USA > Pennsylvania > The Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry and the Ringgold battalion, 1861-1865; > Part 26
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" General Early saw that he could choose his own course and made quick preparation. He issued orders to take very little bag- gage, compelling the officers to carry whatever clothing they might need. He knew that he would find cattle, flour, corn and supplies in abundance, and so was not hampered by long trains of wagons."
On the 27th he started from Staunton. The roads were in excellent order. Imboden, with his division of cavalry, swept on in advance, crossing North Mountain at Brock's Gap, moving rapidly down the lesser valleys toward the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, while Early moved directly along the Valley turnpike.
The several companies of Partisan Rangers, commanded by Moseby, McNeill and Gilmor, which had been drawn to the upper Valley during the Lynchburg campaign. were back in the moun- tains on either side of the lower Valley, largely reinforced and well mounted. They were becoming bold and now sallied forth in the
* The enemy's cavalry, however, came up and attacked our rear-guard on the evening of the 19th, and continued to hover about our rear and flanks until the 22nd, when he, too, turned toward Staunton to join Early's movement down the Valley.
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EARLY'S ARMY IN THE LOWER VALLEY.
daylight as well as in darkness. One of the first attacks since their return was the picket out-post at Springfield from which a company of our Ringgold was relieved by a company from another regiment as we came through there on the 23rd on our march from Green Spring Run to Martinsburg. On the morning of the 26th, many of the soldiers at this post thought it well to turn their horses loose to graze while they themselves would get relief from the heat by taking a swim in the river. While horses and men were enjoying to the full this delightful relaxation from rigorous military disci- pline, McNeill's Rangers dashed in and carried off about sixty men with their horses and equipments.
On the 29th, at 1 P. M., just as a through passenger train was due at Duffield Station, six miles west of Harper's Ferry, Moseby, with some five hundred or more well-mounted men and a battery, attacked the place, capturing our small force of forty men, burned the store houses and camp and cut the telegraph. The train was late fortunately, and received word in time to run back out of danger.
When the report of this raid reached our regiment at Bunker Hill late in the afternoon, we were ordered to saddle up. and be ready to march; kept the horses saddled all night, expecting to march at 3 A. M., but we did not start until daylight. We passed through Smithfield and to within two miles of Charlestown, where we halted for breakfast and dinner, all under one. Moseby had made his escape. Then we returned by way of Smithfield to Darkes- ville, seven miles from Martinsburg, where we camped, remaining here until July 3rd.
In the meantime Early's Army was marching steadily down the well-known roads of the Valley. General Lee had given him in- structions to occupy the lower Valley and thoroughly destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the canal, and to get ready to cross the Potomac and carry out the plans heretofore outlined, promising to send further instructions to him when he arrived in the lower Valley.
Imboden, who had crossed through Brock's Gap, proceeded on down his familiar pathway through Lost River Valley, and we find him camping on the night of July 1st, eighteen miles east of Moor- field, near our ill-fated, Lost River Gap battlefield, where he had "thrashed parts of three regiments," as he boastfully put it in his report of the affair of May 10th. His objective was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which he had orders to destroy from Martins-
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burg west to Cumberland, and farther, if feasible. He detached McCausland and sent him down Back Creek; reinforced McNeil and sent him down Patterson's Creek; while he, with the main force, proceeded through Romney.
Although General Early started from Staunton on the 27th of June and marched down the Valley with his great army of 20,000 men for five days in succession, no definite information of this movement had reached Grant. Halleck or Sigel. There was a general impression that the enemy would make a raid down the Valley, now that the way was open, but it was not thought that General Lee could longer spare from his army in front of Grant, Early's great corps.
As late as July 3rd, and at the very time Early's Army was driving in Sigel's pickets at Leetown and at Martinsburg, Grant tele- graphed Halleck from City Point, " Early's Corps is now here. There can be no troops threatening the Valley except Breckenridge and the remnant of Jones."
On July 1st and 2nd, Sigel had been keeping the wires to Wash- ington hot with reports of the enemy's advance. "General Stahel reports 200 of the enemy's cavalry encamped two miles from Win- chester." July 2nd. " Reports have reached us of the enemy coming in force down the Valley; " and later, " It is reported that the enemy in force encamped at Fisher's Hill last night," etc., etc. General Sigel became convinced on the 2nd that a strong force of the enemy was coming and made preparations to remove the government stores from. Martinsburg to some place of safety. He telegraphed the Ad- jutant-General on July 2nd, " There are strong indications of a move- ment of the enemy in force down the Valley. Our cavalry met those of the enemy to-day at Winchester ; a number of refugees have ar- rived here who fled from that place, and they say that Early with three divisions was moving toward Strasburg last night. Although this report is not fully reliable, I have ordered all the stores to be re- moved from here to Harper's Ferry."
Sigel ordered 150 cars to Martinsburg for the removal of the government stores : and 160 were ordered to Harper's Ferry. John W. Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was a most valuable official at times like this. His judgment as to the possible intentions of the enemy was generally correct ; when it came to a matter of transportation he was a master hand. The government stores were loaded and sent east before the enemy was able to cut them off. Sigel's wagon-train was also sent off by way of Shepherds- town to Pleasant Valley. He reported his forces as follows: "I
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EARLY'S ARMY IN THE LOWER VALLEY.
have here (Martinsburg, July 2nd) two regiments of the Ohio Na- tional Guard and one battery. At Leetown there are two old regi- ments of infantry, five pieces of artillery and about one thousand dismounted cavalry armed with muskets. Our mounted cavalry, con- sisting of detachments and amounting to about fifteen hundred men, under General Stahel, is in front, with the exception of a small re- serve here." General Max Weber was at Harper's Ferry with 400 infantry. There was a small garrison in the fortifications on Mary- land Heights.
General Early with his army arrived at Winchester on July 2nd. Here he received the promised advices from General Lee as to his future operations. Lee saw that Grant had not yet withdrawn any troops from his army on the James to reinforce Sigel, and that by prompt action Early could forestall such a reinforcement ; he knew perfectly well that Hunter's forces at Parkersburg could not reach Martinsburg or Harper's Ferry for days to come, owing to the broken condition of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which his cavalry brigades were now destroying. He knew that the garrisons along the line of that railroad, and also most of the troops in the defenses of Washington were hundred-days' men from Ohio, who had never been in battle and who would not be able to stand against Early's veteran legions. He saw clearly that the time to strike was now, so he directed Early to move at once. The object, as has been seen, was fourfold; the destruction of the railroad bridges and property for 100 miles west of Harper's Ferry ; the terrifying of Washington and the North, with the usual effect of drawing away from the army in front of Richmond, a large part of Grant's effective force ; the liberation of the thousands of Confederate prisoners at Point Lookout, Md., the capture of Washington City; and the effect all this would have upon public opinion in the North, discouraging the loyal people and encouraging that mighty ally of the South, the Peace Party-while at the same time, it would invite the recognition of the Confederacy by Great Britain and France.
The enemy was proceeding according to a well-arranged pro- gram. Thus far, he had kept under cover, his movements, his strength and his ultimate object, but now, on the morning of July 3rd, the curtain rose promptly at daylight, revealing a stage some eighty miles in width, east and west-from the Shenadoah River to Patterson's Creek. There was a simultaneous advance of the Con- federate forces along the full front of that broad rostrum. On the extreme western side, McNeill's Rangers, largely reinforced, dashed
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256 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
in on Patterson's Creek bridge and after partially destroying it, pushed on west to the North Branch bridge, where they were de- feated and driven off by the Union forces. On the same morning over on the South Branch of the Potomac, Imboden, with his main force of some 1,200 mounted men, with three pieces of artillery, struck an infantry scout of seventy-eight men from the 153rd Ohio National Guard, killed a lieutenant and captured two officers and thirty-eight men ; then moved on and attacked the guard at the rail- road bridge over the South Branch. Our garrison here consisted of one company of the 133rd Ohio National Guard in the block- house, which was reinforced by a detachment of the 6th West Vir- ginia Infantry in iron-clad cars. After five hours' fighting the en- emy drew off with the loss of one captain, one lieutenant and eight enlisted men killed and one lieutenant and fourteen men wounded, while our casualities were two men slightly wounded. The enemy fired the bridge here, but it failed to burn and did little damage. He then moved eastward to St. John's Run and Big "Capon " bridges, but the ubiquitous iron-clads were there to assist the gar- rison, and prevented the destruction of the bridges. McCausland, farther east in the valley of Back Creek, descended on the railroad, burned the bridge and captured the garrison, after which he pushed on to Hainesville, in obedience to orders, the object of which we shall see later. Two columns moved forward from Winchester that morning at daylight. The right, under command of General Early- Bradley Johnson's Brigade of Ramseur's Division leading the ad- vance-attacked our force at Leetown, consisting of two veteran regiments of infantry and the dismounted cavalry, all commanded . by Colonel Mulligan. The other column under Breckenridge marched directly towards Martinsburg and attacked Sigel's cavalry forces at Darkesville in command of General Stahel.
At Martinsburg, where there were large quantities of army sup- plies and stores, there was great activity in loading and shipping away these goods to places of safety. A large wagon-train was sent out the Shepherdstown road, all preliminary to evacuation of the place, which was now inevitable. Colonel Mulligan with his small force fought the enemy stubbornly the whole day, falling back slowly through Kearneysville to Shepherdstown.
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EARLY'S ARMY IN THE LOWER VALLEY.
THE BATTLE OF JULY 3RD, 1864. SIGEL'S FORCES DRIVEN BACK INTO MARYLAND.
This morning of July 3rd, the Confederate General Bradley Johnston, was ordered to advance through Smithville, Leetown and Kearneysville, cutting the railroad at the latter place and then to join McCausland at Hainesville north of Martinsburg for the pur- pose of cutting off Sigel's retreat and capturing his stores and wagon-train.
Mulligan prevented Johnston from carrying out his part of the program, and this enabled Sigel to save most of his stores and train, and establish his command on Maryland Heights, where the enemy could not dislodge him and where he would be right in the way of their future operations.
The mounted part of our regiment, in command of Lieutenant Colonel Greenfield, was at Darkesville with General Stahel's com- mand. At daylight that morning, a heavy column of cavalry, the advance of Breckenridge's forces, attacked our pickets, driving them back, when our whole column was called out and soon hotly engaged ; our skirmishers were immediately thrown out to the right and left, and we drove them back for more than a mile, where we took our station in the woods.
Colonel Greenfield says: "We returned from the pursuit of . Moseby's raiders that captured Duffield Station, and camped at Darkesville, seven miles south of Martinsburg, where we remained until the morning of July 3rd. I shall always remember Darkes- ville, as it was the only place and the only time I was sick during my four years and over of active service while in the army. I secured a comfortable bed in a small frame house on the main road. The regiment was encamped just south of the town. Every- thing was quiet here until the morning of July 3rd, when our pickets were attacked. In a short time, the firing became quite brisk. I told the surgeon I could not stand this; I must get up and go out to the regiment. I ordered my colored servant, John Wedlock, to saddle my bay horse, Sam (Uncle Sam I called him), that I had ridden all through the service; against the advice of the surgeon, I mounted and rode out to the front. As I left the sur- geon and Lieutenant Henderson, I instructed them to be on their guard, and that if it was General Early's force, as reported, we would most likely be compelled to fall back. I joined the regiment, threw out skirmishers and moved forward. What followed is well
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described by Lieutenant F. H. Cargo, in a letter published in the il'aynesburg Republican many years ago, and which is quoted in these pages."
* "For nearly two hours we held in check a very superior force of the enemy. During all this time, the infantry and cavalry on our left were hotly engaged, not retiring until forced to do so by far superior numbers. I was left with about eighty of our regiment as a reserve; I spent part of my time on the skirmish line. where I could see by the hastening up of the main body of the enemy that we must soon retreat. I prepared for it by having a very strong high fence in our rear thrown down. It was well we did this, for soon the enemy charged, forcing back our skirmishers, who stubbornly disputed every inch of ground, several men being wounded, among whom was Robert Galbreath, of Company D. At this juncture, Colonel Greenfield, who had been for some time to the left of the pike. came galloping toward us, yelling for us to fall back, or we would be captured. Just then we could see the Rebel infantry charging en masse and yelling gloriously. We obeyed the com- mand to " right-about " and left the woods in a hurry. We were driven rapidly through Martinsburg in the direction of Shepherds- town. About three miles from Martinsburg, we were joined by Mulligan's Brigade, which had been stubbornly falling back before Ramseur's division of the enemy. We proceeded on to Shepherds- town, where, worn and weary, a part lay down on their arms to sleep, while the remainder were on picket, myself among the latter."
Sergeant S. W. Gehrett, of Company K, then with the dis- mounted part of our regiment, serving as infantry in Colonel Mul- ligan's Brigade, describes the attack upon Mulligan's Brigade that morning of July 3rd, and the engagement which ensued, as follows: "Our camp at Leetown, on the morning of July 3rd, was in the woods on the left of the pike, almost opposite the brick church. About four o'clock in the morning, the reveille was sounded, the roll was called and when the mess, of which I was one, was de- bating as to who should bring water to cook breakfast, the sullen roar of the cannon, the music of the bursting shells and the firing of the pickets was the first intimation we had of the approach of
HEADQUARTERS, 2nd. BATTALION. July 3. 1864. General: I advanced with my command this morning through Bunker Hill. nearly !, Di-kesville. I met the enemy's cavalry in strong force, and have been skirmishing with them, but have been unable to drive them. I have fallen back one mile this side of Bunker Hill. Would like to have 100 sharpshooters to support me.
Maj. Gen. Breckenridge, C. S. A.
Major H. W. Gilmor.
* Lieutenant F. H. Crago. Co. D.
260 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
the enemy. The preparation for breakfast was indefinitely post- poned, and without any unnecessary confusion, we fell into line. The artillery, Battery L, 5th United States, soon got into position and began playing on the enemy's battery and after a while, suc- ceeded in silencing it. Our brigade moved out of the woods, across the pike and formed line of battle, the left resting on the pike. The most of our company (K) was deployed as skirmishers, bravely led by Lieutenant Sharrer. The Confederates made re- peated efforts to break our line, advancing on us with the old Rebel yell and shouting at the top of their voices, 'Give them Bull Run, give them Bull Run!' but their every effort failed. We were re- lieved on the skirmish lines by Companies L and M. The bravery shown by Harry M. Strasbaugh, of Company M, a former Sergeant who had been reduced to the ranks, so pleased Major Troxell that, riding up to him, he said, 'Strasbaugh, I promote you to Sergeant.' ' It's not worth while, Major; you will only have to reduce me again,' was the cool reply. Our battery took another position, and Companies I and K were ordered to support it, and while doing so, Henry Merricle, of Company I, was mortally wounded and died July 24th."
We fought until two o'clock, driving the enemy's cavalry back upon their infantry. Mulligan then, without being pressed, slowly withdrew.
Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers says: "On the morning of July 3rd, the brigade was furiously attacked by a largely superior force. With the most determined bravery, Mulligan's little band stood its ground for eight hours, held the enemy at bay, keeping open the way of retreat for Sigel at Martinsburg, and thereby assuring the safety of the army and its material.
" The dismounted detachment of the 22nd Pennsylvania Cav-
The enemy's artillery began shelling us at 5 A. M. (July 3rd) and very soon after, our pickets came flying in. We had but one battery of four guns, which was quickly placed in position, and there was quite an artillery duel and some infantry fighting, enough to hold the enemy in check. Once, the Twenty-second got in line behind a hill, where the enemy could not see us. I do not know how they knew we were there, but they found it out all right, and we never got such a shelling. If we had not lain down close to the ground, I do not think many would have been left to tell the tale. The ground sloped gently toward us and the shells came skimming along just a little above the ground. Most of them burst before they got quite to us, and the scattered pieces came screaming right on. You could sometimes see the shells coming and see them as they passed. if they passed before bursting. The whole shell made a swooping noise like a little whirlwind and a scream together; they were from rifled cannon, were long, rusty and red looking, and came along, turning end-over-end like little crocks. Before we got down on the ground, several men were hit. One man near me was struck on the belt by a piece of shell : it made a clean cut through belt. clothing, canteen and man. I saw the piece of shell, half as large as a man's fist, coming at him before it struck, and it did not seem to be going much faster than a store thrown by a boy. This shelling was kept up probably not over twenty minutes, but it was business while it lasted.
Dr. A. R. McCarthy, Co. K.
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EARLY'S ARMY IN THE LOWER VALLEY.
alry, though fighting as infantry in which they were little schooled, showed such spirit and determination, that Colonel Mulligan placed them at the forefront, where they repelled. repeated assaults of the enemy."
* We marched to Shepherdstown that Sunday afternoon, arriv- ing there about half-past five o'clock. The heat was oppressive and the men were weary and hungry, having eaten nothing during the day but dry hardtack, and some did not even have that. We were to form a junction here with Sigel's troops, who had left Martins- burg, and were retreating by way of Shepherdstown. They soon put in an appearance, marching at a quick step. Among them were four regiments of Ohio militia, hundred days' men. About dusk, we fell into line and moved back on the pike and filed off into a cemetery to cover Sigel's retreat. After remaining there for an hour or two, we marched back into the town and down the principal street leading to the ford. Then came a series of annoying delays ; we would move forward a short distance and halt; the men, ex- hausted with the work of the day, would at once lie down, and, as a consequence, infantry, artillery, cavalry, army wagons, sutler wagons, etc., would become so entangled in the darkness that they could hardly be separated. In one of the halts, some of the cavalry horses got among a squad of our regiment who were asleep ; a mus- ket was accidentally discharged, wounding James Long, of Com- pany I, who was subsequently discharged on a surgeon's certificate.
On the way to the ford, several sutler wagons got too close to the edge of a bridge and were overturned, scattering the contents in every direction, which the boys were not slow in appropriating.
By midnight, Sigel's forces and train had crossed over the river and we followed, holding our guns and cartridge boxes up to keep them from getting wet ; some of the boys got off the ford and into the water nearly overhead. We were from eight o'clock get- ting from the town down to the ford, about a mile down the river, and we were until long after daylight going a mile up between the river and canal on the Maryland side to reach a bridge over the canal. If the enemy had been on the alert, they could have given us a lot of trouble as we moved slowly up the towpath after daylight : but we were unmolested. Contrary to our expectation, we were not pursued from Leetown, the enemy having been pretty badly punished. After resting and getting some breakfast, this Monday morning, July 4th, we moved in the direction of Sharpsburg, Md., but leaving it to the left, went through Solomon's Gap into Pleas-
Gehrett.
A
262 TWENTY-SECOND PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
ant Valley, to Brownsville and then to Maryland Heights. On this march in Pleasant Valley, W. F. Bonner, of Company K, was ac- cidentally shot.
After dark we marched from Sandy Hook up the road that ran along the foot of the Heights opposite the Ferry. The guns on Maryland Heights, some of which were 100-pounders, were playing on the Confederate batteries stationed on the Virginia side . of the river, and were quickly answered by the enemy. The sharp- shooters of both armies were busy, firing mostly at random in the darkness, but occasionally doing effective work. Signal lights were waving, cannon roaring, shells screaming and bursting over our heads as we moved along between the fires as quietly as possible, sometimes halting and then slowly proceeding, made our position trying on the nerves as well as dangerous. The impression made can never be forgotten. The night was pitch dark, relieved every few moments by the light of the cannon and musketry, and then relapsing into somber gloom. The narrow road hugged the Heights for a mile or so and then turned off short to the right and up a steep hill and on out past the little farm where John Brown made his home previous to his moving to Harper's Ferry in 1859. Tired, footsore and hungry, we went into camp. We had been on the go for forty-two hours, without sleep and but little food. It was away in the forenoon next day (July 5th) before we got anything to eat ; that was the first meal since the evening of July 2nd.
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