Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-05-30
For the Pomeroy Weekly Telegra ph.
CAMP AT EAST RIVER,
Nav l6. 1862. +.

Dear 1eie9rnph:- according 10 prom
Use, propose to give you an account OF
sw deings since we have taken, the field
On the 26th of April we
left Gaule ge; on the 9th ar.
rived at Raleigh Court II ouse, where we
remained until the 29th, when we started
for Princeton, in Mercer County. The
night of the 29th We encamped on Flat
/ Top Mountain; next morning being May
1st, we moved forward. The night pre-
vious Company G, Of the 23d Q. v. I.
had been sent forward about four miles
as an outpost, where they occupied a
large log house. About daylight in the
morning they were attacked by about
400 rebels under command Of Lieut.. Col.
Fitzhugh. After a severe fight the
rebels fled, leaving seven killed, and
about thirty wounded OH the field; our
loss was ole killed, three Dangerously y
wounded and sixteen slightly. Here
our Cavalry took the advance; only the
first Battalion of our Regiment was pres
ent, Our Battalion is composed of the
blowing Companies: Capt. Wallar,
Co. A.; Capt. Hamilton, Co. D.; Capt
MeMahan, Co. e.; Capt Emtnons, Co.
K, commanded by Lieut.. Col. J. G.
Paxton and Maj. r. L. Curtis; Lieut..
Cranson, Battalion Adjutant.
After moving about FIVE miles we were
attacked by the rebels, who occupied a
ridge right in front of US and partly
concealed by a fence, We saw them
just before they fired, and | recognized
Col. Fitzhugh, and was ia the act of
taking gun from one of the men to
shoot him, when he gave the command,
''fre!." and the firing commenced. The
first shot struck my favorite horse,
"Harry," about'an inch below the eye,
knocking him down. At the same time
Col. Paxton gave the order to dismount
and bushwhack them, which we did in
less time than it takes to tell of it. We
soon routed the rebels, killing one and
wounding several. No loss on our side,
though | confess the enemy's balls
whistled around our heads rather close
for comfort. We again mounted, and
learning that the rebels were to be re-
inforced by the 10Th Va Regiment, we
turned to the left on a road leading up
Blue Stone river and coming into the
road leading from Princeton to Giles
Court House, about four miles from
Princeton. 1t was over this road that
the 45th were moving, and they would
have to retreat the same way; the 23d
was moving on the direct road to Prince
ton. We pushed forward until within
about two hundred yards of the Giles
road, when we halted and my Compan y
dismounted and went up the hill to re-
connoiter. just as we got to the top ofthe
ridge rebel in the road yelled halt,
which was no sooner said than crack
went the scoundrel's rife, and he jumped
behind a log leaving only small por-
ton of his --head@pisible. Sergeant L.
ID. Robinson, from Chester, let him have
the contents of his Enfield, which put
daylight through his cap, blowing it
off of his head. By this time about
twenty Of my men, and about the same
number of Capt. McMahan's men, were
in the brush, near the road, when we dis
covered about GOO rebels coming up the
road. We sent down the hill for more
men, and then, without waiting for our
men to get up, we dashed out of the
woods toward the rebels, firing at them
and yelling like demons The rebels
hesitated for moment, then broke and
run like dogs, throwing away knapsacks.
clothing, guns and everything that in
cumbered them. By this time the bal
lance of our force had got up and we
followed them out into an open field,
where they made stand and fred at us
several volleys, which we returned
Moving toward them on double quick
away they went again, "helter skelter :
that Is, every man for himself. We
learned afterward that they numbered
six hundred men, while our force in the
field was at no time over two hundred,
the rest being with the horses; and when
they broke and run they had not seen
over forty men, the others being con-
cealed by hill. I really never appre-
ciated the term "skedaddle" until that
day. In this affair the enemy lost three
killed and about twenty wounded.
It was now sundown, and we moved
on toward Princeton, where we found
the 23d. They, ia retreating, fred the
town, and it was completely destroyed.
On the 4th, the 23d and two companies
of our Cavalry moved to Giles Court
House, distant from Princeton % miles,
where they remained until the morning
Of the 10th, when they were attacked BY
a superior force of the enemy and
forced to retreat, which they did; fight
ing over every inch of the ground; but
the enemy had 5 pieces of artillery, our
force having none. We received the
naus and startnd to rein fnrca them MI itb