Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1862-08-19
From the Vermont Cavalry.
CAm MAN 1nr RAplDAN RIVER,

CAlr MAN 1HF RAPlDAN RIVER, Vs.. !
AugusL3I, 1862
Enron fREtAAS Living almost all The
time ID the saddle the opportunities Ior writing
letters are necessarily lmrteI, yet We occasion
ally hnd moment OF spare time to write to our
friends ~ home The past three or iOur weekr
have been weeks ui harl service lUr the Cavalry
IN this Department. Since We have made our
headquarters ~ Calpopper we have been on
several scouting expeditions, but we have met
no force OF the re!en Of any great strength, tx
cePt hear GOrdonsvllo where their forces were
soo strong 10 make az attack on them practca-
bic, untl! Yesterday, when We had quite shai =
engagement win the rebeis at Orange Court
House. On the lst Inst. tho lst Vermont, 9th
New York, Pennsylvania, and An ONO Reg
neut Of Cavalry, under command OF General
Crawford started ta make n Reconnaissance to-
wards Orange County Cont llOuse. lhe Yer
mont and New York Regiments proceeded to
The Rapl1an river, about len miles from Cu-
pepper. The remainder ut lhc command took
another road AMI their destination Is unknown
70 the writer.l We encamped hear The river
that night, and the next morning, the % INST.
started early Tor Orange CUart liouEe We ar
rived AZ tle outskirts Vi the town about = A.
NJ and drove ~ picket tOrcs stationed about
a miie lrlm the town. Companies Ot the New
I0rE aud Vermont cavalry were sem out tu the
rigD, Aui .elt VI the town e. lAake u. ..tL1ck
and i0Tte MAS held ~ reserve to charge d.
rectly L.lf ugu tie center % the towu Sharp
hrns w4. sioa aeAtd 10 tne town, indicating
thai ihrr SO, w0Ta 90 piogtcs-. The New
lors ,dtsi.A, .tld al ot ,hc Vermont Cavalry
wl'H o." rAcrPttun 81, tir D.n squa1ron was
500. cnhas-a Wllh ttr enemy. Inc New YORK
boys cntiEed sbem 80 splcntl, ,iNl, Gfiylug
1nem irJm inc Gown ti;o p.eia oi NUoas, buC
thry tJ1n Iaiied AID ctuc DacE charglUg upon
our met WaJ lcii D.1., uu,.JIa ~ N,.u,t4nd tne
shock ltwls eYideui tHdC something must be
done - checS them, nr The day was i1st. JusL
az this time tue 9TH squadrun came up, and Ad-
QUAINT Pikin rode towards our squadron calling
Us 10 come uu ana cIarGe upon tnc rcbels VINO
were coming ~ i considerable tor e Charge.
was the order and II an not need 10 be repua ,ed
The street was iuli OF rebels aud Jhey were
pouring ina heavy lire upon our men. Capt
ErhardI uI 90. a, with half d duzen ui lis
men va surrounded by twentyor thirty rebels
They could hold Uut but i moment longer
against such udds. but the jth squaurou Co E.
: Z amt + went 70 work with wlll end dealt
out sabre strokes 10 the right and left with
such ylg0r that the rebels Weie soon chased from
the town. Co. alone oIptureJ ten or fifteen
prisoners, esides sending several more to their
long home. A reoel MaJyr set upon a Co. +
man, hat he iuuud mr. mach tnaI time, and
soon uiepurcd his !cne,h upon the ground. with
II sahsr cat upon nis al lie was afterwards
iakcn prisoner. Capt. " els, Vi Ca. G, led his
Company IA gallant style through the town, but
inn ID B, ktt..
!be gate closed. mus cutting him oil from his
Company, w.th only live men. le, he did not
stop, but went 1n, driving with only five men,
thirty or forty rebels tor the distance OF halt
mile. when 6nding himself surrounded by rebels
he ordered hls men - right about The
reb'.s poarel in "a perfect shower of bullets
! upon them, and ordered .hem ~ half, but the
! Captain cOun,ernaudud the order and they all
/ got back again safe Two member. ot 60. c,
Me- laugbIm ana tloyt, got separated from the
Company and mistook body oi rebels for our
men aud were taken PRISONERS, II is suppoeed
as they arc missing.
The engagement ias.ed ahouttw0 hours, and
after stopping awhile to rest our horses, we re.
turned to uut oid camping place on the Rapi-
dan here war but one mau killed on the
Onion side--Actine chei Buger of the 5th y
\. Cavalry, was killed and hls comrades buried
him near tue town. The list of casualties in
the Vermont Cavalry, Is AS follows killed
none; wounded lee, seriously, Seymour and
Pierce, slightly, in company r |, Ray, se,i-
ously, Co h, missing, 90. 0, Huyt and
mclaughlin, Go. {; Butler aud Draper, Co. B.
Inv New York Rest. lost a lew men wounded,
oaIy one Or two serlou.y. 1t is estimated that
the rebels lost 20 men killed. They also los, a
considerable number wounded, besides about 50
prsoners, including major and lieutenant
We toIk II large quantity Of pistols guns, SC
Respectfully yours, U. p. Y.
Since writing the above, We have moved our
camp, md we are this morning encampcd near
the Robertson River. We we're within sigh.
OF the rebel pickets yesterday o p O.