Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-16

bands of cavalry belonging to the ar. my. In the last named class was Lieu tenant James Pollard of the Ninth Vir- ginia cavalry, who was at home on a furlough. Learning by accident of Dahlgren's approach, Pollard aroused the home guards and furloughed men and planned to intercept the Yankees.
 Other furloughed officers and home guard leaders joined in with Pollard, and on the second night of Dahlgren's lonely march they laid an ambush. At point near the village of Walkertown they placed 15O men under cover, with orders not to fire until the raiders came close up. Without a suspicion of dan ger Dahlgren's men, the leader at the front, rode into the ambush, and the challenge Halt" rang out on the night air. Dahlgren answered by a threat, and the commander of the Confederate outpost instantly gave the word to fire. At the first volley Dahlgren fell dead. His men were surrounded and held up until daylight. when the whole party surrendered.
 Among the papers found on Dahlgren was one bearing his signature and pur. porting to be instructions to his men. It read: "We hope to release the prison CTS from Belle Isle first, and, having seen them fairly started, we will cross James river into Richmond, destroying the bridges after us and exhorting the released prisoners to destroy and burn the hated city, and do not allow the rebel leader Davis and his cabinet to escape"
 Another document not signed de elared: "Once in the city, it must be destroyed and Jeff Davis and his cab inet killed. Pioneers will go along with combustible material" General Lee sent photographic copies of the pa pers to General Meade, his opponent on the .Rapidan line, asking if the acts named in them had been authorized by the Federal authorities The reply was that neither the Federal government nor the army commander nor General Fitzpatrick had "authorized. sanctioned or approved the burning of the city of Richmond and the killing of MT. Davis and his cabinet nor any act not re- Quired by military necessity and in ac- cordance with the usages of war"
 And the fiendish proposal laid bare in Dahlgren's papers was matched on the Confederate side, according to the evi- dence of "A Rebel War Clerks Diary Under date of March 2, 1864, the diary reads: Last night, when it was SUD- posed that the prisoners of war at Lib- by might attempt to break out, General Winder, commander of the war prisons, ordered that a large amount of powder | be placed under the building with in structions to blow them up if the at tempt were made. Seddon, secretary of war, would not give an order for the work to be done, but he said signifi- cantly, The prisoners must not be al lowed to escape under any circum- stances which was considered sane tion enough. Captain - obtained an order for and procured several hundred pounds o9 gunpowder, which was 1 placed in readiness .
 The chief victim of Kilpatrick's raid | to Richmond was the son of Admiral l John A. Dahigren. He had served with l gallantry and distinction as an artiller- ist and staff officer. During the retreat 1 of Lee from Gettysburg he rode at the head of hundred sabers in pursuit of l Jeb Stuart's troopers. Tn a brush with 1 Stuart at Hagerstown he lost leg and ! used crutches on the Richmond raid, | which he joined as a volunteer.
 GEORGE l.. KILMER