Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1910-12-16

lnlS position. Dut Sucn DatLle Is not
known in history, it surpasses all
others in magnitude, and the loss sur
passes that of any other engagement.
The enemy acknowledges a loss of
forty-two thousand killed, wouned and
missing; our loss will not exceed fif-
teen thousand. | cannot give you the
exact position of either army as / on
ly witnessed that portion of the field
that our command was in The main
body of Stuarts cavalry being ordered
on the extreme left to meet the enc
mics cavalry who had succeeded in
thanking our army and getting in the
rear. This was on the 9TH of July,
90. We met their cavalry, and it is
the only known regular cavalry battle
on this continent, after each body had
succeeded in securing their positions
the engagement was opened by the
booming of artillery which continued
to roar increasingly for two hours, the
cOntending parties in plain view of
each other as there was no shelter or
cover the battle being fought on level
gound. Our brigade or rather the
remnants of each command of the
brigade was dismounted as sharp
shooters, numbering about four hun
dred, had to contend with two regi-
ments of Yankee sharp shooters. We
took position behind a small fence
about 200 yards in advance of our
batteries and the main body of caval-
ry. Here we commended fercely with
the enemies sharp shooters, some
times driving them and sometimes
being drove by them, this sharp shoot
ing continued until about 4 O'Clock in
the evening when Gen. Stuart gave
the order to the cavalry to charge.
Gen. Hampton's Briagde led the
charge, presuming it would not be
out of order for me to join them in
the charge, 1 rode rapidly across the
lines in front of the line, passing
through a very heavy fire of musketry
and grape found myself by the side
of Gen. Hampton, at the head of his
Briagde. We charged the enemies
cavalry, which was drawn up in 8
lines Of battle, ready to receive the
charge proceeding rapidly towards the
enemy across a level field in range of
their batteries, and when in fifty
yards of their lines, we were opened
upon by Brigade of dismounted cav
airy from the woods, which fire I'M
horsed a good many Of our men. Bear
ing off to the left, we reached the
rear of their sharp shooters, who were
cut down by the sabers of our gallant
boys like grass, having returned to
our original position, the Brigade
was reformed, at that moment | look
ed to the left, and perceived Gen.
Lees Briagde charging with drawn
sabers. | Immediately joined them,
and rejecting for a moment | found |
had no saber, and had gone through
very gallant charge without a
weapon, except my revolver and it's
contents were exhausted. Just at that
moment one of the boys who had cap
tured one of the Yankee sharp shoot
ers was passing by. / informed him
of my situation, and he Immediately
gave me the saber of the Yankee,
this encouraged me very much.
Immediately Joined in the charge We
struck their right flank and broke
their column, but were compelled to
return for they were pouring their
grape thick and fast into our scatter
ed ranks. At this point my mare was
wounded severely by fragment of
shell, that had exploded on my left
killing a horse and rider. So l had to
retire. The third charge was made
by Gen. Hampton w. II. Lees
and F. Lees Brigades. This time our
cavalry succeeded in breaking their
columns and a hand to hand fight en-
sued, followed by a terrific slaughter,
such one has never been witnessed.
The loss in our Brigade was very
heavy. The battle ragged fiercely I'M
til dark came on, when the enemy
withdrew their forces, retreating rap
idly to the rear of their own army for
protection, leaving us in possession of
the entire field. On the following
day, Gen. R. E. Lee commenced the
removal of his army. This removal
was entirely unexpected to those who
had survived this battle, being stimu-
lated and encouraged, that we were
sufficiently strong, to hurl them from
this impregnable position, and COM
pletely rout their infatuated army.
But when the retrograde movement
commenced every soldier appeared sad
and seemed to wear an expression of
disappointment, the army falling
back in good order to Williamsport,
where the two great and powerful
armies of this continent stood paral-
lei to each other, neither army daring
to attack, but we were not idle. We