hundred strong), eft, for the purng our battery. er of the timber ee well-directed Iowa. ImmeIse of the enemy, me arrived, conwa infantry and rigadier-General ey were put in withdrew; not, rom the battery on the General's I am gratified to . of this engagef numbers of the regard this en› highest praise ching courage of f whom acquitted s (most of which exceed forty-one, f eighteen of the sent encampment, f more than fifty having discovered the position of our battery, determ EXPEDITION. HAXALL'S LANDING, Army of the Poto[ajor-General P. H. ast ten days covand accomplished f the war. They dart's boasted cavflanked his army, cations with Richd three long trains ores, together with aptured three hunn prisoners, includtenant-colonel, and de; captured three two hundred prisof fortifications on nd, whipped their In the sound of the tal, and brought the o the James river, gunboats. plished by the most ghting, and with the and replying to it vigorously with four pieces loss of a large number of brave officers and of artillery, our pickets and advanced skirmish-men. ers were driven back on the left upon their infantry reserves, while upon the right they maintained their position. The enemy (since ascertained to be General Our operations have been entirely on the flank and rear of Lee's army; so much so that I have had no opportunity of sending you any despatches hitherto, but will now endeavor to tredge commanding; Forty-third Indiana infantry, Major W. W. Norris commanding; and Battery E, Second Missouri light artillery, Lieutenant Peetz commanding, encamped near the bank of the river. In his report of the affair, Colonel McLean says: Cabell's brigade, sixteen hundred strong), charged with a yell upon our left, for the purpose of flanking us and capturing our battery. Their approach from the cover of the timber was met gallantly by two or three well-directed volleys from the Thirty-sixth Iowa. Immediately after the charge and repulse of the enemy, The day after my arrival, occasional firing the reinforcements sent for by me arrived, conalong our picket lines, and skirmishing in front, sisting of the Twenty-ninth Iowa infantry and convinced me that the enemy were on the alert, Ninth Wisconsin infantry, of Brigadier-General either for the purpose of watching the move- Rice's brigade. But before they were put in ments of the army, of which my brigade consti- position by him the enemy withdrew; not, tuted the advance, or, if possible, by a direct however, until a grape-shot from the battery attack upon me in overpowering numbers, to had inflicted a slight wound upon the General's cut me off before reinforcements could be ob-head, from the effect of which, I am gratified to tained from across the river. Early on the say, he has recovered. morning of the third instant, I ordered Major Norris, of the Forty-third Indiana, to proceed with four companies of that regiment to the front, to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, deploy the men as skirmishers, and support the cavalry pickets. He soon succeeded in discovering the position of the advance pickets and skirmishers of the enemy, drove them back for some distance, pressing them so closely that, the retreat of a number of them being cut off, sixteen came into our line and surrendered. In looking upon the results of this engagement and the great disparity of numbers of the forces engaged, I cannot but regard this encounter as one reflecting the highest praise upon the coolness and unflinching courage of the men of my command, all of whom acquitted themselves well. The entire list of casualties (most of which are slight wounds), will not exceed forty-one, while the new-made graves of eighteen of the enemy are in sight of our present encampment, and they confess to a loss of more than fifty wounded. Doc. 61. SHERIDAN'S CAVALRY EXPEDITION. HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS, HAXALL'S LANDING, On the same evening, being satisfied that the enemy were in our front in force, and designed attacking us during the night or early next morning, I ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Drake, Thirty-sixth Iowa, to proceed with three companies from that regiment, and three companies from the Forty-second Indiana, to a position on the main road leading from the ford immediately in our front, to deploy his men on the right and left of the road, to watch the movements of the enemy, and to resist their The cavalry corps of the Army of the Potoapproach as long as was prudent, and retire to mac, under the command of Major-General P. H. the reserves when they approached in force. | Sheridan, have during the past ten days covOne section of artillery, under Lieutenant Peetz, ered themselves with glory, and accomplished was planted so as to fully command the road the most decisive results of the war. and the leading approach on our right and left. have fought and defeated Stuart's boasted cavAt six o'clock on the morning of the fourth, alry for nine successive days, flanked his army, the enemy approached in force, and commenced destroyed all his communications with Richan attack on the advance companies of Lieuten-mond, captured and destroyed three long trains ant-Colonel Drake, who resisted them gallantly for nearly two hours, being well supported by the artillery of Lieutenant Peetz. Too much praise cannot be awarded Colonel Drake for the very distinguished gallantry and determined courage he exhibited during this contest. They loaded with commissary stores, together with two first-class engines; recaptured three hundred and seventy-eight Union prisoners, including two colonels, one lieutenant-colonel, and several officers of lower grade; captured three pieces of artillery and about two hundred prisoners, taken the outer line of fortifications on the north side of Richmond, whipped their cavalry and infantry within the sound of the church bells of their capital, and brought the command safely through to the James river, under the protection of our gunboats. The capture by his forces early in the morning of a rebel lieutenant-an aid-de-camp of General Marmaduke-confirmed me in the belief that that General was near in person, with a large portion of his division. After a very lively skirmish of near two hours, the enemy having discovered the position of our battery, and replying to it vigorously with four pieces of artillery, our pickets and advanced skirmish-men. ers were driven back on the left upon their infantry reserves, while úpon the right they maintained their position. The enemy (since ascertained to be General This has only been accomplished by the most determined and stubborn fighting, and with the loss of a large number of brave officers and Our operations have been entirely on the flank and rear of Lee's army; so much so that I have had no opportunity of sending you any despatches hitherto, but will now endeavor to give you as full an account as possible of all our doings since we crossed the Rapidan. The cavalry corps is composed of three divisions, and numbered at the time we crossed the river several thousand mounted men. General Torbert, commanding the First division, was taken sick, being entirely disabled by an abscess in his back, so that the command of his division had to be given to General Merritt. BrigadierGeneral D. McM. Gregg commands the Second division, and General J. H. Wilson, recently of the Cavalry Bureau, the Third. Each division had two batteries, numbering in all about thirty usual impetuosity, having his band playing patriotic airs in front, himself charging at the head of his brigade, and the artillery playing into the enemy at the same time. The attack on the left was very stubborn, and looked for a time as though it would be successful; but General Gregg, who is the coolest man under trying circumstances I ever saw on the field, ordered Colonel Gregg to send in the First Maine and drive "those people" away. The General always speaks of the enemy as "those people." Besides the First Maine, the Second, Fourth and Eighth Pennsylvania regiments were engaged on the left. I forgot to mention that on the fifth, BrigadierGeneral Davies, who was in front with his skirmishers, was at one time in the hands of the enemy. They made a sudden dash upon our line, temporarily driving us back and leaving the General a prisoner, but Captain Thomas, of his staff, seeing his critical condition, rallied a squadron and charged, bringing the General safely out. Through a misapprehension that Longstreet had succeeded in turning the right wing of General Hancock, and thereby exposing his flank, we were ordered at three o'clock of the sixth, to abandon our position and fall back some four miles to Aldrich's corner. The ene In the meantime General Wilson, with the Third division, had crossed the river at Germania ford and started upon a reconnoissance in the direction of Spottsylvania Court-house. At noon of the fifth we also marched in the direc-my at once occupied the position we left, but tion of Spottsylvania, and when we arrived did not attempt to annoy us in falling back. In at Todd's tavern, which was the left flank the morning the error was discovered, and we of Hancock's corps, we encountered General were again ordered forward to occupy our old Wilson in full retreat with his division, having position. been driven back some five miles by Fitz Hugh The enemy had done all in his power to Lee, and handled rather roughly. General strengthen his position during our absence, and Gregg, who never allows his division to be fought us with great stubbornness. The First driven under any circumstances, at once started division had the left, and the Second the right for the front with General Davies' brigade, and, and centre. Both sides fought dismounted, in putting in the First New Jersey and one squad-consequence of the dense timber. It was the ron of the First Massachusetts, drove the enemy hardest fight we had yet had, but our men were steadily, compelling him to fall back across the determined to win. Po and behind his fortifications. Our loss in killed and wounded in this sharp fight was between seventy and eighty. Here Captain Hart and Lieutenant Mitchner, of the First New Jersey, were wounded, and Captain Lawrence Hopkins, of the First Massachusetts, had his horse killed by a shell, and himself wounded in the foot, as he was gallantly leading his squadron into the fight. We held the battlefield that night. On the morning of the sixth, at daylight, General Hancock opened upon the enemy on our right, and the musketry firing was the most terrific and incessant that I ever heard. The battle raged furiously for five or six hours, at one time approaching seemingly near to us, and then receding, indicating that we not only held our own but were pushing the enemy back. Late in the day Stuart made a demonstration upon both our right and left flanks, but was handsomely repulsed by Curtis' brigade, of the First division, on the right, and Colonel Gregg's brigade, of the Second division, on the left. General Custer went into the fight with his The rebel loss of officers was very heavy. Colonel Green, of the Sixth Virginia, was killed, and also Colonel Collins, of Philadelphia, who graduated at West Point four years ago, and took sides with the South. There were many of our regular officers present who had known him intimately. They buried him and marked the place of his interment. The losses of the First New York dragoons, Sixth Pennsylvania, and First regular cavalry were quite heavy. Here, also, the gallant Captain Joseph P. Ash, of the Fifth United States, was killed. He died in the thickest of the fight, and is deeply lamented by all who knew him. By night we had driven the enemy some four miles, and had taken their first line of breastworks. The artillery practice of Captain Martin's Sixth New York independent battery, as well as the other batteries of the corps, was of the most brilliant character. The Sixth New York has the reputation of being one of the best light horse batteries in the service. They certainly did great execution during the succession of DOCUMENTS. fights in which we were engaged. The sections are commanded by Lieutenants Brown, Clark Wilson, while First Sergeant J. E. Tilston is a host in himself. On the morning of Sunday, the eighth, the Fifth corps arrived in our front, and marched toward Spottsylvania Court-house, while the Second corps relieved the cavalry. bins was at one time completely cut off from Many of our distinguished generals were in consultation at Todd's tavern, including Generals Grant, Meade, Sheridan and others. It was now decided to send the cavalry corps to the rear of Lee, cut his line of communication, destroy his supplies, and do him all the damage possible. For this purpose we were quietly withdrawn on the afternoon of Sunday, the eighth, and marched back to within about eight miles of Fredericksburg, on the plank-road. Here we bivouacked and made all the preparation we We had could for the coming trying march. already been four days without much sleep, and with very little to eat. Our forage for the horses had been reduced to one day's supply; but, notwithstanding all these drawbacks, the utmost enthusiasm prevailed, and all were anx-three long trains, loaded with commissary stores, ious to participate in the movement. We moved at daylight, marching in the direction of Fredericksburg until we had arrived within four miles of the city, when we struck off to the left of Spottsylvania Court-house to Hamilton's crossing, and took the telegraph road to Richmond. We had not advanced many miles before we began to be annoyed on the flank and rear by The First division had rebel sharpshooters. the advance, the Second the rear, and the Third We paid very little attention to the the centre. firing, supposing it to be only a party of scouts We had flankers watching our movements. thrown out each side of the road, while the Sixth Ohio regiment, Colonel William Stedman commanding, were the rear guard. About the middle of the afternoon the First North Carolina cavalry made a furious charge upon our rear guard, breaking clear through the Sixth Ohio, who were somewhat unprepared for such a vigorous movement; used both pistol and sabre to good advantage, and captured quite a number of prisoners. with two splendid engines, which he at once The First division bivouacked on the south and Lieutenant-Colonel Boothby received a severe wound in the shoulder, shattering the bone. It was first thought that the wound was fatal, but Dr. W. W. L. Phillips, Surgeon-inChief of the Second division, performed a skil ful operation, cutting out the fragments of the shattered bone, and strong hopes are now entertained of his recovery. We moved south, in the direction of the Quite an amusing incident occurred in connection with this charge. A section of the South Anna river, the First division in advance. Sixth New York independent battery was in the The rebels during the night had succeeded in rear, supported by a squadron of the Sixth Ohio. getting a force in front of us, and were annoyA rebel captain cut his way through to the rearing our column. The First Maine charged them, piece, and, putting his hand upon it, cried out"Not by a damned sight," This is my piece." replied a cannonier, and at the same time gave him a blow under the eye, a la Heenan, knocked him from his horse and took him prisConsiderable commotion was created in the column for a few minutes, when it was ascertained that Fitz Hugh Lee, with two brigades, The First New Jersey, was in the rear of us. Lieutenant-Colonel Kester commanding, was at once ordered to assist the Sixth Ohio, and from that time till dark both small arms and artillery were in constant use. Captain Walter R. Rob oner. At four P. M. we crossed the South Anna, and, after marching two miles, bivouacked for the night. At three o'clock on the morning of the eleventh, the First brigade, Second division, was sent, under Brigadier-General H. E. Davies, |