Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1863-04-01
From 9th Cavalry.

p the papers accounts of the celebration o
+ st Patrick's. in various places. by the jOl
q ly sons of the Emerald Isle and thought
+ that you would like to hear how we oi
+ the 9th Cavalry kept the day in honor Of
r the Saint
In the evening of March l.. We receiv-
a Ell orders TO get ready with rations and
). forage for four days scout, and early or
= the morning of March lG. we started
4 with our brigade for parts unknown.
! The expedition consisted of about two
2 thousand troopers and battery of six
A pieces of artillery the whole under com
mand OF General Ayerill. We took our
i line of march NJ the Rappahannoek,
| wing parties of Cavalry 10 guard the
various lords as we passed them, so that
/ there were only about eighty of the 9th
r Cavalry under command of Your humble
servant, TO go with the main body.
We eamped that night at Morrisyille,
Il town consisting of one church and
three houses, and at break of day,
n ''St. Patrick's day in the morning, we
started for the river. After marching
f about five miles we reached it. at Kelly's
ford, and found there about hundred
rihemen strongly posted in rifle pits, and
in and around large brick mill ready to
+ dispute our passage. Riding down to the
bank amid hailstorm of bullets. we
found the only road to the ford filled
with fallen trees and impossible to pass.
The 4th \. Y. Cavalry dismounted and
ldeployed as skirinishers, with their car
bines holding the enemy i'll check, while
axmen from the different regiments cut
away the obstructions. As soon rs a pas
sage wide enough for one horse was open
LII 81 I.,Nl -. i. Il
closely followed by the 9th Ohio. .-.-a
The enemy were not idle. A hailstorm
of balls lashed the water to foam as we
entered the r.ver The first man that
reached the further shore fell dead as
soon as he crossed the second dropped
dead in tile water, and the third fell bad
ly wounded oh the shore. Still the col
umn pushed on, and as fast rs they land
ell dashed on the foe. 1t soon became
too hot for rebel endurance, and they
broke and fed in every direction over
the field; but men on foot were no match
forhorses, and all who did not surrender
were sabred without mercy.
After securing the country in the inn
mediate vicinity of the ford, the column
| took up It's line of march for Culpepper,
the carbineers of the 9th Ohio leading
the column. We had hardly gone a mile
when, just as we emerged from the wood, |
we met the sllirmishers of the enemy, !
and close behind them came their main |
column. A sharp engagement immedi- |
ately ensued. For time our carbineers
held out against a force numerically SUI
perior, as three TO one but they were |
being slowly driven back when our main |
column came up. Our gallant Brigade
Commander, Col Duffie, at the head of
the lst K. /. Cavalry. charged in fine style
routing them in wild confusion, but
fresh column charging down on his flank
compelled Col. Duffie to retire.
Other regiments were rapidly brought
up and a series of charges ensued result
ing in the rebels being driven from the
field. We followed them about two
miles, when their artillery opened on us
from their entertainments. Our artillery
was Immediately put in requisition and
returned the fire. .. bel. ... ............ Il
The 9th was formed on the left, the lst
R. I.,.and q squadron of the 9TH Regu-
lars were between them and the battery.
Hardly had we taken our position when
the 4th Virginia (rebel) Cavalry, the
crack regiment of their sevice, came
charging down upon us. On they came,
the "Chivalry" of the South. Yelling and
cheering, their leader Major Breckenridge, .
at their head, swinging his sabre and !
on his men. Our boys stood /,
firm and silent as grim death. We let
them come till we saw the white of their
eyes, and then, with one. wild yell, our ,
boys went in. Gods but it was gloriousl {
They scattered before our charge like {
leaves before q whirlwind. Their revolY- [
ers cracked like corn parching in skill {
let but our reply was the cleaning sabre,
full'soon dyed red with their gore. They
fled like sheep before us. leaving their I
Major and thirteen men in our hands, :
The ground over which we charged was I
covered with thier horses, | can hardly '
call it fight 1T was massacre. Car
ried away by the fury of the charge, 1t. '
Wood, of Company ID, pressed ahead of /
his men into the thickest of the enemy. c
While he was cutting one from his horse 7
he received sabre cut on the head from i
another, infiicting a severe but not dam I
gerous wound. One other, Private Lu- /
cas- Labs, of Company G, one of our L
drafted men, was mortally wounded by a
shot from a revolver. These were all the f
men we had hurt in the charge. Eight /
of the men we captured We're so badly /
;lashed with sabre cuts, that we could i
not bring them, away. Two of our boys
ost their sabres, the rebs into whom they n
1ad plunged them riding away with their t
'abres sticking in their, bodies. Many of il
hose who escaped will long remember
he sabres of the 9th Ohio Cavalry. Il
At the same time they charged as, they Fl
charged our line in two other places. but
n every charge our Cavalry sent c
hem bowling from the field o., ,-..s. .--.- a
After this repulse, they charged no e
more, but in revenge, their batteries sent n
storm Of shells upon our lines.n From
hese we received the greater part of our e
injury Our own artillery, l am sorry TO a
ay proved very inefficient. +:
After remaining on the field till nearly C
light, mainly entleavoring to draw them e.
ut, we gathered up our own dead and +
rounded and the wounded OF the enemy is
nd came away uhmolested. They were 81
90 badly whipped to follow us. We h
rought in eighty prisoners, besides pa e'
oling their wounded and Ying them. ii
think that those we captured and those 81
re. paroled will amount to over hun al
red, Altogether it was one of the finest l-al
avalry raids of the war Our men have as
aimed ',. confidence in themselves im- eI
lensely. They now k1,Osa that the sabre d.
tie weapon for cavalry, service. .,..
Our list of casualties is as follows: o'
d 1t. J. Z. Wood, sabre cut on head, Sc Ct
we're. '-iH' t'4' -7-.ii-7" ''.. al
d Lit. G. L. Wilson, stunned by explo- II
sion of shell, lungs slightly injured. ii
ergt, S. Pullman, Co. c, severely wound bl
ed in arm by bullet. m
ergt A. Smith, Co. L, slightly wounded
in leg by a fragment of she'll --'Ht ell
rivate Henry Truesdell, Co |, severely al
wounded in face, arm and leg by frag- th
ments of SHELF 49, re
rivate Lucas Libis, Co. q = nIortally q
wounded by pistol ball IN
rlTaae ~ LEI henuel Hd Granger, S slightly mon Wound !,
riyate Charles iShattuck, of Co. A, is