The Washington herald., 1914-07-02

| peared not to be following, and at 6:5j
p. m. the road was again taken east
ward, for a night march to the Black
water, the last river between the COM
mand and safety.
In his "reminiscences C'Undsr the Old
Flag 1922, Gen. Wilson describes the
march. The way lay through an IN
broken forest The roads were poor and
| hedged in nearly impenetrabIe under
I brush. Halts were frequent and at every
| halt the men fell asleep in the saddle
Flankers were kept out as a precau-
| tion, and in side road they surprised
| and seized two troopers who proved to
belong TO Gen. W. II. F. Lees cavalry
command. They stated Gen. Lee was
{ marching by the Jerusalem road to cross
/ the route Of the column and cut IL on
! The pace was now quickened. and the
danger point was passed before the
enemy appeared. Arriving at the Black
water. at Blunts Bridge at miduighr,
/ Gen. Wilson found it not an ordinary
/ Virginia stream. but "a river. appar-
emily wide and deep enough to float the
Great Eastern"
1T was a dark and dismal scene. &"
writes Gen. Wilson, in the midst OF a
river bottom crowded with forest trees
clad with festoons of black moss. and
resounding with the hooting Of owls and
the haying Of distant dogs"
! The bridge had been burned. GropinC
about its ruins. Gen. Wilson found two
q stringpieces that might do service With
skill coming from practice as an engl-
neer. Gen. Wilson caused the bridge to
be rebuilt. with a roadway Of fence rails
covered with bouEhs. across which the
men could pass cautiously in single nile
leading their horses.
Only two squadrons had passed over
when one Of the burned stringers gave
way
With men and horses struggling in
water as black as the Styx." writes Gen.
/ Wilson, the scene was one never TO be
forgotten"
\ forest tree served as a new stringer.
and in half an hour the column was
again passing slowly across the Black
water At dawn the last man was over.
and in two hours more all the nearby
straggIers were across
The morning was brilliant and hot
At 6:l5 Gen. Wilson. in person. set fire
to train Of dried leaves and pine fence
rails that had been placed under the
bridge. As the smoke and flames arose
a Confederate cavalry officer appeared
on the other side Of the stream, and with
wave Of the hand. cried cheerily:
"Good-by. boys; I'm sorry to see YOU
safely over"
Gen. Wilson declares that this parting
well. was an episode that put his mind
at rest. The pursuit was ended.
The pace was now more leisurely That
afternoon the column went into camp at
Chipoak Swamp. half way between the
Biackwatcr and Lighthouse Point on the
James, and for the first time in ten days.
the whole command unsaddled and went
regularly to sleep.
The command had marched S25 miles
t.
last Is miles between a m, June y.
and p. m. July i. In the last sixty
hours the men had had but six hours
rest from marching or fighting
The last few miles of the march was
made July >, when the command rode
to Lighthouse Point on the James.
Wild RumorS Set at Rest.
Word of the safety Of the command.
sent hence to City Point. caused great
rejoicing there. for there had been
wild rumors OF complete disaster at
Reams Station, and many officers pro-
fessed TO believe that Wilson's COM
mand would never be seen again.
Gen. Wilson felt that his superiors
should have made some effort to warn
him that they had failed to secure tho
Weldon road. He also felt that Gen.
Sheridan, who had returned to the
army on June 81 from a raid to the
Virginia Central Railroad, should have
been hurried out TO his aid, or should
earlier have followed the enemy's main
body of cavalry and kept it from at
lacking him in superior force. Sheridan
had indeed started to find Wilson, but
not until July l.
Grant had felt confident that Wilson.
whom he knew well as a former aid,
would come through. and he expressed
his satisfaction at the result of the
raid.
The damage done the railroads near
Burkeville was so great that no train
over the damaged lines reached Rich
mond or Petersburg for sixty-three
days.
Tomorrow; sherman and political
generals.