The Greene County Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 185?-1867, 1863-08-11
our ARMY CORRESPONDENCE.
IN CAMr NEAR IIEDGEvILLE,

IL
Berkly County, Va, July 20, 49,, y.
Der Rpnblicm After a long silence
Oh my part, | again take up my pen, 10
let you know where we are, and what
we have been doing tor some time past.
Thinking perhaps that some Of your rea-
ders would be interested in our move
inents, ,nl also in the welfare OF the
brave boys ot our cpmmtml. | well
know the light in which letters from the
army are viewed by some Of our noble
friends at home bnt waivins all this, |
write, conscious of the tr,,thtnlness OF all
| utter. Responsible myself for all |
say, and caring not fix for anything
that may be said to the contrary by those
who know nothing of what write.
To give u description Of everything
that has transpired since we left camp at
New Creek, would require more time
and space than can consume at present,
therefore will but give brief synopsis:
We left camp Oh the 4th Of July. that
day rendered sacred to every true Amer
lean he,rt by the sacre,l re,o'lections
that cluster,and shall ever cluster, around
it. We proceeded to Cumberland, where
the boys all received plentiful supply
of green backs from the hands OF that
ever welcome visitor, the Paymaster.-
On the 9th, we proceeded on the Nation
al road to Hancock, where we arrived
on the evening Of the 7th. 1t was at
this time that Meade was contending
with the legions of Lee, who had rashly
dared to invade the sacred soil of the
'Old Keystone and was striving to plant
the traitors flag within her precincts. 1t
was with great anxiety that we moved
forward, hoping 10 share in the strife,
and assist in annihilating the rebel host.
How we were disappointed, and why,
we leave for the historians pen to tell.
We laya few days ut Hanover, until the
troops were rested, and then moved on
to Farview, in the vicinity of the beau
tiinl village of Clear Spring, Here we
could hear the roar of the cannon of the
two contending armies, and even the
rattle Of the musketry, and from the top
of the mountain could be seen the flash
of the murderous guns. will not at
tempt to describo the anxiety with which
our men wished to be led to the conflict.
We were confident that the enemy could
not escape, as the bridges had all been
destroyed, and the river was too full, rs
we fondly hoped, to be forded but in
this we were disappointed, FIR when we
did move, and came near to Williams
port we found no enemy to fight. But
to our chagrin aud disappointment, we
found our wary foe had escaped across
the river, and were safe in dixie. We
then Immediately moved back to Cherry
Run Ford, where we crossed tho river,
and proceeded to the place we nov occu
py. Here we remained for few days,
scouting the country for miles around,
and taking several prisoners, skirlnish
ing with the enemys pickets, &c.
On the evening of the 2)th, we were
forced to tall back to Maryland on lou.
BILE quick, as the enemy was lvancing
We thought this a strange way OF do
ing, as we had came cut to fight, and re.
treat did not go we'll with those who
had never before experienced it. But
we found we had been none too sudden
in our fight, for in less than four h >urs
after we lett, twenty two Thousand rebels
under Gems. Ewell and Early, advanced
on two different roads, and arrived on
the very ground which we had LETT
Gen. Kelly, I think. deserves great
praise for this timely movement, and it
is given to him lavishly by both officers
and men, We stayed in Maryland but
n very few days, when we again returned
to our old camp, where wenow are enjoy
ing ourselves rs best we can in an open
field, with nothing but rulely construct
ed bunks to shelter us from the wind and
rain. But Notwithstanding all this, our
boys are in the best Of spirits, and the
health OF our company is very good con-
sidering the hard duty we have been
forced to perform for the last few months.
They are all willing and anxious to be
led against the foe, and Iwell know that
when the chance occurs, our boys will
give good account of themselves.
But during all our wanderings, altho'
we did not get into a general engage.
ment With the cilcmy, we would not have
you Imagine that our cavalry did moth
ing at all. While at Hancock, the
Washington Cavalry, under their intrep-
id leader, Capt. A. J. Greenfield, made
a successful reconnaissance, capturing
10 prisoners, IA wagons, and about 40
horses. These, too, he captured from a
vastly superior force, charging them
with the sabre in the most gallant style,
killing several Of the enemy, and woun-
ding . great many. His own loss was
two wounded, but not seriously. Great
honor is due the noble Captain and his
men for their heroic conduct. Captain
Greenfield has commanded our cavalry
since we lett camp, and a more brave
and gentlemanly officer than he the ser.
vice does not afford. He has the love
and esteem Of all the men under him,
and he shows himself we'll qualified for
any position however high in military
life. Lieut. Hart, Of the Ringgold Cav.
airy, was attacked by vastly superior
force while on a reconnaissance near
Williamsport. Though two or three
times he was almost entirely surrounded,
he cut his way through them by sue
cession Of brilliant dashes, holding them
at bay, and finally driving them from the
field. One or two of his men were Sc
verely wounded, buthopes are entertain
cd of their recovery. After crossing the