Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-05-28

| the CnurCnYllle cavalry cOnsututeu the
charging squadron of the regiment. and
Jenkins's Brigade. with myself first. and
Captain james A. Wilson, or the Church
Vile Cavalry, second in command.
In 1863 the Fourteenth, with several
other regiments, Sixteenth and Seven
teenth Cavalry, with V. A. Witcher's
battalion OF cavalry, were put under Gen
eral a. q. Jenkins. Jenkins's Brigade
was In advance of General r. T.. Lees
army In 1868. when IL invaded Pennsyl-
vania. Our brigade was in the battle Of
Martinsburg, Va, where we captured
with the aid of other troops the town.
| artillery. and prisoners, In June, 1858,
this company and the Churchville Cav
airy charged through Chambersburg.
| Penn, about o'clock at night, and
drove away the home guard. From
| Chambersburg Jenkins's Brigade went TO
! Carlisle. and then was ordered again In
! front OF Lees army on Its way 10 Get
tysburg. Some Of our company were
! with General Jubal A. Early In the first
! days fight at Gettysburg. We guarded
| prisoners till the evening of the third day,
| when we were sent TO the rear Of the
| Federal lines to join General Jeb. Stu
| arts command, who was fighting Cen
eral Griggss cavalry. We were put in
| line of battle on the extreme left of our
infantry, near Rummels barn. The cav
airy fight Of the evening Of the third
day at Gettysburg was a desperate bat
tie. Major Eakle, the only field officer,
was soon disabled, and had 10 retire,
leaving the command of the regiment TO
myself a very large per cent. of the
men and officers engaged were killed or
wounded.
i went, together with Generals Hamp-
ton, Mumford. and others, TO that battle
GEi a a
locating the very lines which we then
occupied.
Returning from Gettysburg. several OF
our company were killed and wounded
at Williamsport, July IA, 1863. myself
among the wounded. The hard service
the company saw with Lees army after
fits return from Pennsylvania, In 1868, I'M
I'll recovered from the effects Of my
wound. I have no personal knowledge |
Of. II participated IN the great cavalry |
battle at Brandy Station. where more |
cavalry were said TO have been engaged |
than in any other battle.
We served under General John Echols. |
in the battle of Droop Mountain, not far |
from Lewsburg w. Va. and spent the |
winter of lS63'64 in Monroe county, |
w. Va.
In the spring OF 1864. General Jenkins
having been killed, our brigade was
placed under General John NJ McCaus-
land This company and the Church
vile Cavalry constituted McCausland's
extreme rear-guard from Covington TO
Buchanan, while McCausland was in
front of Hunter and Crook. delaying
their advance on Lynchburg Va. Every
foot of ground was contested, and every
possible hindrance imposed in the enc
my's advance. We made charge after
charge, and had many skirmishes. At
buchanan. so closely was the rear guard
pursued that some of it could not cross
the bridge over James river before we set
it afire, and had to swim the river. Hunt
er and Crook were thus delayed by Nc
Causland until General Early could be
sent to save Lynchburg. As a reward
for the gallant conduct of this squadron
in that march a months furlough
was given it, and Lynchburg presented
McCausland a horse, sword. and pair
of silver spurs for saving the city.
Over and over again did the men and Of
hcers display in this long Journey of sew
enty-five or one hundred miles the great
est endurance and unflinching bravery.
TO have been thus kept so long without
relief at the post of danger. and where
the most important service was TO be rem
dered, was the best evidence OF how our
services We're appreciated. When we re-
We again advanced down the Valley OF
Virginia in 1864 in front of General Jubal
a. Early, in his raid on Washington city.
Our regiment and some of our company |
were in the battle of Monocacy where
General Lew Wallace was routed. The
cavalry was very highly commended by
General Early for the very gallant man.
ner in which the enemy's flank was turn
ed by il.
On, w. IL. 1 =
McCausland with his brigade and Gener-
al Bradley Johnson's cavalry brigade
were sent TO Chambersburg to retaliate
for the burning Hunter and others had
done in Virginia and the South. our
squadron did not actively participate in
the burning of Chambersburg. but was
one of the approaches when it
was burnt, and constituted McCausland's |
rear guard when he left there. McCaus-
land captured Old Town, Md, and
after making feints at Cumberland, came
to Moorefeld. Here the enemy surprised
General Johnson. whose brigade was
next to the enemy, and came in among
his men at daybreak. While command |
ing the regiment, / ordered our squadron
to charge the enemy. 1t did so in splen-
did style, and stopped the enemy at that
point
Right at the ford across the South
Branch of the Potomac was the hardest
OF the fights, one where this squadron
lost most in killed and wounded.
1t lost heavily in killed, wounded, and
captured, and myself among the captured.
was taken TO Camp Chase, o., and Tiers
renamed TILL the spring OF 1866. / cannot
give even a slight personal ac-
count of the hard fights the company was
In nntll my return TO the army. They
were many, though, and its services were
highly commended by all when returned.
In March, 1865, came back TO our regi-
ment. then transferred to Beales Brigade.
Army of Northern Virginia. 1t was near
Five Forks. 1 was put IN command Of our
regiment by Colonel Cochran uhe
only field officer presently, who was
loo unwell to command. From Five Forks
to AppOmattox we were hard press
I'd, with little FOOD and rest. All the way
we were attacked on every side. Our
ranks were thinned out by sickness IA
-igue, hunger, wounds, death. broken |
down horses, until we had not over a hun
ired men and officers in our regiment on
he morning of the 9th OF April, 1865. Not
all this, and the general i'm
preston that our cause was lost. General
". III. Il. Lee ordered our regiment on
Inc 9Th Of April. 1865. to charge and take
battery then In our front. This II did,
NTH other cavalry. capturing 1t and u
number OF prisoners. The regiment lost
n killed and wounded in a few minutes a
iery large per cent. Its color-bearer was
oiled in the charge while planting his
lag on the enemy's artillery. This is said
% be the last charge ever made by, and ,
his the last man killed in battle in the
Army Of Northern Virginia
IL gives me the greatest pleasure to
testify to the gallantry Of the men and
officers OF our old company in many hard
-ousht battles. Even when hope was
gone. and all looked dark. they We're | I
Wiling to do their duty as soldie-s ana |