The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-10-28
A CAVALRY RAID.
An Incident OF the War Told
by an Ex-Confederata
A Mixed Affair in Which the Oaptors Be.
came the Captured Several Times.

stIuCN tilc AtiuntlC anu MuCou IaiiIouu
at Jonesboro' and other points l was
attached to Armstrong's brigade of
Jackson's division of Confederate cav.
airy. The Federal raider struck Jones'
boro' late one afternoon, drove out the
militia stationed there in small numbers
an.y applied the torch to four-fifths of
the town. Next morning as they came
on up to Lovejoy's station, our division,
which had been widely scattered the
day before, were massed and ready for
fight. Our infantry had been fighting
and falling back for an hour, when we
moved into the fight, two thirds of the
command being dismounted to support
one of our batteries, and while lying in the
ravine just behind the guns were taken /
in flank by a charge of the Fourth
Michigan cavalry. l admit that we
were badly ratified at the onset,
some of the men breaking for the
cover Of wood few hundred yards
away, and being sabcrcd as they ran. A
cavalryman rode straight at me with up
lifted sabre, and l hauled upmy musket
to shoot him off his horse. At that time
my regiment was armed with rifles, shot
guns, carbines, revolvers, sabres and
swords. A few men had carbncs and
sabres together; all others depended
on one weapon alone. Those who had
muskets did not have, except in rare in
stances, sabres; those who had sabrcs
had neither muskets nor revolvers. Not
over one company in the regiment was
as well equipped as the Fcderals. had
an infantry muskct with bayonet at
tached, and when / sought TO fire on the
cavalryman at close range the charge
would not explode. Then as he rode
me down, l defended myself with the
bayonct, wounding him in the hand and
flinging his sabre to the ground. had
the advantage and he saw it and grace
fully surrendered and came down off his
horse.
During this time there was fighting all
around us. A part of our men used the
ravinc for rifle pit and could not be
dislodged, and the cavalry were gallop-
ing hither and thither through the
'<G, / asked "s- 1--;-~-- - ---'--- -
h UlnU hp hntnnfro1 IN 0pI no answered.
Fourth n: p..Iiats were zipning
about us like angry bees, but | could
not take him to the rear for the simple
reason that there was no rear. Rebel
and Yank were mixed up like beans in
bag as far as / could Sec stood hold
ing him by the arm with one hand, and
hanging to his horse with his other,
when two Yankee Calvarymcn came
riding up. My man appealed to them,
and as they raised their sabcrs at me l
surrendered as prisoner of war.
"Watch your chance and run him in
to our lines" said one of the men to my
captor, and both rode off at the call of a
bugle.
The Yankee now had his sabcr and my
gun, and as his horse became very restive
he could give me but little attention.
He asked me what command
/ belonged to, how the fight
seemed to be going, and rather depended
on my honesty not to run off. He had
just suggested moving along the ravine
when dismountcd Johnny, who was
dodging about in the smoke, came upon
us. He took in the situation at glance,
and inside of minute Fourth Michigan
was again my prisoner. My friend took
the saber and mounted the horse and
rode away, while l got my musket
back.
"You'll p! obably be re-captured again, u
/ said to the blue-coat as we walked side
by side up the ravine.
"Very likely" he replied as he walked
on ahead and ducked every two seconds
Tor bullet.
We had proceeded not over hundred
wards when a crowd of about twenty
cavalymcn, nearly evenly divided as t.
friend and foe, came surging down upor
us as they cut aud slashed. We wer'
both knocked down in jify, and go
cut on the head from horses hoo
which left me unconscious for quartz
of an hour.
When l rallied the fight was oven tn
Fcderals having flankcd us and passct
on. As my captor and prisoner was no
found on the ground the conclusion wa
that he escaped to his own lines.
have always hoped so, for he seemed t
be fairly good fellow. Detroit Ere
Press,