Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-06-20

you bottle. Be sure and give the name
u of your nearest express office. Address,
&c. AVER co. Lowell, Mass.
Some War History.
(Lynchburg News, June 5th)
The following is a portion of some in
teresting articles by Prot. Milton W. |
HUMPHREYS, of the University of Va,
on the attack made by Hunter on
Lynchburg in the summer of 1864. |
written for the Lynchburg News. This
article begins when Jones and limbo
den met at Mt. Crawford few days
before the battle of Piedmont.
ZONES not having arrived in per.
son, Imboden organized the reinforce
ments into two brigades, one under
Col. B. II. Jones, of the Goth Va, the
other under Col. W. d. Browne, of the
45th. The forces comprised reserves,
convalescents, details called in, and
every other available man. Imboden
says that the hospitals from Bristol to
Lynchburg had been emptied, and an
other authority says that one-armed
men might have been seen fighting in
the ensuing battle. But history should
not encroach on the domain of fiction,
especially the fairy.tale department.
This Heterogeneous mass was evenly
dividen between Jones and Browne.
1mboden makes the astonishing state
ment that no organized command of
infantry larger than a (single) battal-
ion came, and he seems not even to
have known that Bryan's battery was
there. To this battery were assigned
some artillerymen, chiefly from north
of the Potomac, who had been serving
it was said, at Charleston, s. G. These
replaced the cannoneers who had to
act as drivers. McClanahan's splendid
six-gun battery was with Imboden,
and the Boy Battery (reserves) Of
Staunton, under Capt. Marquis, had
already come On with a 20.pounder
Parratt and 20 FOUNDER Howitzer.
| s'Gen. Jones having arrived and ap-
proved the organization, the army was
put into battle array on the 4th. But
about noon the 18th cavalry reported
that Hunters whole force was moving
across to Port Republic on the east
road. Imboden with his cavalry moved
across to retard Hunters advance.
Brigadier General j. G.. Vaughn had
arrived with 800 cavalry, but as he
ranked Imboden and did not wish to
supersede him, he and his men remain
ed with Jones. It had been arranged
that, while Imboden retarded Hunter,
Jones was to convey the rest of the
army to Mowry's Hill, very strong
position, three miles from New Hope,
| towards Staunton. Imboden is very
severe on Jones for not adhering to
this plan; but when early on June 9Th,
Jones was moving towards Mowry's
Hill, he no doubt discovered the obyi-
GUS fact that Hunter could easily flank
him again and march on the macad-
amized road to Staunton.
"Imboden had been fighting Hunter
sharply. and had fallen back to Pied
mont, where he was preparing to force
Hunter to lose much time by fOrmi ng
line of battle, when Jones column ar
rived by the road that runs across from
the macadamized road to Piedmont.
Imboden says he protested SO earnestly
against fighting there that Jones be-
came angry, and with great emphasis
expressed his determination to fight
there, and if need be, to assume the
offensive.
THE BATTLE OF PIEDMONT.
No sooner had Jones arrived than
the Federal artillery opened. Stahel's
cavalry division was In line, and st.
Berkeley's section of McClanahan s
battery commenced shelllng it, and it
retired from view. Both armies now
prepared for battle, while artillery was
firing on both sides. For convenience
the road from Piedmont to Port Re-
public will be considered as running
north, though it runs much east of
| north The Confederate infantry was
posted along the almost semicircular
! northern edge of grove just to the
north of the hamlet. Its left rested
Of hi nd s,1 oct vorfi
cal bluff under which the Middle
River makes horseshoe bend with
the toe to the east. The right of the
infantry rested on the road. From left
to right the order was probably 45th
Va. and Beckley's battalion under Col.
Browne, then the Both and Goth Va.
under Col. Jones, the other commands
being divided between these 'brigades'
and posted IN manner not yet deter
mined. The cavalry, all dismounted,
was placed to the right of the road and
some 600 yards behind the infantry,
nearly in line with the prolongation of
the road by which Jones came. At this
point there were woods on both sides
of the main road, and the cavalry oc-
cupied the northern edge. Vaughn on
the left next to the main road and I'm
boden on his right forming the extreme
right of the army. The artillery was
posted as follows: just behind the Goth
regiment the Boy Battery, 'and on it's
right close to the road the two short
range guns of Bryan's battery; to the
right of the road in wheat field, and
about in line with the guns just NAM
ed, McClanahan's battery; and on the
extreme right near Imboden 3 right
wing, the four long ranged guns of