Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1864-08-26
FROM THE VALLEY
GsPEc1AL CORRESPONDENCE or THE INQUIRER


table change had bssn observed in no aspec.
OF their campo, 81 seen from lie i.siglts or
which scme of our own campo were pitched;
their cavalry had disappeared, AID, o; their
cloud of tents. but an Insignificant. array re-
maincd. With oil possible despatch our am. :
moved in pursuit-Gordon's and Wt.,t5n':
divisions, constituting Brcckinridgc'a corps, in
tho advance, followed by Raniseur Did /. DE,
in the order named. Tho Internal invaders
had illuminated their progress Il wn cur
.lovcly valley with burning tarrs, hay ticks
and pasture fields. On both sides Of tho road
aamirg stores of wheat and fodder meprct
ont their march, and the smoke that cvs!hunr
the Valley from Strasburg to Wnchtscr
was as heavens black flag" Our column
encountered no impeachment uutil it rea,hed
Kernetown-that village of i'll omcu fer ma,
reuding and incendiary Yankees. Here va
found them in line Of battle, and skirraishing
began at four O'Clock. Wharton, in General
Breckinridge's disposition of his command,
held the extreme left, with Ramseuc soDe-
what to the rear and right, whilst Garden,
still further to thu right, took his ground on
the cast side of tho turnpike. Without lnss
Of time Wharton engaged a battery Of three
guns, mounted in an old fort en- the north
west lille Of Winchester. A. the came
time, Ramseur'S administers. Cooperating
with Wharton, wero engaged Oh the rish' ,ids q
the town. and, the two lines Joining, advanced
into Winchester togsther, driving tho enc.rY
through it and be yend The old fort to tho eas:
In the charge On this fort the fusadu of 'Wkar.
toms men WINS picturesquely brilliant. and their
hearty yelling most musical exfiiarG,en 10
the gloom ofthe evening, and in their ignorance
of the ground, which wgs indescribahly rough,
our skrmish line at Ono time charged Over II
battery, which, in the heat OF the pursuit, fn'y
left to BIO gathered up BY tho advancing
line; but it il said that the guns were aY,r
looked in The bcwilering dathnesa ind
5ubse qrontly recovered b. b2dy Of ;ho ,iiv
of my several informsnts do not 'cs"ry harlpc,,.
ig,, and the case is to, be cassel smrrg The
doubtful. In swinging round by tho right o. sc
town, Ramseur made capture Of 4 goodly nuln-
bar of horses and priconers. "Abou. Tho edge Of
night" Gordon was holly engaged, and drova the
enemy vigorously, at the point whers the B2ry
Vile road makes CT from the town. Hera fro
flashing of the mushetry around the slope CT :La
night curtainsd hill atf1flel pyro!echnic ,!i,'
play Of no ordinary beauty. BY nine oelcc'; tAn
enemy were driven quite through the town.
which our forces esgerly occupied. to the exit
berant delight Of its long suffering psopia--thoso
l mean, who have not been tsn:ei ,si:h Tie ABB
ject loyalty" of Msr.inaburg.
The loss on our side 10 insignificant, aud
considering how much Of the lighting We
done in the dark, We have reason to believe
that il WAS not much greater with the enemy,
though at one time biz Sixth corps, tupp1rtcd
by dismounted cavalry, made smart resistance
General Breckenridge, having Wharton with
him, personally directed tho operations Of our
extreme loft With characteristic sagacity and
visor: At one time be occupied q place OF
peculiar peril, between ono Of our larterica
and the threc-gun battery Of the rnim7,
which, by the way, Wss beautifully served.
AT ten o'clock the cavalry and infantry sup
ports Of this battery were rstiring on The
road in the direction 81 Berry
vile, ard Winchester. and its surrGundirgs
wsro left to US. Tomorrow We pu7atle again,
and the day of Jubsl E. will soon coms
The enemy marched through Winchester
not less than 45, 900 men, oonsisting Of the
18th and 10Th corpP, with the 9Th ind s.h,
which, being much reduced, had been consoli-
dated, but wero recently reinforced. To this
add ,heir cavalry, which WAS in heavy force
probably an entire corps-aud s division Of
artillery, and We have 80, 900 TO represent their
infantry and artillery, and, beyond rerGl-
venture" 10000 for the cavalry. they fnid
in Winchester that it was to protect thu crv
airy" once more that 80 large forco 1etreated
with precipitation.
Our Winchester friends give than credit FOR
generally behaving well on their rOlGTn,
though there were not wanting thnse among
thcm (but these were principally Pennsyivi-
niens) who threatened tia town with thu
torch, in memory Of Chambersburn. N;amv
of the Union people Of tho place had actually
begun to SECURE their morableg.
At Middletown they had hung orc or our
mon, fret compelling him to dig his own
grayo The poor feliow-who wad himself on
the sick list-had been left there to nurso q
wounded comrade, and happened to be cnugit
in citizens dress; for this, his only crime
for We all k,.o,o that he was not sp5-hc Was
executed with short shrift.
Several times in the course Of this fight orr
men narrowly escaped firing upon each 0,ncr
in the darkness, and there was muci, shout.
ing through tho night Of What regiment 10
thatY" and "Who are you ?" Captain Ty,if-
man, of Gen. Wharton's command, rece,vcd
for his answer, in one Of the streets, the full
fro Of superior force, but succeeded in dri-
wing them III.
Two extraordinary exploits demand special
mention: Four OF Smith skirmishcrs, of Whsr-
toms division, actually advanced, unsupported,
thinking, in tho darkness, that the linewas close
behind thcm) nearly four miles beyond Win
chester, where they stumbled upon a struggling
regiment of Yanke,s, fired into them put
them to flight and captured their c.l"ra,
which were dropped in the stampede. That
glorious but dilapidated remnant OF dry goods.
the standard of the 9th New Jersey, is how q:
these hesdq
Just alter dark on Wetnesday-auI for u
short time it was rsry dnrk-Mcj9r Hairy
Gilmor, who had pushed in advance IF cur
skirmish line, accompanied only by Holmes
Conrad, of Winchester, suddenly found himself
in tho midst of 50 mounted Yankees. At once
the question was which party should bs cap.
tured. 1t was decided by Gilnor p:,mr'lS.
and funnily enough. o. ono side CT III, roa!
in which they had met Wss & stone wall.
where the darkness was rendered deeper ~
the shadow of some trees. Turning to this
point, and addressing en- imaginary fascr
there, Gi!mor ordered them 10 "lay low, and
not FIRE till 10 gave the word" He Then e2ni
manded the Yankees to throw down their
arms and surrender, or he'd "blcw them t.
the devil" They did throw down their SIMS
and disluounr Our skirmishers came up jus:
in time, and GiImcr brought Is men, with
their horses end arms, mo Winchester.
1 Il 4 l.