Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1862-04-17
For the Journal.


MEFSRS Fulton d Pr
Gentlemen 1t gives great pleasure to record another
victory for arms. Though small, it was complete
On the 9Th instant Captain Booth and Lieut. Eure of
ormerly SpTuis Cavalry regu ent, with about thtyhVe
and Captain Hill and Lie utenant Riggs and awrenee
of the Scotland Neck Mounted Remen. with about fifty
men. started out 10 s. feel " the enemy.
We could find nothing definite Sunday, therefore
concluded TO bvouac about miles from
depot on the Atlantic and North carolina Railroad, Were
this enemy are in large force.
On Monday the 7th instant, were reinforced by Lieut.
Humphrey, Of Captain Wards Cavalry with about forty
men. We then determined to 90 on until we did find the
enemy.
Onr Cavalry formed into squadron commanded by
Gait Booth Re being the senior officer. Lieut. Eu-e
handed the fret platoon which composed Of eight
Of his company fOar of Captain Wards and ten
Captain Hills. and which acted advance quad
The secoTd platoon commanded by Lieut. Higgs the
third by Lieut. lawrence, and the fourth by Lieut. bum
We had marched only about four miles when Lieutenant
Eures platoon went off full speed tocapture the enemy
pickets which myrtle tcket near the road, about
six miles from Shepardsvle We captured nne killed
three and is thought wounded one but before We could
secure all their arms heavy column coming down
the road from the direction of Shepardsvle, vhch fired
us, killing Captain boOhs horse The thickness of the
woods and the bog swamp rendered it impossible for
cavalry orerae therefore retreated in good order
and brought of nine prisoners and eight splendid Spring
field rifles and left three dead bodies the field Our only
Casualty was the loss OF Captain Booths horse Cur eff
and men conducted themselves admirably.
had almost forgotten to mention that Lieut.. Player and
four of the Howard Cavalry present ard acted the
Others did-gaantly also Lieut. Nixon of Captain New
kinks company, B.
1t would seem that the object of our cavalry was to
church far tie point at which the capture of
the pckes actually took place, and it probable that
they would have succeeded in killing capturing the
whole but for information Of their movements which
was carried to tie Yankees at ShepardsviIe, by some
traitor As we learu, the prisoners say that they were
fully aware nI plumber the night before, which
about ninety subs, quently sweed to over an hundred
Pickets Of twenty each posted at intervals in The
thcket beside the road while a regiment of infantry
out from Shepardsvie, in double quick time, the
idea, doubt being that our men might pass the first
pckets when they would be fired on by the reg ment in
front and by the pckes in the and flank and their
retreat cut off, as the road was through swamp and
thcket and cavalry could neither 60 to the right nor
to the left
The regiment or regiments, for some accounts say
there two did not get up quite in time to the
outmost picket to bag the game, although they get
within rifle range, coming down the road at double
quick eight abreast. Our men bad barely time to Sc
cure their prisoners and the captured arms.
The men brought in here are weIdressel, and were
spenddly armed aud equipped They say they from
New Jersey, and ncncommssioned officer among them
says that although they have been through many Of the
battles of this war, the company to which they belong
had never before lost man, either killed taken pris
oner.
So far learn, the prisoners tell nothing new
They say that Bdrnside will attack Fort Macon, and
they Co .ident that be will take it. They speak Of
the force in the nghbourhood of Beaufort as seven
thousand and that in aud about Newbern as eighteen
thousand. Il hardly necessary to say, that, however
willing these might be to give information and
that is, to say the least, doubtful men in their rank
however intelligent, have few opportunities of being
very well posted TO actual movements or numbers
ard still less as to projected movements.
The only moral We deduce from this, is first that
we may look out Tor traitors and second, that when
found our troops ought to make note of them, not a
org running note ;-fonr feet will he enough, with a
good Moose at the end