Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-09-14
Oc1obep fS. 1863
[copyright. 1903, by G. L. Kilmer.1


 battlefield. Kilpatrick's cavalry faced Jeb Stuart's troopers on the banks of Broad run, Little KIP being ambi- tious to do something brilliant with the division that had come into his hands since last he crossed sabers with Stuart in that region. Early in the morning he put his skirmishers across the creek at BuckIand, where Stuart was in. per son with Wade Hampton's division After standing off Fitzpatrick for a couple of hours the Confederate leaders matched up little plot tosgive the i'm petuous Yankee trouble Fitz Lees division was few miles distant from Hampton, on the flank of the direct route between Buckland and Warren ton. Thus the situation was against Fitzpatrick. Hampton's division. on his front, was match for him alone, ard Stuart had FiH Lees division free to some in strong just when and where it could do the, most good Stuart retired slowly with Hampton's squadrons from in front of the stream and in or der to deceive the Yankees left his own dinner unfinished on farmers table.
 Fitzpatrick had with him two bri- gades, led by Custer and Davies. Stuart's ruse worked well for the eager TederaI commander rushed ahead with Davies men after Stuart had allowed Hampton to be driven" from the crossing with a good deal of thunder by Custer. Custer was stationed along the stream to hold the crossings in case Fitzpatrick should want to march back that way with Davies at the end of the chase.
 Stuart,s scheme for getting Kilpat- rick into trap allidepended upon Bftz Lees dash into the space between Davies marching column and the cross fngs of Broad run The CDnfederates expected that Fitzpatrick would ride out with his whole force, including Custer, and that Fitz Lee would strike him in the rear and drive him upon Hampton's sabers. But Fftz Lee found Custer on guard with his Woiverenes, the Michigan brigade which he made famous.
 Custer imagined, of course, that he pushed Hampton from the banks of Broad run. When he reached there with the Michigan line he found Hamp- ton in position on the south bank, ap- parently there to stay. Hampton's ar tfllery was posted to cover the entire stretch of the. stream After testing the fire of the gums for an hour Custer crossed over part of his squai1rons be- low Hampton's position and, having turned the enemy's flank, as he sup posed, forced him to retreat.
 <>A4 ter got all his men across and after chasing the fleeing Lohnnies a mile gave his men a rest for dinner. But this dinner was disturbed just as Stu arts own had been. While Custer halt ed, Fitzpatrick dashed madly on after Hampton with Davies brigade; then, according to programme, F'itz Lee bounced into the field at the head of 2,000 sabers. He struck. the tail end of Davies brigade ard, ran plump intosthe flank of Custer. Custer had been fac ing west with his whole line, and Fitz Lee came down on him from the south. Wheeling the Sixth Michigan to the left, he deployed it in front of Penning- ton's battery, with the First Vermont cavalry gathered around the guns.
 Fitz Lee brought up Breathead's bat terry and opened upon Pennington. At the same time he dismounted a regi ment of troopers and sent them on run to capture the Federal guns. Pen- nington poured his fire into the scat tered line of gray until they came with in twenty paces of the battery, then Hmbered up and crossed to the east bank of the creek again. Custer had sent the Fifth and Seventh Michigan well to the front and as soon as Pen nington retired his guns these squad rons turned back and kept up-t the fight against Fitz Lees troopers for an hour. Meanwhile the sound of the guns at the crossing was the signal for Stuart to turn Hampton back upon Fitzpatrick and Davies Hampton had the bri- gades of Gordon, Rosser and Young. Gordon kept in the road in Davies front and gradually pressed him back, while Rosser and Young charged head long through the fields upon each faux. Davies fought gaIlantly, but his line was overlapped by that of the enemy I on all sides, and the sound of the guns at Buckland showed that there was an enemy to fight in the rear. This phase of the skir1nish ended in the rout of Davies, and his whole command took 1 to flight
 l When Davies men got back to Gus ter's battlefield they found Fitz Lee between them and their friends Ros- ser and Young had followed them closely, for these were two of Stuarts
 most dashing brigadiers. Stuart had
 intended to wipe out Fitzpatrick, and it | looked to Davies and his men for the
 moment as though they were lost.
 Fighting did no good. Safety lay in
 running, and they ran a, good five miles without halting and without delivering l a shot or saber stroke. '',The Buckland
 races this skedaddle of Kilpat trick was | called.
 While Stuart made easy work of Da- | vies' brigade, Fitz Lee didn't find it so easy to dispose of Custer. Custer was
 a hard fighter, and even when he saw 1 his flank hrpEpn hy Fjtz ac5S svvrsrr,