The National tribune., 1885-11-19
FIGHTING THEM OVER,
What Our Veterans Have TO Say About
Their Old Campaigns.
CAPEHART'S BRIGADE,
And the Gallant Services 1t Rendered at the Close
of the War.


And the Gallant Services 1t Rendered at the Close
Of the War.
To THE EDITOR: Since was mustered out
of service have never seen the brSt ailusioii
to one of the best brisadcs IN the service. II
was composed OF loyal West Nlrglhiafls' ana
durine, the closing campaign was com'hahdcd
by one OF its Co,onels, and was known anu
designated AS Capcharts Brigade ana ath
unable TO describe it by any other name:
Don't know the numbers of the regiments and
never knew a member of the brigade; Yet. III |
my opn!on i'll the campaign under Sherldah, |
from Winchester, Feb. %, TO ApponattoX, April |
9. Col Capehart's Brigade can give TO any other |
brigade seyem points in game Oh is, where |
";rIcks'' and "houors" count, and take the |
spoons" A member of my brigade ana OF the |
18th Pa. Cav. with laudabe ambition TO en-
Mate them in their work, was Killed The Era1
day he went Oh duty.
ii was a BRIGADE that did much of the work
OF scouts and spies, feeling our way III the ad-
vance and covering our Hanks. ABOUT one
third of the command was dressed IN Cohied-
crate gray, and many high private wore
the decorations, etc. OF Omcers. Inc Tcoeis
hate OF lanks WAS sweetness itself when COM
pared with their feeling toward Union South
erner aud C;spcharts men rcclprocatea Win
like feelings AMI equally telling blows AstoTy
of their hand to hand fighting IN that last cam
paign would he a thrilling narrative, ana
wish one OF them would FAVOR US Win soiic VA
the lCaiin" CTeHtS.
Three DAYS before Lee surrendered 1t was
running fight from o'clock q. m. TIL p M,
to capture Lees wagon-traln ana as much % ms
army as possible. at Sailors Creek. Sheridan
ordered an assault Oh the line OF retreat ny
brigadeS, and failing TO break through, 10 hurry
on to the extreme left and hit them aGan
The train was guarded by a corps under Eweh,
and they fought Tor their latIonS most de'PeF-
ately. 1t was hot work that day ali along Tie
line-the Sixth Corps whOoping them up IiISly
liz the rear. The Cavalry Corps swarmed along
their line OF retreat tiickiy that the troops
guarding the train kept the wagons between
US and themselves. Our boys made lush 10
throw down fences; tie tcamstcFs Whlfped
into run, and the guard poured IN Voiley
between the teams. 1t was some time aiteF
noon when some of Capehart's gray-coats man
aged to head the train the wrong way and INTO
our line and not dozen wagons were on that
road before his brigade swept down ufon them,
cutting loose horses and mules and hiring the
wagons, crOwding back the guard till they were
too many for them. Meanwhile Custer got IN
with brigade or two behind Capehart lom-
nv Devon came UP with part of his division;
line was formed across the road and extended
as fast as troopers could ride in; then stand
I'D fight occurred with dismounted cavalry
against a bayonet charge to clear that ROAD OF
Yanks. The Yanks were there to stay, and
while they kept what they had got they coun-
tercharged and took in Gen. Ewell and all his
corps-lS pieces of artillery and SO battle flags.
Capeharts Brigade was the entering wedge III
that days work. / never knew how many
wagons were captured.
1t was o'clock p. m, April 8, when those
three train loads of provisions Tor Lee army
were captured by some OF Capeharts men,
guards put on them and sent TO our rear, ~
miles or more, where 1t seems our infantry
captured them again. Without delay cape
hart pressed on up the hill in a noriheasteriy
e arttl
parked in a field for the night. One OF his
staff came up and ordered them out into position
for use, for the Yanks were not lar oil. Before
the second gun was out of park Capehart was
upon them and took them all i'll without one
being fired. The corps was hurried forward
and deployed for every man could see that we
were facing east and must be ahead OF Lees
army aud that army our game. If we only had
some help. We had not seen an lniantryman
for two days, but we had been told that Grant
had ordered Little Phil to push things, and
had placed the Army of the Potomac, or any
portion of it that he could use, subject to his
orders. 1t would seem as though just such a
combination of circumstances conid alone IN
spire our men for that final struggle For IL
days we had been on strain, as we thought,
10 the utmost tension, from Petersburg TO
Dinwiddie Court house, Five Forks, Soutbside
Railroad, Amelia Courthouse, Sailors Creek,
fighting by day and marching by night 4
line could not be formed for grand review
with such spirit and alacrlty. The rebels were
crowded back till we occupied most of the crest
Of the hill that surrounds AppomattoX Court
house. The first half of the night the enemy
seemed to be feeling for weak spot in our
lines At daybreak they advanced all along
the line. Our line was forced back very slowly
every inch was contended for Sheridan, Mer-
ritt Custer Devon, Mckinsey, Gibbs Coils
Capehart, Stage, with the Michigan Brigade,
Fitzhugh, with the Second Brigade, and Others
that ! cannot now remember, all of them were
on this skirmish-iine that the cavalry corps
made to withstand the onslaught Of an army
that had vowed to die in the last ditch"
could see Sheridan's flag and less than 10 men
near it. BY marching and fighting from Win
chester our ranks were terribly depleted. Oul
brigade must have had less than 200 men OIL
that line, and every fourth man had gone tC
the rear with the horses We had lost all the
ground we fought over the night before and
the enemy's guns began TO rake the south and
western slopes of the hill. and still no helI
came.
After such struggle for 16 hours must We
lose the prize? For two hours il did seem SO
The first | saw to renew my hopes and courage
was battery, or less of light artillery coming
down the hill on the other side of the railroad
Across the track and up the hill towards u:
they came ON the run. Then literally out o.
the ground seemed to spring regiments of In
fantry and form i'll columns by divisions anC
move on up the hill. The dismounted horses
are hurried up, and as fast as the infantry takes
the line the cavalry mount and file out TO the
right, under Tommy Devon and to the LEFT
under Custer. Sheridan and Merritt remain
IN the center TO lead the infantry. Then
"Draw saber forward, trot, march !" and away
goes Devon around piece of timber till hi
strikes the road leading TO the Courthouse
about a mile east of it; over the crest of the
hill and the descent towards the Court
house he is met by flag of truce Nothing
else could have stopped our army then. i
seems TO me that the work of Capehart's Bri
gade the evening before had much to do Will
capturing Lees army at that time aud place.
lsT n. Y. DRAGONS, Nunda, Colo.
He Wants II Riglited.