The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-06-29
AT CEDAR CREEK.
What Was Seen by Member of the 122
Y.

= SEE in your issue of April Is an article
from Comrade A. L. Miller, Co. II, 9Th
- n. Cav, claiming that Gen. Clusters
command was entitled to more credit
for the victory at Cedar Creek than any
other portion of the forces comprising the
Eighth, Nineteenth, and Sixth Corps, or
Little Pills Army of the Shenandoah.
/ have yet to hear infantrymen saying
any thing against cavalrymen in the matter
of fighting, for they never failed to give us
show with the bare exception OF. foraging).
The finest thing saw during my three years
service was the cavalry charge on (our) left
of Berryville and Winchester Pike, Sept. 19,
1864 1t raised the cavalry very much i'll
my estimation, and / have never gotten
over it.
On the morning of Oct. 10, 1864, the Sixth
Corps held a position on the extreme right
of Sheridan's forces.a The Second Division,
Gen. George w. Getty, was on the right of
the corps, and the Third Brigade, Gen. D. d..
Bidwell composed of the list Me-, AID n. Y,
49th N. Y, nth N. Y, 122d N. Y, 6lst Pa,
occupied the right of the division; the 122d
N. Y. the right of the brigade.
Long before daylight we were reused from
our slumbers by picket-fring in our front,
but not enough to cause any uneasiness in
the Sixth Corps. Once awake for them
meant no more sleep that morning, and
soon fires were kindled and the coffee began
to simmer. All at once pandemonium broke
loose away down at the left, and apparently
a moment later rider came down in the
darkness to Headquarters, and Immediately
We heard the order, Pack up and fall in! i"
During all my term of service / never
ho xU;f cr1nh olaarifu
We were Immediately on double-quick, leav
ing coffee and meat strewed on the ground.
We double-quicked across the country from
extreme right until we were the extreme
left of army, or infantry hating just below
Middletown and half a mile from the pike.
The Eighth and Nineteenth Corps had
been knocked out; continuous stream of
their men had run through the marching
column of the Sixth as we were hurrying
for our position and to save the Army Of
the Shenandoah.
Everything was Early that morning. AS
soon as we halted we fronted. You could
not see the length Of regiment. A man
was sent out from each company in front,
but no sooner out than in again, saying,
The Johnnies are comingi"
We had orders to lie down, and then,
under the fog, you could see the line of
butternut coming on. There was not a shot
fired until they were within IS yards of US,
and then we delivered our volley, which
must have been fearfully destructive. Up
and at 1t was then the business. I never
could compute the time that we were in
this position, but long enough to lose 81 out
of 1876 men, and D. d. Bidwell, our brigade
commander, killed.
Then as the enemy fell back we fell back
in line of battle until our left covered and
lay on the pike. Here it was that we were
lying behind rudely-constructed works
when Little Phil rode into our lines as the
first organized troops since leaving Win
chester.
This was not far from 1920 a. m. As
Sheridan rode up to our line on his foam
fiecked, dust-covered horse, he took off his
hat and said:
Boys, if had been here this never
would have happened. We will whip them
out of their boots and 90 back to our old
camp tonight"
Cheer after cheer foated through the air
as that one-man reinforcement rode down
the line. Every man felt better and stronger.
The bugle sounded the advance, and ere long
we saw the disorganized, scurrying fragments
of the foe fleeing for safety, and again we
had them on the go, and the opportunity
for the cavalry had come and they improved
it nobly.-A. J. MERRIFIELD, Co. A, 122d
n. Y, Lysander, n. Y.