The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-12-30

The two regiments which received the
first shock OF the charge replied with .
their carbineS and reyolveTS, 1t was
very dark The enemy had on oureown .
overcoats, which rendered it impossible /
to discriminate between friend and foe -
All firing was made at random. The I
rebels came in with drawn sabreS, and /
hand to hand encounter commenced.
Being soon greatly outnnmbered, onr
men fell back upon the body of the III
vision in order to form new line They
stopped at a quarter OF mile back, ana
reformed Fifteenth New York,
Twenty second New York and First Yer
mont making a counter charge, pitching
in pell.mell, and the rebels in turn giving
way and crossing a small stream. ny
this time, firing was general all along the
,ieht flank and throughout the camp. 1t
was n free fight, and no one knew who
stood next him. The only way to dis
tinguihh friend from foe was by the sound
Of the voice. indiscriminate rohbing and
l,lunder took place. The rebels seemed
to be quite sure OF capturing all the
| horses, and the rema,k was frequently
heard, Let 20 your horse, Cut loose
! the horses" " Let 'cm run, They are
| all safe" and such like expressions. 1t
| finally came to fight like that Of the
! Iyishnan every man Ion his own
hook" A rebel would capture, strip
and rob one OF onl men, and then take
/ him rpht into one Of our regiments as
prisoner. BY the time they had eXhi-
hitrd the trophies, they found them
selves in the wrong camp, and IN turn
welded themselves prisoners. The same
! iauphatle mistakes were, in some eases,
committed by onr own men. One rebel
| marched into General Clusters head
quarters. and asked what regiment that
wa. General Custer ordered him to
take of TINT blue ove'coat, and hand
ed him over a prisoner.
Halt where do you belong ?" would
usually prec@dr any offensive demon
straton. What followed depended
wholly on the answer OF the person
addressed Dr. Adams was mounted oi
a very heavy r,ystaion Aparty- met
him across the road. and although Ia
thought himself III the presence OF thu
mon column, he was really among
Rosaers men 4 person, wearing cap
tsins uniform, accoated him with
w here do YOU belong :" "Surgeon o
) the Eighth New York, was the Doctor
answer Then, Il n You, get oil tina
h~rsp," said the rebel. At the same IN
slant he wheeled himself IN front, anC
the Doctor received blow from sabre
across Iii. bach and shoulders from be
hind. which threw him oil his balance
his cap fell of, and the captain brou9h
hs sabre down upon his bare head, whi'i
ended all further CONSCIOUSNESS ior
2 time When he came to, the Docto
= found a party of rebels standing owe
him his pockets had been turned wrong
side out, and he heard one Of them re
mark, "CroOkS, the son OF b-h hash
got any watch "-empha9i8 on the got
Il Crooks answer was, Then take tina
I d-n poncho, and lets be Oft ." 1t wa
stripped oil, The Doctors horse had e
capped down the road, and was recoyeTe
an hour aiterWard.
Or Adams, after sufficiently recover
/, ing from his blow and the fall from IN
horse, crawlei into a conner OF the fence
y and lay a quiet spectator dining the re
, mainder OF the fight All tins occurre
=, within a few minutes The Doctor
= hospital steward having captured Il rebe
! asked another rebel, whom he mlStOo
= for one of his own regiment, to ASST
him to carry his prisoner to headquarters
a As the Doctor lay there III the snow Al
4. water, listening TO and witnessing II
;. luAicrous Mistakes which both part'
=. were constantly committing as To ea'
: other : identity, he says he could not /
!, train from laughing outright, despite Il
. pain from his wounds.
to Here came party and commanded
g. soldier of the Eighth New York to &C
" Oft that horse" "But why do you wa
ot $50 do we,' answered the rebel b
g, ,chat Eighth do You belong to = tn
ed asked. "To the Eighth New York,
course" Then, d-n you you are
50 the wrong company; We belong to t
on Eighth IirUiIiu' hitting I
Union soldier thwack over his hes
re- soon obliged him to dismount ii
60 was within not 10 exceed fifteen
wo twenty rods from two squadrOns OF
tn Fifteenth New York, which accounted
raj the backWardness OF the cayairynan
sol believe them rebs On coming 10 IN
ing self, he started Oft on quick run ior
Fifteenth New York, the rrbs firing
dozen shots at him as he ran, which, /
ING tunately, did not take effect. He react
the regiment III safety, and this &c
ork brought them down with dash, and
-, enemy put out 1t was now gett
% light, and there was no longer any dI
eht Guilty to discover where and who
I'M enemy We're
ute our men began to follow and sh
them as they retreated. Many sadc
went of empty. Very soon the ca
''a' was clear OF rebels, and our own men
cupied the field.
ON The few killed and wounded on
Oh side il accounted for from the fact
.ch the enemy fought mainly with then