The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-05-29
FINDING A BATTERY.
An Incident of the Retreat from Winchester, Va.
In JGiI, 1864.

An Incident of the Retreat from Winchester, Va,
In JGiI, 1864.
EDITOR NATfoaAL TRIpuNE: So much has
been written about the late war that. at the
request OF several mombors of my battery l3Oth
n. Y. lnd'p't l.. Al that / give herewith an
incident which occurred under my own eyes.
While We were covering tue retreat Of our
army under Gen. Wright on July 81, 1864,
from Winchester Va, To Bunker Hill, panic
seized our troops, caused by the report that the
rebel cavalry had attacked our TANKS i'm front,
and the result was that drivers of teams an.
hitchcd their horses aud aed aud the road
became 80 blocked that wo were obi ged 10 turn
out to the left OF the road While march ing
along We found battery OF rifle guns, with
caissons, abandoned. We decided although
hard pressed aud without visible aupport, that
we should take the battery along. by taking
two horses from each OF our guns aud caissons,
making use OF all the spare horses aud mount
ing every available man, We succeeded in tax
ing the whole battery about So miles, to Sandy
Hook, Md, opposite Harpor's Ferry, whore We
arrived July -, 1864, aud went into camp. To
do this we had to retire, lighting the next day
July %, from Bunker Hin TO Martinsburg
section by section, owing 10 the scarcity of
men, caused by saving the abandoned battery
While still lying at Sandy Hook, July %
the officers of the abandoned battery which we
had saved, aud which believe was either Bat.
terry Il or + of the Independent batteries of
West Virginia, had the efiTontery to demand
the return OF the battery, which was refused !;
but II was subsequently delivered by order OF
the General commanding, under protest from
US. think this Incident worthy of public
notice aud remarkable not alone Tor the fact of
having saved the battery from falling into the
hands OF the enemy and being used against u.s.
the saving Of thousands Of dollars to the Gov
ernmont in the value of the guns, equipments
aud ammunition, but also for the fact that no
Official mention was ever made of il nor any
credit given 10 US whatever. / think 10 there
fore my duty To give such share of credit ns the
publication OF this may bring 10 tho men of my
battery.
Should this meet tho eye of any Of the officers
and men of the saved battery supposed To be
is or OF West virginia., or by Others who
participated IN said battle who remember the
circumstances, hope they Will take the trouble
To verify the facts here stated. At the time it
did not occur to US that we were doing anything
but soldiers duty, aud we did not even think
OF keeping a memorandum of tho battery 3
name, while all papers relating 10 il are now in
the hands of the GoycFnneht. 1t so hnppencd
also that the term OF our three-ytars men ex-
pred July "a, and they were mustered out
Aug. 8, 1864, by which we we're short OF men
for active service, and We're therefore detached
from the army iii the Shenandoah Valley, and
placed III the Notifications of Bolivar Nights.
For that reason We never afterwards came in
contact with nor had any relation whatever
with the officers or men of tho rescued battery
during the remainder of our service up to June
~, ls65.-CHAs. A. HAUsMASN, First Lieu
tenant, Both N. Y. lnd'pt l.. A., Tribune
Building, l5i Nassau ST., New York.