning tho fire in the
s,s way, until our forces reached Langley.
Z ne rebels made ono effort to charge on Grit
nus Battery, but the Guards showed them :
good front, and a fortunate charge of grape
finally dispersed them.
This Was the closest approximation to an
eAs''ement that our Company had. The shot
anu a. smell Tell thick and fast around them, and
tney were at one time in musket range, aud
INC bullets whistled thick over their heads.
j.; boys give them great praise for their skill
49,. a. saoo'lng over. Our Infantry did not re-
bur- burn the onemy's fire during the engagement
!, I INA shell from their guns unfortunately
,n 'lieo TWO Of the Sd Vermont Regiment as
.Aey were on the retreat and obliged to pass