The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-06-11

RICHMOND, v
THE CAVALRY FIGHT N eulPfPER-..Fus
THER PARTICULARS.
The fight which took place in CuIrepe
county. on Tuesday, was upon a much mo-,
extended scale than the first reports receive
| &c msd /, indicate A A,cording to the Telegram
of Gen. Lee to Gsn. Cooper, it Commenced a
o'clock in the morniog aid lasted till S II
the afternoon. The reports brought to tn
city BY passengers on the Central train yes
terday evening, are more than usually con
iicting, and 1t is exceedingly difficult fron
them to arrive at anything approaching accu
rscy, ~ to the attack Of the enemy, the los
sustained on either side, or the locality an,
duration Of the hgdt. All tesmed to concu
in tie opinion, however, that our forces wer,
surp'issd, and did no. know of the presenc,
Of the enemy uptil repors of his artillery
were heard This wo aid harily seem proba
Die, but there ia a singular conc lrrence Of tes
timony to that effect.
As we'll AZ We eau Judge feom these con
fused reports, the fight occurred on the farm o.
James Barbour, Esq, Lear Brsndy Station
and about six miles North Of Calpeper G. ii
There can be 70 doubt tina. the ball was open
ed BY the enemy, who made the attack little
srser daylight In the morning. When they
fret opened their batteries they were in rta,
OF the headquarters Of Gen. Stuart, which
they shelled fu ioasly. AS q matter Of course
hn 70 s.,k~
under the lead of gallant AMI efficient ttfcsra
the men rallie AMI p.epne the IN selves for
the conflict.
AT the frat charge of the enemy's cavalry
a number Of our mea were made prisoners
some accounts state that we lost seven hun
dred in this way, whilst others assert that our
loss in prisoners will not exceed three hun.
dfed, aud that these were principally of the
9Th Virginia cavalry. Our loss In killed and
wounded is vsliously estimated, aud those
who bring reports from points near the battle
field assume wide range in stating the mum.
ber We have heard our loss in this rsspact
estimated AZ low as sixty and as high as six
hundred From this fact tae reader may form
some idea Of the difficulty of eating up any
thing approximating au accurate report of the
battle.
After our troops rallied, a charge was made
by our cavalry upon the Yankee battery in
rear Of Gen. Ssuart's headquarters, and they
succeeded in capturing and bringing off three
of the elk pieces the enemy had engaged
For some time the cavalry fighting between
the contsnding forces was very severe, and
the loss on both sides heavy. Oar loss in otti.
GERS was, AZ usual, very considerable. Among
those killed we have heard the names of Col.
Hampton, brother of Gen. Wade Hampton, of
Legion; Col. John s. Green, of
couaty, and Col. Solomon Will
liams, of the 18Th North Carolina regiment.
The latter was married only one week ago.
Among the wounded, we have heard of Col.
Lee, con of Gen. Il. E. Lee, who was shot
through the thigh, and Col. Butler, of South
Carolina, who is reported to have lost leg.
We had only cavalry and artillery engaged
in the fight, the enemy having retired before
our infantry came up. Iu their charge upon
The enemy battery, our cavalry was subjected
10 severe infantry fire from several regiments
Iery. In TINS cnargs our Ioss is repr6senIeu W
have baen pretty severe.
We were unable to learn what particular
forces we had in the fight. Oae gentleman
reported that the active fighting was done by
Legion, a North Carolins regi-
ment of cavalry, commanded by Col. Viii
liams, and the 4th and 5sh Virginia cavalry,
but that the brigade Of Gsn. Jones, lately from
The Valley, was also engaged.
After our men recovered from their surprise.
We gained favorable position, which was
held throughout the day, although repeated at
tempts were made by the enemy to dislodee
our forces. About the time our infantry ar
rived the enemy gave way, and pursuit was
made by our cavalry, and some three or four
hundred prisoners taken. This was late in
the afternoon, and when, per; 'aps, our cavalry
was too mnch exhausted by the incsssant
lighting of the day fully to follow up the ad'
vautsge gained.
From the meagre accounts we already have
we are led to conclude that the fight of Tues
day was one Of the heaviest cavalry battles
that has occurred during the war, and perhaps
the severest ever fought in this country. We
fear that our loss may turn out to be much
larger than is generally supposed.
We append the dispatch of Gen. Lee to Gen.
Coopsr, which furnishes the beat idea as to the
length Of time the fighting continued:
CuLPEPER, June 9, 1868.
To General S. Cooper:
The enemy crossed the Rappahannock this
at o clock A. NJ, at the various fotds
from Bsvorly to Ks!ly's, with large force of
c ,valry, accompanied by infantry and artillery.
After u severe contest till =. NJ, Gen. Stuart
drove them across the river. Il T. LINE.
Another account which we received late
last night from an office who took part In the
battle represents that we lost not lees than
seven Colonels in the engagement. The same
authority states that regiment Of our cavalry
was dismounted and thrown forward AZ
to ope, ate against the artillery
of the enemy, and pick off their gunners'
This force was charged by largely superior
force of the enemy, and, being without bay
onets with which to meet the charge, they
fred and then retreated. In the retreat q large
number were cut off, and many of them made
prisoners The regiment consisted of near y
seven hundred men. The horses Of the dis.
mounted men were stampeded by the shells OF
the enemy, and many Of them had not been
recovered ut last accounts. 1t il stated that
our loss in horses will reach from 500 to
6OO.
FREDERICKSBURG
II