USA > New York > Boots and saddles. A history of the first volunteer cavalry of the war, known as the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry, and also as the Sabre regiment. Its organization, campaigns and battles > Part 14
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We received orders from General Milroy to fortify Berryville, and the work was commenced on the 24th of May.
On the Ist of June, I was commissioned captain of Company "C," vice Boyd promoted to the rank of major, but did not then take command of my company.
On the 7th of June a negro came in and told us that one of our men was lying dead, shot by bushwhackers. about five miles from town. It proved to be Charles
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Davis, alias Tacy, of Boyd's company. Thomas James of the same company was missing, and could not be found. In a few days James returned to camp, almost used up. He said that he and Davis had been fired upon by six bushwhackers, and that when Davis fell they took him prisoner. They were going to shoot him, but finally concluded to take him along. He made his escape shortly afterwards, and wandered through the mountains till he struck the river, and finding a small skiff he crossed over and reached camp.
On the 8th of June Mosby's guerrillas captured our wagon train on its way from Winchester with provisions; taking twelve inules with the harness, and leaving the wagons and their contents in the road untouched. They had evidently been frightened off by the approach of some of our men. The guard, consisting of about twenty infantry, was captured, however, and carried away on the mules.
On the 10th Captains Boyd and Bailey were ordered out, with about one hundred men, to go through " Mos- by's Confederacy," on account of the capture of our train. They knew very well that they couldn't catch any of the guerrillas in daylight, so they made up their minds to try it by night. They crossed the river and the mountains early in the evening, and commenced their search for " game" about midnight.
They would noiselessly surround a house and knock at the door, when a female head, with night cap on, would pop out to inquire what was wanted. In some cases they had to threaten to break the doors in or burn the house. in order to effect an entrance, while in other cases they were admitted at ones. When delayed they always knew there was "game" inside; but they couldn't
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always find it, as the "Johnnies" had secret hiding places in the houses which they frequented.
They had taken quite a number of prisoners, but had not yet reached Mosby's headquarters, which were said to be in the house of a Mr. Hathaway. Some of the prisoners had escaped in the darkness, and. fearing they might carry the alarm to their chief, Bailey set out with a few of the best men and horses in the party to try and effect the capture of so noted a personage. No doubt he was thinking of flaming newspaper articles, in which his name should appear conspiciously, as the capturer of Mosby, and it may be that he had one eye upon promotion.
After a sharp ride of a mile or so they came upon the house they were seeking, and quickly surrounded it. Bailey dismounted, accompanied by one or two of his men, and knocked at the door; but no response. He then struck the door sharply with the butt of his revol- ver, and a window was heard to go up. "What's the matter ?" said a shrill female voice from the window; evidently very much annoyed at being aroused at such an hour of the night.
"Open this door quickly." said Bailey, or we will burst it open. " Who are you ?" was the reply. "Never mind who we are, but come down and let us in." The head was withdrawn, and in a few seconds the door was opened by Mr. Hathaway. On entering Bailey inquired for Mosby's room, and not being answered immediately. he took the light and went to look for it.
The first room he entered was Mosby's, but " the bird had flown." leaving his mate to keep the nest warm. It was an awkward matter to search the room, but it had to be done. and Mrs. Mosby offered no objections.
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Nothing could be found, except a pair of spurs, giving any clue to Mosby's whereabouts, however, and the party felt much disappointed.
It appears that Mosby had been in the house, but had got out of a window into the branches of a tree, from which he was quietly watching the party,and in the darkness he was not discovered. They got his fine sorrel mare, however, which had been presented to him by his friends, besides about twenty-five other very fine horses belonging to his officers and men. I afterwards owned one of these, which had belonged to a Lieutenant Beatty. Sergeant Fokey, of Company D, owned the Mosby mare, and christened her " Lady Mosby." She was a beauty, and very fast.
The troops around Fairfax seemed to live in mortal dread of Mosby and his men, ever since his bold cap- ture of General Stoughton ; and we determined to show them that their fears had exaggerated the danger. Ac- cordingly Captains Boyd and Bailey, with one hundred men, were ordered to ride through all the most import- ant places between Berryville and Fairfax, and report at headquarters at the latter place.
When they arrived at the outposts they were halted, and the news spread like wild-fire, growing as it spread, until it was rumored in Washington that Mosby had at- tacked the outposts at Fairfax.
When order had been restored General Halleck tele- graphed General Milroy " not to do so any more." with- out notifying the authorities at Washington. (!)
About this time Lieutenant-Colonel Von Schickfuss was dismissed from the service. and Major A. W. Adams was appointed lieutenant colonel and took command of the regiment.
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CHAPTER XVIL.
Advance of Lee's Army-Retreat from Berryville-Fight at the Ope- quon-Battleof Winchester-Milroy's Retreat-Skirmish at Martins- burg-Our Wagon Train Escapes.
0 N Thursday. the 11th of June, 1863. we received information from General Milroy, that the enemy were moving down the " Valley" with the evident inten- tion of attacking our position ; and it was arranged that the force at Berryville, under Colonel Me Reynolds, should be ready to fight or fall back, as circumstances might require. On hearing two guns fired at Winches- ter we were to set out for that place as rapidly as possi- ble; and videttes were posted at the Opequon Creek, about half way between Berryville and Winchester, to give us timely warning of the "signal." Scouting parties, under Captains Hendricks, Boyd and Bailey, were also sent out to observe the movements of the enemy. On the afternoon of June 12th, Captain Hen. dricks came upon the enemy's advance, near White Post, some twelve miles from Berryville towards Front Royal, and a lively skirmish ensued, in which two of our men were killed. On hearing from this party we got every- thing ready for a fight.
On Saturday morning, JJune 13th, our scouting parties were driven in by a strong force of Confederate cavalry and artillery, and we formed in line of battle to meet the enemy; our artillery manning the fortifications. At 9:00 a. m. our videttes came galloping in from the Opequon, with intelligence that the " signal guns " had been tired at Winchester; and soon everything was in commotion, as
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we knew the enemy had then attacked that place in force. The Confederates were advancing rapidly upon us at Berryville, and to save our wagon train, we were com- pelled to fight them with our cavalry and artillery for nearly an hour; the infantry having gone with the train. We then withdrew the guns and followed the train, which had been sent towards Harper's Ferry ; the road between Berryville and Winchester being in possession of the enemy. The First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry formel the rear and advance guards. We had scarcely cleared the precincts of the town when General Rodes' Division of Ewell's (formerly Stonewall Jackson's) Corps, came rushing in like a tidal-wave ; foaming with rage because we had eluded them, when they had fully expected to " bay " the whole brigade.
We followed the Harper's Ferry road only a few miles, and then turned westward. in the direction of Summit Point, in order to reach Winchester from the rear. Our wagon train, under the acting quartermaster, Lieutenant Boyd, was directed to keep right on to Martinsburg, by way of Bunker Hill; and Captain Martindale, with Company " II," was sent with them as an escort. The rest of the troops proceeded to Winchester.
The enemy's cavalry had followed us up, and on reach- ing Summit Point they learned all about our wagons, and sent a considerable force in pursuit. This force overtook the train at Bunker Hill, and there was a very sharp fight between them and Captain Martindale's mer. lasting over half an hour. While the fight was in pro- gress Lieutenant Boyd caused his drivers to lay on the whip, and, having a good turnpike under him, he sue- ceeded in reaching Martinsburg in safety, without losing a single wagon.
FIGHT AT THE OPEQUON-June 13, 1863.
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Captain Boyd's wife, his son Andrew, and daughter Minnie, were riding in a buggy with the wagon train ; and when the fight began their horse ran away, upset- ting the buggy, spraining Mrs. Boyd's ankle very badly, and the whole party were captured.
A large force of the enemy's cavalry followed us towards Winchester, overtaking our extreme rear guard, under Major Boyd, near the Opequon River, and charg- ing them in a most determined manner. Hearing the firing in the rear, Colonel MeReynolds ordered me to form the infantry in line of battle on the hill west of the Opequon, which we had just crossed, and to call in the advance guard under Major Quinn.
Our battery, under Captain Alexander, guarded by four companies of the Sixth Maryland Volunteers, under Lieutenant-Colonl MeKellop. was in the act of crossing the river, the ford being shallow, when the enemy were heard approaching, uttering frightful vells, and driving Boyd's rear guard before them. Captain Alexander had posted his guns in a commanding position in the road, and as the enemy appeared in view, he burst shell after shell among them, which threw them into consider- able confusion, killing and wounding quite a number of them. At that moment Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, who had formed our regiment behind a slight eminence, burst upon them with. the sabre, cutting and thrusting right and left. Not a shot was fired by our boys; but their flashing steel could be plainly seen from the hill, where the colonel commanding and his staff stood with the in- fantry in line of battle, and the shouts of the combat- ants could be distinctly heard, as each party strove des- perately to drive the other back.
This hand-to-hand conflict lasted several minutes, the
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" blue and the gray" being so mixed that the artillery could not be used ; and Captain Alexander " limbered up" and took a position further to the rear. The enemy greatly outnumbered our regiment, but by our superior skill with the sabre, the " Johnnies" were compelled to give way.
" Our hearts were stout. our swords were out.
And we soon made lightsome room."
In a few moments, however, the " graybacks" picked up fresh courage and made a second attempt to capture our artillery. As they came yelling on they received a perfect hurricane of grape and canister from Alexander's guns ; and the four companies of the Sixth Maryland Volunteers poured in a scathing volley from their mus- kets. This staggered the enemy, but some of them suc- ceed in reaching the rearmost gun ; and a regular melce ensued between the rebel horsemen and our gunner , in which several of the enemy were killed. This did not last long, as a second volley from the infantry sent the enemy flying to the rear, hotly pursued by our regiment, which drove them clear out of sight and hear- ing, capturing a number of prisoners.
In this affair the enemy lost thirty men killed, in- cluding two captains, and had fifty wounded and cap- tured, including a colonel and a major ; while the cas- ualties on our side were but two men killed, and five wounded : all belonging to our regiment. Captain Prendergrast of ours was captured and disarmed at the commencement of the fight, but our boys re-took him on following up our victory.
The officers and men of our regiment performed won- derful feats of valor in the hand-to-hand engagement with the enemy at this point, and many of the enemy's
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killed and wounded were the work of their gleaming sabres. Men and officers were knocked from their horses right and left, as the contending forces met in the charge ; and many a gallant steed rolled on the sward, being overturned by the shock of the charging squad- rons. In this rush our men had the advantage at first, having struck the enemy in front and flank, while in confusion ; but the oncoming foe took us in flank the next instant, and in the melee some of the men who fell were actually trampled to death by the hoofs of the horses.
We had no more trouble that day from the enemy, their experience in this fight being too expensive to re- peat, and we reached Winchester about dark ; where we found that our troops under Milroy had been fighting all day with the advance of General Lee's army. The day had been fearfully hot, and we suffered from thirst : but the rain came down in torrents in the evening, cool- ing us most refreshingly.
Captain Bailey had been on a scouting expedition at the time we left Berryville, and was cut off by the ene- my ; but, taking to the fields, he arrived at the Opequon in time to take a full hand in the fight. As he was nearing us he found himself in close proximity to the enemy, and, as a precautionary measure, he directed his guidon bearer to furl the flag. After the fight he in- quired for his colors, fearing they had been captured by the enemy, and was told by his Irish standard-bearer that he had "twirled" them. "What's that?" said Bailey, not quite understanding the remark. " Why," said the bold fellow, " You told me to " twirl" the flag. and I "twirled it over the fence." (!) " What the divil would I have done wid it in the fight anyway ?"
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Bailey now understood the matter, and was mad enough to blow the poor fellow's brains out, but he had fought like a Turk, and the matter was regarded as a good joke.
We had neither rations nor shelter, not even a change of underclothing ; everything having been packed in the wagons, to facilitate the movements of the troops in case of a battle.
We had had nothing to cat since morning, and noth- ing was to be had at Winchester; everything being packed up ready for a move. At one o'clock next morning, while yet dark, the troops were marched into the fortifications located on the ridge north-west of the town ; our brigade being assigned to the " Star Fort."
There was some lively fighting on the outskirts of the town on Sunday morning, and our regiment charged through the main street, capturing a number of prison- ers. These men informed us that we were fighting Ewell's Corps, of Lee's army; the whole of which was then on its way to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania. We could hardly credit the story, but it was confirmed by some deserters who came in shortly afterwards; and the final result of this movement was the " battle of Gettys- burg."
It seemed strange that we should have been left at Winchester to be crushed by Lee's army, without some word from headquarters; but such was really the case. and somebody was to blame for such a blunder-for a blunder it was, and a -ad one to General Mitroy's Divi- sion, as will be seen shortly.
General Milroy sent to us for an officer and fifty men of the First New York ( Lincoln) Cavalry, to carry a dispatch to Martinsburg; and Major Boyd, being aux-
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THE STAR FORT -- Winchester, Va. June 14, 1863.
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ious about his family, which had gone with our wagon train, was detailed for this duty. He took his whole troop along, and succeeded in eluding the enemy, who then occupied all the roads in our rear, and arrived safely at his destination.
At 5:00 p. m. on that day, the enemy opened on us at Winchester, with their artillery, planted on the hills south-west of the town; and the sky over head was filled with solid shot and bursting shells. Eighteen guns poured their concentrated fire upon the little fort occu- piel by our brigade, and the air was ablaze with burst- ing shell and other missles. A piece of shell which exploded directly over us, passed through the rim of my hat, and knocked the field-glass out of my hands.
Captain Alexander knew the distance from our fort to every point around Winchester within range of his guns. and did some of the best artillery shooting that after- noon that I ever witnessed. No gun could hold its position five minutes after he opened on it, and Major Harry Gilmore, of the Confederate army, testifies to this in his book entitled ". Four Years in the Saddle."
I was watching one of the enemy's batteries trying to eross a ravine on the opposite hill, when Captain Alex- ander trained a gun on the point of crossing, which was very rugged, and just as the caisson attempted to cross he fired, filling the air with the debris of the demolished machine, while our troops rent the air with shouts of triumph.
Before dusk the enemy missed their forces and took one of our outworks by storm, after being several times repulsed. At dark the battle ceased, and an ominous silence reigned, while the heads and hearts of our boys were busied with thoughts of the morrow.
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Our fort was so small that but few shells, comparatively speaking, fell within it, so that not very many of our men were wounded, and only a few killed ; but quite a number of the artillery horses were killed and wounded, as they could not be sheltered so easily as the men. After dark I was lying down in a tent, just outside of the fort, musing upon the events of the two previous days, and sending up a silent prayer to the Father of all mercies to protect us in the struggle, which I knew to be inevitable on the coming day, and to watch over my little family at home, when I was startled by a loud gurgling noise at the tent door. Upon looking out I discovered one of the artillery horses, whose throat had been severed by a piece of shell, trying to get his head inside the tent; while the blood flowed from his nostrils, and he seemed by his loud moans to ask for assistance. Finally he staggered and fell, and in a short time was dead. The darkness of the night; the close proximity of the enemy ; the dead and wounded lying close by, in an improvised hospital, moaning with pain, had given rise to serious thoughts ; and this strange apparition at the tent door filled me with a dread of impending evil, and I was compelled to jump to my feet and walk about to dispel my unhappy thoughts.
That night General Schenck telegraphed to Martins- burg, in answer to Milroy's dispatch, and three of Boyd's men volunteered to carry it to Winchester. Their names were John V. Harvey, George J. Pitman, and Oliver Lumphrey, all sergeants in the company. They moved in single file, about thirty yards apart, the last man car- rying the dispatch, and surseodled in passing safely through the enemy's lines; arriving at Winchester at midnight.
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General Milroy then called a council of his brigade com- manders, and laid the situation before them. It appeared that the authorities were not aware that Lee had made such progress in his movements, and supposed they would have plenty of time to notify Milroy before the enemy should make his appearance at the gaps of the Blue Ridge.
The orders were to fall back to Harper's Ferry at once-a thing very easy to order, but rather difficult of execution, when entirely surrounded by an army five times our number.
The guns were to be spiked and abandoned, and the artillery ammunition destroyed : the wagons, and every- thing on wheels were to be left behind, and the teams, including the artillery horses, taken along, with the harness on.
In vain did Captain Alexander plead that he could wrap the wheels of his guns with blankets, so that they would make no noise. They had to be abandoned.
Our pickets and those of the enemy were so close to- gether at some points that the least movement on the part of the one could be heard by the other, and it was a very delicate undertaking to steal away with about six or seven thousand men, including three regiments of cavalry, and the artillery and team horses with their jingling harness, without being discovered.
I believe General Milroy gave the infantry the choice of remaining and surrendering, or going along and fighting their way out, and they choose the latter. Hc had determined to take the cavalry, in any event, and cut his way through at all hazards, knowing that his life was not safe if captured by the enemy.
The piekets that could not be withdrawn without giv-
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ing the cue to the enemy, were left on their posts ; the wagons were left where they stood; and the guns still pointed over the parapets, as the division filed silently out, at two o'clock in the morning, of June 15th, to cut its way through the enemy's lines to a place of safety.
Orders were delivered in a whisper, and the hearts of the officers and men beat rapidly with varying emotions. The troops moved in the following order: General Elliott's Brigade in advance, Colonel Ely's Brigade fol- lowed, and our brigade, under Colonel MeReynolds, covered the retreat.
The First New York ( Lincoln) Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, was left to watch the enemy, and, if possible, to protect the division from attack in the rear, as we abandoned the forts. The artil- Iery and team horses, with their drivers mounted upon them, and all their harness fastened on, were in front of our brigade, and a motley erew they were.
About three miles from Winchester. on the road to Martinsburg. General Elliott's advance came upon the enemy encamped in line of battle, in a piece of woods through which the road ran, and soon we heard the sound of musketry.
Colonel Me Reynolds and myself, I being chief of his staff, were riding along, some distance in advance of our brigade, which seemed to move rather slowly, and the colonel had just sent an orderly to tell them to be more lively, when we came upon General Milroy and his staff, sitting upon their horses on the side of the road.
Upon recognizing us, General Milroy asked if we had any artillery. (!) " Why no," said Me Reynokl ---- I only wish I had-but your orders were to spike the guns and abandon them." Milroy then asked where our brigade
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was, and was told that it was just in the rear of us, and that we had just sent an orderly to hurry it up.
The general then directed us to place it in line on the east side of the road, along a stone fence running at right-angles thereto. I galloped back and brought the infantry up at the double-quick, and placed them as di- rected ; and in the meantime the general had ridden to the front.
It was just breaking day as I returned to the road where I had left Colonel Me Reynolds. At that moment a battery opened on our infantry at very short range. It was in the edge of the woods, and protected by the nature of the ground from our infantry fire: Colonel MeReynolds sent me back to direct the troops to try and get the range of the gunners, so that we could make a detour with the cavalry and charge the battery.
I was mounted on a white horse which we had cap- tured from the enemy in front of Richmond, while under Mcclellan ; and as I crossed the open field, followed by two orderlies, the battery concentrated its fire upon my little party, tearing up the ground in a frightful manner. but fortunately injuring none of us. I found Major Harry White, (now a prominent politician in Pennsyl- vania), and several other officers of the Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, standing by an old stone chim- ney in rear of their regiment. and communicated to them my orders. The shells were then bursting around the old chimney at a fearful rate, and I started back to the turnpike.
The battery still complimented us as we dashed along. frightening our poor horses very much, but doing little execution. On our way we met the Thirteenth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry coming up at a gallop, with Colonel Me-
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Reynolds and the rest of his staff at its head, on their way to charge the battery, and we wheeled in with them.
As the Thirteenth Regiment appeared in the open field the battery burst shell after shell about them ; and that regiment, not being used to such treatment, gave way, and went scampering over the hill towards Winchester.
The noise was terrific, and the danger great, and we. at the head of the column, did not know that we had been deserted by the Thirteenth until we had got through the fire. On looking back over the field we saw the teams and artillery horses charging wildly to the rear. and our infantry running in all directions, with the charging enemy close behind them ; and we then knew that the day was lost.
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