The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-02-07

tinued in the fight to the close we re-
treated to Smokers Gap beyond Upper
| vile, where the regiment was REFORMED,
and there spent the night.
Next day we moved on the trail OF the
enemy but saw only two parties Of
scouts; next morning about sunrise as we
crossed Bull Run mountains we saw
| Meade's wagon train on the plains or
/ Manassas under charge of Hancock's corps.
Stuart by different movements endeaVored
! to "cut out" some of the wagons, but
only succeeded in capturing an ambulance
and one cannon. He then secuted back
toward Fredericksburg and Umphries and
Occoquan to see that the enemy were
/ all gone from Lees rear. There were no
provisions in this country, but few houses
most of the timber had been cut; the
children would ask the soldiers for bread
| The only rations we had for more than
! two days was a piece of our bread about
! 2X4Xh inch. On Saturday about nooT we
reached Fairfax Station here we cap
tured a lot of commissary supplies prln-
cipally butter and crackers (hard-tack)
NV men got them some cheap straw hats
from a store, filed haversacks with
crackers and the hats with butter. 1t
was midday and a hot June day. The
butter melted and most of it escaped;
| the men dipped the crackers in the hats
and had the first satisfactory meal in
! four days.
As we passed on through Fairfax Court
House an old Virginia gentleman" with
swallow-tail coat, silk hat and stock cravat
standing in his front yard, asked. Where
are your troops from?' Henry Tilley OF
Co. X. replied From everywhere but
here and we are leaving here now We
went through Dranesvile and came in
! sight of Hancocks rear near LeesDurg
! placing pickets we halted until after sun
set, and then coming back several miles
turned through a pine thlcket without
road and having to use our hands to
keep from losing our hats went into the
road that leads to the Potomac river at
Rowscr's ford The river / should judge
was over half a mile wide and half way
up the saddle skirt. We folded in single
| file Hampton had reached the river and
forded before night; man on each bank
could watch the line and call when any
person would get too far down, and be
! in danger of getting into too deep water.
When we crossed it, was nine or ten
o'clock and no moon; each one had to
follow his file leader. 1t was midnight
before all were over.
Sunday morning about 10 O'Clock we
moved out to the pike leading from Fred
erick City to Washington. About two
o'clock were called to form and moved
! in a trot TO the pike; here we struck
train of wagons with six fine mules to
/ every wagon-said to be one hundred and
! twenty-five; we proceeded TO secure them
| they endeavored to wheel about and re-
I 1 4,
were overturned and there would be two
mules at the tongue. two tangled up
under the wagon and two standing up be-
hind it. The chase continued to Silver
Spring (Blair's residence) six miles from
/ Washington we got all but two of the
wagons While in the heat of the chase
! it occurred to me that our horses had
eaten mostly green grass for a month, and
| If my servant was keeping up with the
procession on my extra horse I might
| find myself dismounted in case there was
much "hard marching Some of the
horses in the command had succumbed
in the Occocuan trip and a considerable
squad turned to the rear at Fairfax. I
however concluded he was in the rear
and kept with the foremost When we
stopped the chase it was not ten minutes
before he came up in a gallop to the very
head of it.
It was said that Stuart who carried
with him on raids an electric battery
tapped the wires and found the wagons
were coming and prepared for their cap
ture. The next day he sent Gen. Meiggs
@. NJ. General U. S. Army a dispatch that
these mules were not as good as he had
generally furnished him, and that if he
did not keep better stock hereafter he
would supply himself elsewhere. The cap
ture Of these wagons probably lost Us
the victory at Gettysburg. Gen. Stuart
now started to find Gen. Lees army knows
| to be somewhere in Pennsylvania. When
! he determined on the raid he had sent
Jones and Robertsons brigades with the
wagon train-taking with him Hampton
and the two Lees with battery of ar
tillery. After capturing the wagons the
| programme was moving twenty two hours
out OF twenty four-a halt from to 1C
a. m. also from 8 to 10 p. m. There was
no disturbance until we reached West
Minister Monday night. Here a regiment
OF Delaware Cavalry opposed entrance and
killed several of the 9th Va. including two
Lleutenants. We found abundant supplies
Tor man and beast; after a hearty feed
for both and loading a portion in some
of the wagons, the depot containing then
was burned. Tuesday morning a detail
OF an officer and five men was made from
each regiment TO Impress" horses when
we crossed the Pennsylvania line. Strict
orders had been issued against taking
horses In Maryland; anyone disobeylng
should be court martiaed as a horse-thicf
This was queer order to some OF us.
My mothers carriage horses in North
! Carolina had a short time before been
impressed" for artillery service She was
during the entire war President of the
Ladies Soldiers Aid Society at Hlllsboro'
and had almost daily use for the carriage.
A committee each day in the week VISITED
the train on its arrival at the station
with such things TO cat as could be pro
cured for the sick and wounded and ifcSl
bandagcs for the wounded. The y. Z.
5 NJ. Department sent clothes to DC haoc
by the soldiers wives and daughters lor
which they were paid and enabled 10
supply their families These had 10 &c
| delivered and collected and settled lof'
1t the Maryland people through whose
section we were passing were our ifrsinla
beyond chin music" they had one OF INC