Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-07-31

feeding the Monocaey. and so fierce
was the struggle that its water was
dyed with the blood. Gordon makes
note of the extraordinary circumstance
in his official report of the battle. WITH
Ricketts, occupied in holding off Cor
don on the south. Ramseur's men met
with faint. opposition along the river.
They carried the railroad and pike
bridges. and a battery galloped across
to open fire on the rea of Ricketts,
line. That ended hope for Wallace.
Ricketts, men moved north to join
Tyler, who still held on to the stone
bridge. Gordon's men had been too
badly punished to seriously interfere
with Ricketts, retreat. although it was
made under fire.
Mounted Raiders at Work.
The loss In Wallace's ranks was
about 700 killed and wounded and
double that number missing. The
brunt of the fighting was borne by
nine of Ricketts, regiments. aggregat-
ing about $500 men. Early confessed
to 700 killed and wounded. The Con-
federates made no pursuit and did not
take up the march to Washington
until the 10th. They confronted the
Notifications of Washington on the
18th, too badly used in marching and
fighting to risk an assault.
Meanwhile Gilmor's rough and ready
horsemen had galloped on to the line
Of the Baltimore and Philadelphia rail-
road and cut the communications
north. Johnson's cavalry brigade per-
formed the same service on the North
ern Central. and Washington was as
much isolated from the north as 1t
had been in April. 1861. that, too, with
a hostile army marching upon 1t across
Maryland soil.
Major Gilmor struck the Philadel-
phia, Wilmington and Baltimore rail-
road at Magnolia Station. Stopping
two passenger trains near the bridge
over Gunpowder river, he burned
them, then backed one of the flaming
trains upon the bridge.
At the Gates of Washington.
Late on the 18th the straining eyes
Of the president saw from the bastions
of Fort Stevens the gray ranks of
Breckenridge, Gordon and Ramseur In
full battle array, closing In on the
volunteer skirmishers and driving
them back toward the works. The
departments had beer emptied in order
to man the parapets with an army of
clerk soldiers, who for the most part
had never handled a musket except In
the simple drill of the manual. The
Sixth corps veterans had not yet ar
rived. Early was for forcing an at
tack without delay, but when 1t came
to his generals they said that the
soldiers were too much exhausted by
the rapid march from the Monocacy.
Positions were seized upon high ground
commanding Fort Stevens, and the
army ~bivouacked. with its pickets ex-
changing shots with the sentinels
guarding the gates of Washington.
General Frank Wheaton's brigade Of
the Sixth corps. q vanguard of the re-
serves. relieved the pickets at Fort
Stevens In the evening. SO intense
was the crisis that Lincoln and his
cabinet went out to the fort early on
the 18th to watch the issue.
Early's position vas lear Silver
Spring. due north of Washington, a lit
tie west of the Seventh street road,
with the dome of the capitol in full
view. The defenses of the city on that
side consisted of a series of detached
forts generally connected by rifle pits.
Abraham Lincoln Under Fire.
The one In Early's front was Fort
Stevens, with De Russy on the west
and Slocum on the east. Dawn on the
18th showed the Confederates in
strength around the Rives house on the