Early on the morning of the 20th we marched for the White House, but before reaching that point met the enemy in heavy force of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and gun-boats, and had a severe fight, which lasted all the afternoon, during which the gun-boats did some of the most magnificent shooting with their heavy guns ever witnessed, exploding their shells at the precise point desired, at nearly two miles. Nothing was accomplished by the fighting except to ascertain that Sheridan was now safe, having reached navigable water, and met strong reinforcements, as well as supplies. For some days the battalion was on detached duty, scouting in King William county, and trying to catch whatever scattered parties of Yankees that might be ranging in that county, but with no success, for Sheridan did not permit his men to scatter much, knowing the danger of their being caught by the Rebels if they strayed too far from their lines. On Sunday morning, 26th June, the whole force of Hampton marched quietly down to Drewry’s Bluff and crossed the James. Then there was loud and deep complaints and curses heard among On the 28th the battalion reached Stony Creek Station, on the Weldon Rail Road, where they drew corn and rations, and about dark took the road to Sapony Church, where they came up with the raiders about 10 o’clock, who had fortified themselves near the Church, and while General Hampton studied out the situation the men lay down to rest for the busy to-morrow which they knew was before them, for if they had hard marching to find the Yankees it was evident the work was not to be easy now they were before them. Two of White’s men, John Marlow, Company A, and Aaron Bevans, Company C, were severely wounded, and several of the enemy were killed On reaching the line of retreat followed by the main body of the raiders, it was discovered that through the failure of the Confederates to push forward and seize the bridge over which the Yankees must pass, the most of them had escaped, with the loss of six pieces of artillery and about seven hundred prisoners. The remainder of the day was spent in gathering up the arms and plunder thrown away by the flying raiders, among the latter of which was a large quantity of ladies’ clothing which they had stolen from the citizens’ houses, and the men would come in with bonnets, shawls, silk dresses, mantles of velvet and many other things, looking, in fact, as if they had broken up all the millinery establishments on the “South Side,” but the most curious scene of all was the troops of negroes of all sizes and ages, from the three-day old baby to the gray-wooled hag of ninety, which were found hid in the woods. They had been persuaded by the Yankees to leave their homes and go with them to their land of “liberty and glory;” and nearly every negro in the country, especially the women and children, had joined them, but now when they had fallen Up to the 1st of July the Colonel had been without an adjutant since the 6th of May, but now Lieutenant Sam Baker, of Frederick county, Va., who had been an officer in the disbanded Company D, came over and took upon himself the responsible duties of that position, which he held until the close of the war, performing all his duties to the entire satisfaction of Colonel White and the whole command. Here he halted and made his arrangements, which were not completed until the 13th, when, with about 90 men, the battalion having all moved down in the meantime, he crossed Warwick Swamp and the Blackwater, into Surry county, and marching quietly through the pines reached Cabin Point an hour before day, and halting in the woods a mile beyond the town, on the telegraph road, made his dispositions for the attack, by placing Major Ferneyhough with twenty men armed with double-barrel guns, in ambush along the road, and leaving the remainder, under Capt. Myers, in readiness to charge, while the The usual scouting party consisted of about sixty mounted negroes, and generally passed up a little after sunrise, from a camp of about ten thousand troops of all arms, near the old Surry Court-house, and all the negroes in the country were in the interest of the Yankees and would do anything, short of breaking their necks, to give information of any movement of the Rebels on their side of the Blackwater. So, to render the situation of White’s men still more interesting, they had discovered some cabins near them, filled to overflowing, almost, with negroes, and the Colonel had posted some men to guard them, but one or two of the small ones had already escaped to the woods with the knowledge that Southern troops were on the road, and under these circumstances it was to be presumed that the patrol would not come as usual, this morning, but after awhile they were discovered quietly advancing, and all thought the affair was to be successful, and prepared themselves for what promised to be genuine sport, but bye-and-bye the Colonel discovered that the negroes were only used this time as a bait, and that while about 3,000 infantry were following them, a body of about 1,000 cavalry was moving through the pines to gain his rear and cut him off from the bridges over the Blackwater. These bridges were his only mode The boys, who all fully understood the situation, were perfectly satisfied with their experience by daylight behind Grant’s lines, and had no desire to make any further expeditions in that quarter, provided the Colonel would be satisfied too; but on their return to camp, and learning that “old Jubal” was thundering at the gates of Washington, every man immediately became possessed of an almost insane desire to desert and go to him, in fact, Co. B did go on the night of the 15th, without leave or license, and left scarcely a man from Maryland to tell the tale of what had become of his companions. They said Companies A and C had done the same thing before and not been punished, and now that Maryland was open and their homes inside of the Confederate lines they intended, if possible, to go to them. The Colonel sympathized deeply with his men and would never enforce the penalties for violations of the Army regulations, when it was possible This camp was about ten miles from the brigade, and in a really good country, with prime spring water, plenty of fruit, vegetables, and melons, and the people very kind and hospitable, and for the reason that no troops except the Yankee raiders had ever been among them, there was plenty of forage there. Game, such as turkeys and squirrels, was abundant, deer also, but they had to be hunted in large parties, with hounds, while the river had plenty of fish, so that the battalion would have considered itself literally “in clover” only for the tantalizing reports of the brilliant success of Gen. Early’s operations on the Potomac. On the morning of the 20th the Colonel started with thirty men for Cabin Point again, this time to intercept dispatches on the telegraph, and for this purpose took with him an expert operator. He succeeded in gaining the desired point before daylight on the morning of the 21st, and his operator at once proceeded to cut the telegraph wire and attach his instruments, so that he was enabled to read every dispatch that passed, and to keep the thing all right he sent them on to their destination as soon as copied; but after carrying on this amusing process for about two hours he became satisfied that from some cause the enemy suspected the line was tapped, from the fact that some ridiculous and foolish dispatches were passed, and communicating his suspicions to Col. White, the latter decided that it was time to be traveling, for he knew that if the enemy really did suspect anything wrong on the line they would soon send an investigating committee, so calling in his pickets he started for the Blackwater. Before going far he discovered that a force of infantry was following him, having reached his position on the telegraph road shortly after he started from it, and on reaching the bridge over the Blackwater the Colonel halted his party to see if On the 27th the battalion was ordered by Col. Dulaney to report to the brigade, then fifteen miles off, at Freeman’s ford, on the Nottaway, and on arriving there was sent to Reams’ Station to picket, where we remained until the 1st of August, without any incidents other than the usual routine of such duty, except that on the night of the 30th the Yankees were very active and annoyed the pickets exceedingly all night, and when, just before dawn of day, they grew quiet and allowed the tired men to lie down to rest, the great mine fiasco which Grant had been preparing at Petersburg for a month, broke with a terrible explosion on the morning air, and shook the solid ground for miles, the “Comanches” scrambled up and mounted their horses without a word, but after awhile some of them begun to talk, and wonder “whether it was the day of judgment or an earthquake,” but pretty soon, in the distance could be heard the yelling and shouting of the charging columns, as they rolled like a billow Capt. Dan. Hatcher, of 7th Regiment, relieved the battalion on the evening of 31st, and on the 1st of August it moved to Stony Creek and encamped, drawing forage by wagon trains from North Carolina, and for several days did nothing but rest, having plenty to eat, and for a rarity, when Col. Dulaney commanded the brigade, no drilling to do. On Sunday, August 7th, the first sermon the “Comanches” had heard this year was preached in camp, by the Rev. Lieut. Strickler, of Co. E. The religious training of the battalion was very loosely conducted, as a general thing, and yet there were some bright and working Christians in it, especially in Companies C and E, some of whom would engage in prayer before going into battle, and it was remarked by all, that these men made none the worse soldiers for bending the knee to God, and commending their souls and their cause to His keeping, but generally, religion in the ranks was unpopular, and many who had been members of Church endeavored to hide the fact from their comrades that they ever prayed. A state of war, and life in camp is always demoralizing; but the soldier always honors the man On the 8th Maj. Ferneyhough went on a scout into Surry county, to capture some Yankee pickets, but returned without accomplishing anything; and now the command encamped on the Nottaway again, and luxuriated on the many delicacies of the season again, such as watermelons, potatoes, roasting-ears, tomatoes, cucumbers, and last, but not by any means least, the prime spring water, all of which they had in abundance, and the memory of the pleasant days spent on the Nottaway will be a bright one in the hearts of White’s Battalion while memory exists; and they were all willing to spend the summer there, and enjoy the good fare and the boating and fishing excursions on the river, but these days couldn’t last; and on the 12th the brigade joined the division and took up the line of march for Richmond. Everybody thought this move had some connection, in some way, with Early’s operations on the Shenandoah, and immediately the brigade had dreams of heaven and the Valley, which brightened more and more each mile that they advanced, until they The next morning the division again marched through Richmond and passed out on the Charles City road to Malvern Hill, where General W. H. F. Lee was fighting the enemy, and here the “Comanches” were ordered forward to cut off some Yankee pickets to the left, but they left so quick we had no chance at them at all. After this the brigade moved over to the Williamsburg road, and encamped at Savage Station on York River Rail Road, leaving White’s men on picket at the Chickahominy, where they remained The battalion now united again, and formed, by General Butler’s order, on a hill in the road, prepared to charge when the enemy attempted to advance, and here from six o’clock until dark they stood exposed to a hot fire from the Yankee line below them, but fortunately not a man was injured, although seven horses were struck and killed. About dark Hancock’s corps of infantry moved up from the Rail Road and joined in the fight, when General Butler, who was sitting on his horse a short distance from the battalion, and under a very hot fire, called for a courier to go to his line of dismounted men below and order them to retire. The man who was sent to him displayed evident signs of much perturbation under the storm of bullets that whistled around, and the General said to him, "Young man, you’re scared; go back to Captain Myers and tell him to send me a COURIER!" upon which the fellow returned instanter, An hour before daylight Col. White, with a few men, came down the road, and halting with the 1st squadron informed Capt. Myers that A. P. Hill was coming down during the day to drive the Yankees away from Reams’; that Hampton About sunrise Gen. Hampton came along, and putting White’s men in front ordered them to go to Wyatt’s Crossing, about a mile from Reams’, and wait further orders. Gen. Rosser was now at the head of the Laurel Brigade, and he soon came up and remarked to Myers that he wanted “his people” for advance guard again to-day, to which the Captain replied that he "didn’t mind the hanging half as much as he did the being told of it so long beforehand." On reaching the Crossing they found some Yankee pickets who retired towards Reams’, and with the exception of an occasional shot, everything was quiet until 9 o’clock, when the enemy opened fire with artillery upon Rosser’s men, and pretty soon Chew commenced to reply, but no advance was attempted on either side. During the cannonade Generals Rosser and Butler sat on their horses just in front of White’s Battalion, which, as a matter of course, stood by Chew’s artillery, and once, when the shells flew low over their heads, and some of the men dodged, Gen. Butler remarked, “They are disposed to be rather familiar this morning,” to which Rosser The day passed in constant marching and counter-marching; sometimes the “Comanches” would be dismounted and ordered to pile up rails for breastworks, and then ordered to mount quick and charge; but no fighting was done until about 3 o’clock in the evening, when the heavy firing on the left showed that Hampton had “amused” the Yankees long enough, and now A. P. Hill was at them. The Yankees were strongly fortified at the Station, and in their front had an abattis of trees felled with their tops from the works, and all the branches trimmed sharp, so that it was almost impossible for Hill’s infantry to get through at all, and in fact two brigades were repulsed with heavy loss, but when Gen. Mahone, the builder and president of the Rail Road, came up with his brigade; he took his people through and up to the breastworks, but the enemy was still there, and now both parties lay along the works, so that neither could fight or retreat, but pretty soon Mahone’s men out-Yankeed the Yankees, and taking up some heavy cross-ties and rail-bars that were convenient they threw them high over the Gen. Hill’s infantry took twelve pieces in the works, making sixteen guns captured, and about three thousand prisoners, besides five hundred killed and many wounded, making their loss in this day’s fight certainly reach very near five thousand in all, while the Confederates lost about seven hundred, killed, wounded and missing. At dark, Gen. Rosser ordered Capt. Sipe, commanding the 12th regiment, and Capt. Myers, of White’s Battalion, to report to Gen. Hampton, who instructed them to move their commands to Reams’ and relieve the infantry in the fortifications, which they did about midnight, in the most terrible storm of rain, thunder and lightning it is possible to imagine. The vivid streams, not flashes, of lightning danced and glanced along the Rail Road track and over the captured guns, which still stood there, while every moment the crashing thunder just overhead pealed out as if the inky sky was being torn to splinters, and in sheets and torrents the floods of rain poured Among those who survived was a Captain of Infantry, who had cause to bless the genius of Freemasonry, for by aid of its mystic signs he found a brother in the ranks of his foes, who helped him as only a brother would have done and gave him back to life again. There was no attempt on the part of the enemy to come back to Reams’, but they established their vedette lines along the pines and old fields of tossing sedge to the right of the Rail Road, towards Petersburg, and on the 26th Col. White placed his battalion on picket in front of them and scarcely three hundred yards from their lines, but there was no firing, and both sides, in act, agreed to the childish proposition of "I’ll let you alone if you’ll let me alone." It was now apparent that Gen. Hampton’s style of fighting was a decided success, for he had so On the 11th of September the General became impatient to hear the news from the Presidential Conventions in the North, and as the Southern papers were deficient, he took a detail from the “Laurel Brigade” and made a raid to the rear of Grant’s lines at Petersburg for Yankee newspapers, in which he attacked and whipped a brigade of cavalry from their camp, with considerable loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, to them, but none whatever to himself, and brought out enough papers to supply his camps for a month with reading matter. Major Ferneyhough, who commanded the detail of White’s Battalion on the expedition, incurred Gen. Hampton’s displeasure because of a misconception of orders, in consequence of which he resigned on the 13th, and a few days after Capt. Myers, of Co. A, was selected by Colonel White, and by Generals Rosser and Hampton, to fill the vacancy. On the 14th of September General Hampton marched with a division of his cavalry in the direction of Grant’s left wing, and succeeded in gaining, unobserved, the rear of his army, an operation which was comparatively easy, from the About daylight, on the 16th, when the raiders had reached a point about one mile from the James river, and not more than six miles in rear of the main line of the Federal Army, a strong party of dismounted cavalry was discovered behind some barricades, near an old church, and the 7th and 11th Regiments, of Rosser’s brigade, which was in front, were dismounted and sent forward to dislodge the enemy, which they did after a severe fight, and now the General ordered the battalion forward at a brisk trot, which soon brought them in full view of an immense drove of beef cattle, guarded by a Federal brigade, one regiment of which, the 1st D. C. Cavalry, was mounted near the cattle pens. Gen. Rosser sent a flag of truce demanding the surrender of this force, but the officer commanding, returned for answer, “Come and get us, if you want us,” and at the same time told the truce-bearer that if he came there any more with “that damned thing,” (the flag) he would shoot him. The General at once turned to the battalion, and in his short, solid tone, that always had something of the Some prisoners were taken, and a large quantity of camp equipage and arms, among the latter quite a number of the “Henry rifles” or “sixteen-shooters,” fell into the hands of the “Comanches,” but what pleased them most and really made this one of the grandest raids of the war, was the capture of the immense herd of broad-horned Western beeves, averaging over fifteen hundred pounds, and numbering two thousand five hundred and thirty-five head, all of which were brought safely out. On the return, Col. White was sent with a portion of his command to Sycamore Church, on the Jerusalem plank road, to guard that point until the cattle could be driven over the Blackwater, but on reaching his position he was assailed by a force of the enemy numbering about five thousand cavalry and artillery, and after a stubborn engagement, was forced to retire a mile from the plank road, but by strategy in keeping his men concealed, and by moving his flag from one point to another, he succeeded in deceiving the enemy and holding them in check until the arrival of While contesting the Yankee advance the Colonel caused his men to throw up rail fortifications at Monk’s Neck bridge, and here the enemy used artillery upon them severely, by which two men of Company A were killed, viz.: Samuel T. Presgraves, of Loudoun, and William Brown, a native of North Carolina, both excellent soldiers. After holding the Yankees here until the safety of the cattle was assured, the brigade flanked them and quietly returned to camp near Reams’, highly elated with the splendid success of the expedition, and more than ever convinced of the ability and generalship of their great commander, General Hampton. |