USA > Pennsylvania > The Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry and the Ringgold battalion, 1861-1865; > Part 25
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DUFFEE'S CAVALRY RECONNAISSANCE.
" On the afternoon of the 13th, General Duffee arrived and made a report of his operations in person. On the 10th, he moved from Staunton simultaneously with the other columns. A regiment sent to demonstrate toward Waynesboro, drove the enemy through that place and then followed the division by the road running south- ward along the western base of the Blue Ridge. Driving a small force from White's Gap, General Duffee crossed the ridge and came upon the Charlottesville and Lynchburg Railroad, menacing I.vnchburg from the vicinity of Amherst Courthouse, and breaking the road at Arrington Station. He was followed from Waynesboro by a large mounted force under Imboden, who, however, never
242 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
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hazarded a general attack, and who was signally defeated in every attempt to harass or impede the movement of the troops. In ad- dition to the damage done to the railroads, General Duffee captured 100 prisoners and about 500 horses and destroyed a large quantity of stores and a good part of Imboden's train. He returned to Tye River Gap without serious loss."
On the march to Lexington this day, June 13, as we came over the Blue Ridge, we had a great view of the Valley with the domes of Lexington shining in the distance. Marched through the town, with bands playing the national airs; went into camp at a large farm- house a mile beyond. A supply train of 200 wagons arrived from Martinsburg under a strong guard-distance more than 150 miles from our base at the railroad. This night, .we drew three days' rations of crackers and five days' rations of coffee and sugar, with notice that this was to last ten days.
ON TO LYNCHBURG.
Next day marched to Buchanan, arriving at 11 o'clock at night. Averill had cleaned things up here before our arrival. We passed the burning ruins of a saltpetre works. Camped by the river. On the 15th, marched up the mountain road by the Peaks of Otter; it is several miles to the summit; the road has been graded out of the side of the mountain in places, where, on the lower side, there is a drop almost perpendicular, of several hundred feet ; several wagons, load and all, went over the side of the road here and fell to the bottom, where they were burned. The enemy had blockaded the road by felling trees across it, but our men soon cleared the way. At one place, a Confederate lieutenant lay dead, having been killed by a falling tree.
" This night, our advance occupied Liberty, twenty-four miles from Lynchburg. At this point, the detachment of 200 picked men sent out by Averill from Lexington to make the circuit of Lynchburg reported, having accomplished their perilous undertaking with trifling loss. Moving eastward from Lexington, they crossed the Blue Ridge and struck the Charlottesville Railroad near Amherst Court House, tearing up the track for a short distance, thence moving southward, they crossed the James River below Lynchburg, destroying the Southside Railroad for a short distance and burning two trains at Concordia Station; from thence making a circuit within a few miles of Lynchburg, they turned, meeting the advance of the main army at Liberty. Neither from this party, nor from any other
.
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source could we obtain any reliable information in regard to the enemy."
General Hunter now determined to advance and develop the strength of the enemy. He first sent the supply train of 200 wagons back; on the next morning, 16th, he moved Duffee * forward on the Forestville Road; Crook moved along the railroad, destroying it as he advanced, while Averill on the Bedford Pike followed by Sullivan's division of infantry, continued to drive McCausland. Next day, 17th, there was a serious delay of several hours in getting the artillery across Big Otter River, all bridges having been de- stroyed. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Averill and Crook came upon the enemy strongly entrenched five miles from Lynchburg. After a sharp fight lasting some little time, the enemy was driven back on the town, with the loss of a number of men killed and wounded and seventy men and one gun captured.
CHAPTER XX. THE ATTACK UPON LYNCHBURG.
t " The best information to be obtained, at this point, indicated that all the Rebel forces heretofore operating in the Valley and West Virginia were concentrated at Lynchburg under the command of General Breckenridge.
"During the night, the trains on the different railroads were heard running without intermission, while repeated cheeers and the beating of drums indicated the arrival of large bodies of troops in the town, yet up to the morning of the 18th I had no positive information as to whether General Lee had detached any consid- erable force for the relief of Lynchburg. To settle the question on this morning I advanced my skirmishers as far as the toll-gate on the Bedford Road, two miles from town, and a brisk fire was opened between them and the enemy behind their works. This skirmishing with musketry occasionally assisted by the artillery, was kept up during the whole forenoon. Their works consisted of strong redoubts upon each of the main roads entering the town, about three miles apart, flanked on each side by rifle pits protected by abatis. On these lines the enemy could be seen working dili- gently as if to extend and strengthen them. I massed my two
* Commanding our Brigade.
¡ General ITunter.
244 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
divisions of infantry in front of the works on the Bedford Road, ready to move to the right or left as required, the artillery in com- manding positions and Averill's Cavalry Division in reserve. Duffee was ordered to attack resolutely on the Forestville Road, our ex- treme left while Averill sent two squadrons of cavalry to demonstrate against the Campbell Courthouse road on our ex- treme right. This detachment was subsequently strengthened by a brigade. Meanwhile, I reconnoitered the lines, hoping to find a weak interval through which I might push with my infantry, pass- ing between the main redoubts which appeared too strong for a direct assault. While the guns were sounding on the two flanks, the enemy, no doubt, supposing my center weakened by too great extension of my lines, and hoping to cut us in two, suddenly ad- vanced in great force from his works, and commenced a most determined attack on my position on the Bedford turnpike. Al- though his movement was so unexpected and rapid as almost to . amount to a surprise, yet it was promptly and gallantly met by Sullivan's Division, which held the enemy in check until Crook was enabled to get his troops up. After a fierce contest of half an hour's duration, the enemy's direct attack was repulsed, but he persistently renewed the fight, making repeated attempts to flank us on the left and to push between my main body and Duffee's Division. In the effort he was completely foiled, and at the end of an hour and twenty minutes, was routed and driven back into his works in disorder and with heavy loss. In the eagerness of pursuit one regiment (116th Ohio) entered the works on the heels of the flying enemy, but being unsupported, fell back with trifling loss. Our whole loss in this action was comparatively light. The infantry behaved with the greatest steadiness and the artillery, which materially assisted in repelling the attack, was served with remarkable rapidity and efficiency.
" This affair closed about 2 P. M. From prisoners captured we obtained positive information that a portion of Ewell's Corps was engaged in the action and that the whole corps, 20,000 strong, under command of Lieutenant-General Early, was either already in Lynchburg, or near at hand. The detachment sent by General Averill to operate on our right had returned, reporting that they had encountered a large body of Rebel cavalry in that quarter, while Duffee, although holding his position, sent word that he was pressed by a superior force.
"It had now become sufficiently evident that the enemy had
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concentrated a force of at least double the numerical strength of mine, and what added to the gravity of the situation was the fact that my troops had scarcely enough ammunition left to sustain an- other well-contested battle. I immediately ordered all the baggage and supply trains to retire by the Bedford Turnpike, and made preparations to withdraw the army as soon as it should become sufficiently dark to conceal the movement.
"Meanwhile, as there still remained five hours of daylight, they were ordered to maintain a firm front and with skirmishers to press the enemy's lines at all points. I have since learned that Early's whole force was up in time to have made a general attack on the same afternoon (18th)-an attack, which, under the cir- cumstances, would have been fatal to us, but rendered cautious by the bloody repulse of Breckenridge and deceived by the firm atti- tude of my command, he devoted the afternoon to refreshment and repose, expecting to strike a decisive blow on the following morn- ing. As soon as it was dark, I quietly withdrew my whole force, leaving a line of pickets close to the enemy with orders to remain until midnight, and then follow the main body. This was success- fully accomplished without loss of men or material."
We have devoted considerable space to the details of this cam- paign for the purpose of correcting a false improssion that exists in the minds of many persons that the expedition was a failure and little short of a disaster. It has been belittled by being called "The Hunter Raid." The object of the campaign has been lost sight of; the difficulties that were surmounted, have not been understood. General Hunter's campaign through a hostile country for 200 hun- dred miles in less than a month without suffering a single defeat, and the safe withdrawal of his army from the presence of an overwhelm- ing force of the enemy detached from Lee's Army to destroy it, are not appreciated, and the destruction of the enemy's lines of com- munication, supplies, furnaces, shops and factories for the manu- facture of army supplies is undervalued. The audacity of the undertaking and the measure of success with which it was carried forward, grows upon you as you now study the campaign in the light of history.
Sherman's march " From Atlanta to the Sea " was a bold ex- pedition and deserving of all praise, but in the distance traversed, the opposition encountered and difficulties in obtaining subsistence, it is more than paralleled by the Hunter-Crook-Averill expedition to Lynchburg and return to Ohio River, in which the soldiers
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marched more than 400 miles, suffered great hardships and fought three successful battles.
As heretofore stated, our forces withdrew from before Lynch- burg immediately after dark on the 18th, marching to within seven miles of Liberty, where we bivouacked for the remainder of the night.
Next day, the 19th, we moved on toward Buford's Gap, passing through the town of Liberty and camped two miles west of that place. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's cavalry at- tacked our rear-guard, Averill's Cavalry, and a spirited fight ensued, in which the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry charged and drove them, but were finally obliged to fall back on our infantry, who formed to receive the attack, which, however, was not made.
About midnight we resumed our march and next morning, 20th, entered Buford's Gap. General Duffee, who had gone for- ward to take possession of this passage through the Blue Ridge, found it disputed by a small body of the enemy, which he swept out of the way with little difficulty. The march was continued to Bon- sack's Station on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, destroying bridges, water-tanks and railroad stations as we moved. The enemy coming up to our rear-guard on the afternoon, made some feeble demonstration, but was easily repulsed. .
We arrived at Salem about sunrise of the 21st. About 9 A. M., the enemy made a demonstration against our rear-guard ; while opposing his advance in that direction our baggage train and reserve artillery were sent off by the New Castle Road, and through some inadvertence, the proper guard did not accompany the ar- tillery. While our attention was directed to the rear of the column, a detachment of the enemy's cavalry fell upon the artillery en-route and got possession of two batteries, spiking the guns, carrying off the horses and disabling the carriages. They were presently driven off by our cavalry, losing some thirty men, killed, wounded and prisoners ; the guns were recaptured. Owing to the loss of horses and breaking of carriages we were obliged to abandon eight pieces with their limbers and caissons, after burning all their carriages. From Salem the enemy's cavalry followed us to Catawba Valley, where we rested that night. * ' Before reaching Salem, a detachment of our 22nd, P. V. C.,
June 20. Extremely warm and dusty. We got time to sleep two hours this morning. We gathered some currants, which are very plentiful here, and cooked them for breakfast. We marched a few miles and halted until four o'clock in the afternoon. We were sent with two wagons out to the railroad depot and got them loaded with corn. * J. M. Satman, Co. E.
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John M. Sutman.
in command of Captain W. F. Speer, was sent forward to picket a side road that entered the town, while the column was passing, with instructions that he would be relieved when the rear of the column had passed. As our advance guard charged into the town, a body of the enemy's cavalry in the town, retired on another side road. After the column had passed and Speer was waiting for the order for his relief, the enemy's cavalry, which had retired, re-entered the main street between us and our column. After a brief consultation, it was determined to go right through them as the only way
out. The squad moved down quietly to the main road and then dashed forward, yelling like demons and raising such a cloud of dust that it was impossible for any one to tell whether they were friend or foe. The enemy, doubtless thinking they were trapped by the Yankees, hastily moved out on a cross road to form, while our squad galloped past them without a shot being fired, and with loss of but one man-Jack Floyd, whose horse fell with him. He narrowly escaped being trampled to death by our horses, only to be captured and carried off to Andersonville prison to suffer a linger- ing death; the spark of life held out until he was exchanged and reached his Washington County home, where, soon thereafter, on January 11, 1865, he died."
On the following morning (22nd) the enemy's advance was ambuscaded and roughly handled, and from that date the army pur- sued its course unmolested. On the night of the 22nd, we rested at New Castle.
On the 23rd we moved from New Castle to Sweet Springs. On account of the difficulties of the road and the intense heat of the day, we lost a good many horses on this march."
Early this morning (23rd) we marched back to New Castle, met General Hunter and marched over the mountain toward Lew- isburg. Duffee's Division was in the rear of the wagon-train ; some Rebel cavalry still hover about and annoy the rear. We had no breakfast, nor anything at all to eat. We crossed three very high mountains and camped at Sweet Springs in Monroe County. at 3
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o'clock at night, where we lay down in an oats field and slept until sunrise, our horses grazing on the green oats. In coming up the second mountain, on the march here, we counted 125 horses, seven- teen mules and fifteen wagons that had been abandoned. The wagons were burned.
*" We had been marching every night and getting very little rest in the daytime. About the third or fourth day after we left Lynchburg, this loss of sleep began to tell on us, so that whenever we would halt, the men would lie down and fall asleep immediately. On the 23rd of June, somewhere on the march from New Castle to Sweet Springs, we were halted for a three hours' rest. I tied my horse to my arm and fell asleep, when some one stole him. All the boys of Company E will well remember 'Old Lion'; so I was dis- mounted. Comrade Arthur Ames heard of my extremity and came to me with an extra horse and told me to ride him as long as he would stand up, which I did until some time the next day, when he gave out and I was again dismounted. I then turned over my com- mand to Corporal John M. Young, of Company D, and struck out for the advance of the army, which was strung out for miles. Billy Starr, like myself, was also dismounted, so we got together and at- tached ourselves to General Thoburn's Infantry.
" On June 27th, the day we met the supply train, General Hunter came along with his body-guard, commanded by Captain Pease. Much to my surprise, there was my stolen horse, ridden by one of the guards. Billy Starr noticed the horse at the same in- stant and exclaimed, 'There, Longstreet, is Old Lion, sure as hell !' ' Come on ; let's have him or fight.' . So we followed the captain until he went into quarters, when we demanded the horse, but the whole company surrounded us and swore that we should not have him; we at once decided that we could not whip the whole company, and started up the road. Just then the Ringgold boys came along in command of Captain Speer. We halted them and told the captain the circumstance. He told us to come with him and we would get the horse or have a fight. We all went to Captain Pease's quarters and Speer told Pease that his men had one of our horses and had refused to give him up. Captain Pease said, 'All right. If there is one of your horses here, take him.' We did so and I rode ' Old Lion' until the pursuit of the Chambersburg raiders."
The orderlies and provost guards of Duffee's Division, all from
* Andrew McDonald, Co. E.
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our 'Battalion,' were relieved to-day, and our places taken by de- tails from the 15th New York Cavalry. We marched toward Lewis- burg at 6 P. M., our division in the rear.
June 25. We marched slowly all night and at sunrise camped at White Sulphur Springs, making seventeen miles. Here we had good water and a delightful rest. This was a beautiful place and well equipped to entertain guests, having good hotel buildings, ex- tensive pleasure grounds, fine lawns, bath houses, etc., but it might as well have been a howling wilderness so far as affording any food relief for our hungry army. The place was deserted, except by a half-dozen old people, who were left as caretakers of the buildings.
Remaining here until late in the afternoon (25th) we were or- dered to move, so buckling our belts one hole tighter, we marched on nine miles to Lewisburg, both men and horses much refreshed by the rest. All were anxious to reach Lewisburg, as our provision train was expected to meet us at or near this place. A squad of men on picked horses, had previously been sent to Meadow Bluff to hurry forward the supply trains to the famishing troops. As heretofore stated, General Crook had left large stores of supplies at that point under a strong guard. The officer in charge, however, had become alarmed at some guerrilla demonstrations and had fallen back with all his supplies beyond Gauley River. This incident, added two more days of hunger to our suffering men and animals. We passed through Lewisburg during the night and crossing the Greenbrier River, camped at three o'clock in the morning. The night was cool and pleasant, but both men and horses were too much exhausted to go further. The suffering of our troops had now become alarming, after five days' marching, most of the time without any food. The animals and provisions in this sparsely settled region, on our ap- proach, had been removed and hidden in the mountains, and what little there was along the line of march had been cleaned up by the head of our column; the rear-guard, on whom the burden of the defense rested, therefore suffered most for food.
* "On the 27th, our brigade had the advance from Meadow Bluff ; during the afternoon, Colonel Wyncoop sent two of us cavalry boys forward to learn if the supply train could be sighted; when about half-way down the mountain we were overtaken by about half a dozen staff officers on the same mission. When near the foot of the mountain it began to rain hard ; after going a short distance through
* J. M. Sutman.
.
250 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
the downpour, we sighted the train parked in an open field, which we reached in short order. Our request for something to eat was answered with a box of hardtack and a side of fat bacon; we cut slices from the latter and devoured it without the formality of cook- ing. When the staff officers ordered the wagon master to hook up and take the train up the mountain, the latter said that it could not be done as the rain had made the road slippery and he would not attempt it. It was explained to him, in emphatic army terms, that the whole army was lying beyond the mountain starving, unable to come on without food and the train must come to their relief. He soon changed tact, and ordered a number of teamsters to double- team and proceed over the mountain with food for the men and grain for the horses. This supply train was hailed with great re- joicing and shouting by the army; it was a God-send. After this train met the column, a ration of two crackers to a man was issued. .
Next morning, June 28th, we grazed our horses until noon and then marched ten miles, drew crackers again and marched on four miles farther and camped within ten miles of Gauley Bridge. The men and horses were much revived and strengthened by the food and rest."
Hunter pushed on with his troops .by short, easy marches, cor- rectly surmising that the enemy would take advantage of his absence to march north. Resting at New River, Gauley River and Loop Creek, on our march, we arrived at Charleston on July 2nd, and re- mained there three days to rest.
Whatever the emergency, the men were not fit to march and as transportation by water promised not only to save time but to rest the troops, Hunter, therefore, seized all available light draft boats and began sending the infantry down the Kanawha to Point Pleasant and up the Ohio to Parkersburg. Here he received dispatches from the War Department, telling of Early's advance down the Valley, and urging haste. The cavalry marched overland from Charles- ton to Parkersburg, making the distance, ninety-six miles, in three days, arriving on the 9th of July.
On the afternoon of July 11th, our brigade, men and horses, took the cars for Cumberland over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ; the infantry preceded us, going on to Harper's Ferry. We passed through Cumberland about six o'clock on the evening of the 12th : our train ran on down to Cherry Run Station, sixty-three miles east of Cumberland: We could go no farther by train, as the Railroad was only repaired this far, so we unloaded our horses.
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Next, day, July 13th, we marched to Martinsburg, reaching there by three o'clock, where we found a considerable force of Union troops.
Major Work and Lieutenant Welch took command of our de- tachment and proceeded to Shepherdstown, where we were placed on picket to guard the two fords of the Potomac.
July 9. Parkersburg, W. Va. Back at the railroad. It is 72 days since we left the railroad at Cumberland to start on the Lynchburg campaign. We have marched more than six hundred miles, mostly in a hostile country, and depending largely on the country we passed through for subsistence. We have fought three great battles and many hot skirmishes. We destroyed many miles of the enemy's railroad and millions in value of his army supplies, furnaces, factories, warehouses, etc.
We suffered indescribable hardship for want of food for more than a week, but we of the 22nd Pa., lost but a few men and not many horses in the entire campaign. Some of the cavalry regiments lost nearly half their horses, while we have not more than a half dozen dismounted men.
Our "Battalion " boys get great praise for the care of their horses .- Donalson.
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252 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
CHAPTER XXI.
EARLY'S ARMY INVADES MARYLAND.
General Early, with practically his whole army, followed our retreating columns from Lynchburg for three days at a distance of about one day's march in our rear ; he then halted his army to rest, preparatory to another movement. From Roanoke, on June 22nd, he wrote to General Lee as follows: "The enemy passed through Salem yesterday and took the route toward Lewisburg. * He moved so rapidly that I could not attack him before he got into the moun- tains, although I marched over twenty miles a day. I have rested to-day and to-morrow will move in accordance with original in- structions, watching, however, the movements of Hunter."
The time had come for a bold movement on the part of the Con- federates. When General Lee sent Early to head off Hunter, he con- templated a larger movement-the menacing of Washington. Hunter was retreating down the valley of the Kanawha to the Ohio; there was no Union Army in the Shenandoah Valley. Early had 20,000 troops-veterans who had been in many battles and who were inured to hardships-four divisions: Ramseur's, Echol's, Rodes's and Gordon's; between forty and fifty cannon and a large force of cavalry, with few Union troops to oppose him.
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