Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1865-11-03
.sE STAUNTON, VA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER B. 1865

| Of the poor fellows courted capture. Those
foragers who returned to Lee brought little
or nothing with them. The sufferings Of the
men from the pangs Of hunger have not been
approached in the military annals Of the last
fifty years But the sutferings of the mules
and horses must have been even keener for
the~men assuaged their craving by pluclling
the buds and twigs of trees just shooting IN
the early spring, whereas the grass had not
vet started from its winter sleep, and food
for the unhappy qualrupeds there was none.
AS early as the morning Of the 18th Lee sent
off half bis artillery towards the railroad to
relieve the furnished horses. This artillery
making slow progress, thanks to the cxhaus-.
ton of the horses, vas captured by the Fed
erals on the Sth, but not until Gen. Lindsay
Walker had buried many of his guns, which
were, of course, subsequently exhumed (sev-
enty them at one hauD BY their captors.
1t is easy to see that the locomotion Of an
army in such plight must have beer. slow,
and slower The retreat yrs conducted in
the following fashion: About midnight the
Confederates slipped out Of their hasty works,
which they had thrown up and held during
the previous day, and fell back until 10 or
II o'clock the next morning. Then they
halted, and Immediately threw up earthworks
for their protection during the day. 1t was
not long before the wolves were again on
their heels, and from their earthworks the
Confederates exchanged heavy fire with
their pursuers throughout the day. Delayed
by the necessity Of guarding an ammunition
train from IS to 40 miles in length, enfeebled
by hunger and sleeplessness, the retreating
army was able to make only ten miles each
night. This delay enabled the active Sheri
dan to get ahead with his cavalry and to de-
stroy the depots Of. provisions along the rail-
road between Burkevill and Danville. Upon
the 9Th many Of the mules and horses ceased
to struggle. It became necessary to burn
hundreds Of wagons. At intervals the enc
my's cavalry dashed in and struck the INTERIM
Unable ammunition train here or there, capt
uring and burning dozens upon dozens Of
wagons. Towards evening Of the 9Th, and
all day long upon the 9th hundreds Of men
dropped from exhaustion, and thousands let
fall their nl1skets from inability to carry them
any farther. The scenes of the 5th, 9th,
18th and 9Th were Of y nature which can be
apprehended in its vivid reality only by men
who are thoroughly familiar with the har-
rowing details Of war. Behind, and on eth
cr flank, an ubiquitous and increasingly ad
vont,lrous enemy-cvcry mud hole and ev-
cry rise in the road choked with blazing wag-
ons-the air filed with the deafening reports
Of ammunition exploding. and shells bursting
when touched by the hamcs-dense columns
Of smoke ascending to heaven from the burn
ing and exploding vehicles exhausted men,
worn out mules and horses, lying down side
by sille-gaunt famine glaring hopelessly
from suuken lack-Iustre eyes-dead mules,
dead horses, dead men, everywhere death
many times Welcomed as Gods blessing in
disguise-Who can wonder if many hearts,
tried in the fiery furnace Of four years I'M
paralIcled suffering and never hitherto found
wanting, should have quailed in presence
Of starvation, fatigue, sloeplcssness misery
-unmtermtted for five or six days, and
eliminating in hopelessness
Yet there were not wanting occasional cpl
sodes which recalled something of the old
pride of former memories, and reminded
men that this hunted, famished crowd was
still the same army which had won two Bull
Runs, which had twice Gin pursuit of fatal
policy trodden its enemy's soil, and had
written Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and
and dozen other glorious names upon its ban
ners. On the 9th, q large body of Federal
cavalry, having got ahead of Lees army and
occupied Kices Station, was attacked by
some Confederate horse under General Ros-
ser, who drove them off, capturing $50 pris-
oners. On the 7thssa heavy attack was made
upon Mahone's division, and the prowess of
this active Confederate General, frequently
exhibited during the last twelve months Of
the war, was maintained to the end, mas
much as a Federal brigade, getting entangl-
ed in ravine, was surrounded by Malone
men, and literally disappeared. On the even
ing of the 7th, General Gregg, with six or
seven thousand Federal cavalry, made des-
perate attempt to capture all the wagon trains.
He was calamity met by 1900 horsemen
+ under Fitzhugh Lee, and defeated. Gregg
himself was captured.
Throughout these gloomy days, as an off
set to the countless Confederates captured
while foraging by the Federals, numerous
Federal prisoners were taken by the Confed-
crates, and became participants Of hunger
and suffering Of which they had no previous
conception. | may as well mention now thai
as the surrender became more Inevitable
Generals Titzhugh Lee and Rosser, with
, about ,, 600 Confederate cavalry, tacitly de-
; terrnined not to be included in it, and started
off towards Lynchburg. On their road they
fell in with a Federal supply train, and burn
ed $50 wagons. The scanty and partial "a
I tons which, after the surrender, were issued
on the night Of the 9th to the starving Con
federates by their captors, were apologised
for BY the Federals on the ground Of destruc-
ton Of these $50 wagons by Fitzhugh Lee.
, The reader will have gathered that, when
Gen. Lee found his depots along the Dan
vile road destroyed by Sheridan, he had nc
alternative but TO make for Lynchburg. He
still hoped to get rations and to turn sudden.
, " upon Grant, whose army was dispersed
into many columns. The fatigue Of the pur-
} suit, though unaggrayated by famine, was
beginning to tell upon the pursuers But il
! pressing for Lynchburg Lee found himselfil
: a dangerous predicament. He was on STRIP
J of land, not more than seven or eight miles
) broad, between the James and AppomattoA
Rivers On the afternoon of the 7th Lee1
| situation seemed so unpromising that Grant