during the month following the foray into deven’s camp, the “comanches” devoted themselves to the duty of recruiting their horses and preparing for the return to the army whenever their chief should call them from their winter quarters to perform their part in what all felt and believed was to be the final campaign of the war.
the long rest and freedom from discipline had not been beneficial to the “morale” of the command, and in fact a great deal of the energy and fire that had formerly characterized white’s battalion, had been chilled and worn out by the privations and blood of the many trying campaigns through which they had passed, and which had been productive of no result, so far as they could see, except to make each succeeding one more desperate and bloody, and the isolated raids, skirmishes and picket fights, which had once been their delight and pride, had now lost the peculiar charm to them, for all the men saw that in the magnitude to which the war had grown, such affairs were of no importance at all, and they all felt that to attain the liberty for which so much blood had already been spilled, there must be 365great and decisive battles fought, in which superior generalship and stubborn courage on the part of the south should overmatch the swarming legions of northmen, who, bought by the federal bounty, were constantly swelling the ranks of grant’s army.
very few of the southern soldiers doubted the ultimate success of the cause which had stood such terrible storms, and all believed that the last day of the war was very near, when, with a second waterloo, the stars on the southern cross would blaze grandly in a glorious triumph or sink beneath an ocean of blood into the dark, but still glorious, gloom of defeat; and with a faith that might shame the christian in his trust in his god the soldiers trusted in gen. lee, willing to give their lives to his keeping, and if not willing to die for their cause they were willing and ready to follow their great commander with unquestioning confidence wherever he might lead them.
on the 17th of march, 1865, col. white’s order for his men to join him was put into the hands of his company officers, and as it was his last general order to an organized battalion, i append it in full; and the reader will bear in mind that it was written the day after the yankee sheridan, whose name will ever be synonymous with infamy, had marched with fifteen thousand cavalry up the shenandoah valley;
366
“head-quarters, 35th battalion,
“march 6th, 1865.}
“general order, no. 1.
“soldiers of the renowned 35th: your chief calls you again from your pleasant homes and loved ones to the field of battle! you will not be slow to answer his call.
“the invading foe has penetrated to the very heart of your beloved virginia, and proud spirits like yours cannot tamely rest while upon every breeze is borne the wailing of helpless women and children!
“come, my gallant boys! and we will throw the weight of our sabres in the scale with our brethren in arms against the dastard hordes of the north, who thus, without mercy or justice, pollute the sacred altars of our bleeding land.
“e. v. white,
“lieutenant-colonel commanding.”
after several attempts, which failed because of the scattered condition of his command, captain myers got about sixty men of companies a, b and c, together on the night of the 20th, at the semper’s mill rendezvous, and on the morning of the 21st started for richmond, leaving boyd barrett and sam white in loudoun, with instructions to gather up the remaining “comanches,” who were not yet ready to march, and bring them out in ten days.
the line of march was by madison c. h. and gordonsville, through the country that sheridan’s army had just passed over, and it would have taken a man with a nicely balanced mind for calculation to figure out anything in the way of destruction that might be added to what had been 367accomplished by these fire-brands of satan or stanton; but what affected the military situation was the ruin to the rail road, for there was literally not a rail or even a cross-tie left upon it for miles, and everything that bore the faintest resemblance to a bridge, though it was only a foot-plank over a ditch, had been taken up and destroyed, but the injury which this destruction was intended to inflict upon the army of gen. lee was scarcely felt by it now, from the fact that the road ran through an already impoverished country, and there were no supplies in the valley to be brought over it, while the necessity for sending rations from richmond to gen. early’s forces at staunton was ended by the annihilation of that command by sheridan before he struck the rail road at all, and consequently the raiding on the road was, in a military point of view, utterly useless.
the loudoun detachment marched by hanover junction, over the well remembered fighting-ground of cold harbor and mechanicsville, and joined the brigade, on the night of the 25th, near atlee’s station, six miles north of richmond, where it encamped for the night, and on the morning of the 26th passed through the city, crossing on mayo’s bridge to the south side of the james.
general rosser’s division was composed now of two brigades, one commanded by brig. general mccausland, and the other—his own old brigade—by brig. general dearing, an accomplished young 368officer, who had highly distinguished himself under general hoke at the capture of plymouth, n. c., and also on the petersburg lines during the long campaign of 1864, and although a total stranger to the valley brigade, his genial, affable disposition and soldierly appearance, together with the brilliant reputation which had preceded him, soon rendered him a great favorite with the troops who had followed the lead of such men as ashby, jones and rosser.
the division passed petersburg on the 27th, and on the 28th united with general w. h. f. lee’s division near stony creek station, and encamped on the nottaway river. the two divisions had less than three thousand men in them, that of rosser not numbering over twelve hundred, when if all its men out of prison and capable of duty had been present the brigade of dearing alone would have had certainly not less than twenty-five hundred in ranks; but what was true of one part of the army was also true of the balance of it, and general lee had only a remnant of what had been the a. n. v. to meet grant’s hundred and sixty thousand men.
the weather was most unfavorable, as rain fell almost continually; the ground was as full of water as a sponge, so that it was difficult and dangerous to ride a horse off the roads, which were themselves almost knee-deep in mire and mud, while the streams were swollen to the brim, and 369many of them the troopers had to cross by swimming their horses, to the great damage of ammunition and such rations as they had.
on the 39th the command was ordered towards dinwiddie court-house, where sheridan was pressing the confederates in his attempt to reach the south side rail road, which, if cut, would completely destroy all outside communication with richmond and petersburg, and here gen. fitz. lee, who now commanded the cavalry corps a. n. v., was combining all his energies to save the road and the right wing of lee’s army.
on the 31st of march the battalion took part in the battle of five forks, and on the 1st of april was engaged all day in fighting, scouting and picketing, in the vicinity of hatcher’s run; two names rendered famous in the history of the war by the desperate fighting of the cavalry corps, and of the glorious infantry division of general pickett; and from now to the end, the battalion was closely connected with the operations of the army, in the last brief and gloomy, but forever glorious campaign, which crushed the hopes that had sustained the hearts of lee’s veterans through four weary years of suffering and blood, and we cannot separate the history of the “comanches” from that of the corps to which they belonged, and in which they performed all the duties allotted to them.
the night of april 1st was a sleepless one, for 370the horribly incessant thundering of the artillery at petersburg, and the rattling of the muskets over hatcher’s run, told to the troopers that the moment when they must take to their saddles and engage in the fray might be at hand; but no move was made until the morning of the 2d, when the enemy on the right succeeded in flanking the divisions of fitz. and w. h. lee and pickett, routing and driving them from their position, and the retreat began, not towards petersburg, for that, too, had fallen, but along the rail road towards the west.
here col. white, with his battalion of eighty men, was placed in the rear, and until 3 o’clock kept back the harassing forces of the enemy which pressed close on flanks and rear, threatening to ride over the “comanches” at almost every step of the march, which was clogged and hindered continually by the trains of wagons that the worn-out teams were dragging through the mud at what seemed almost a snail’s pace.
in the evening it became necessary to halt, in order to protect the trains, and fitz. lee’s division wheeled to the rear, where temporary breastworks were thrown up, and the yankees checked for a time; but the battalion lost the services of two of its best officers in lieut. chiswell, of company b, and lieut. strickler, company e, who were both severely wounded, and also of sergeant alonzo sellman, company b, who, though shot 371in the head and given up for dead, survived and finally recovered.
the division of general johnson (infantry) moved also to the rear, and by aid of the cavalry repulsed every attack of the yankees until midnight, when the whole force again crossed hatcher’s run and halted until daylight, when the toilsome retreat was continued, the wagons still dragging along slower and slower, requiring the cavalry to dispute the passage of every stream with the enemy, and halt on every hill-top to offer battle to their pressing columns, which, flushed with success, and brave because of their numbers, grew more and more determined in their dogging attacks upon the rear, while the confederates, worn-out, hungry and disheartened, still plodded on through rain and mud, and still faintly hoped that general lee would stop, in some way, the advancing foe, and bring success out of the cloud of disaster that now overwhelmed them.
the quartermasters said that there were plenty of rations for the army at amelia c. h., and the prospect kept the men up, and on the evening of the 4th they reached that place, only to meet the bitterest disappointment, for not an ounce of rations was there, and now it really did seem that famine would accomplish what all of grant’s bayonets could not effect and compel the veteran army of lee to surrender; but that alternative impressed the men as worse than starvation, and 372plucking the buds and twigs of the trees as they passed along, these men of iron nerves and lion hearts essayed to quiet the cravings of hunger by eating them.
a short rest was permitted at the court-house, as the enemy’s cavalry had not pressed them so closely to-day as before, and the reason for this was discovered on the 5th, when near amelia springs, a strong force of them dashed in from the flank upon the wagon-train and destroyed more than a hundred wagons, causing such a stampede among the quartermasters, teamsters and stragglers, as only those who had been in the valley with gen. early could imagine, and leaving the road blocked up with the smoking wrecks. as soon as gen. rosser learned this he started the brigade of dearing forward, and as rapidly as possible they came up with the yankees at the springs and attacked them furiously, the 11th virginia, under lieut. col. m. d. ball, leading most gallantly, and being supported by the remainder of the division, and by a portion of gen. fitz. lee’s division, they whipped the enemy’s cavalry handsomely, killing and wounding nearly as many as were engaged on the confederate side, and driving the remainder back upon their infantry.
this affair did more to revive the drooping spirits of the cavalry corps than anything else could, but it is doubtful if they would have fought 373so fiercely if they had not been so hungry, and the first demand, on taking a prisoner, was "hand me your haversack, quick, or i’ll blow your brains out."
they camped that night at the springs, and after this the cavalry fared much better than the infantry, for they were kept constantly riding on the flanks, from rear to front, and back again, having thereby an opportunity to obtain something to eat at the houses of citizens off from the line of march pursued by the main army, but it was saddening to see the despairing looks cast by the inhabitants of the country as they would say farewell to the boys in gray after they had willingly fed them with the best they had and saw them ride away, for they dreaded what was to come after them more than if all the plagues of old egypt’s king had been turned loose in their land and were approaching their plantations, and on one occasion, when the “comanches” were riding past a house, some beautiful young ladies came out, and closing the gate in front of the column, said, "you are going the wrong way; please don’t leave us to sheridan’s mercy; go back and whip the yankees for our sakes;" but noticing the bitterness which their act and words added to the already heart-crushing sadness of retreat and defeat, they opened the gate, saying, "go on; we know you can’t help it; but we will pray for you, and hope that you will soon be back 374to drive them away; don’t forget us when you meet the yankees."
there is no doubt that the citizens of the south were subjugated long before the armies were reduced to the extremity of surrendering, but the noble-souled, true-hearted women of the sunny southern land were not, nor ever have been, willing to surrender their faith in the justice of the “lost cause,” or to give up their hope of a final triumph of the principles they so fondly loved and cherished, and
“though long deferred their hope hath been,
yet it shall come at last.”
the southern women were the “power behind the throne” during the whole existence of the confederate states, and were so acknowledged by seward, the yankee secretary of state; by butler, “the beast;” and by sherman, the prince of “bummers” and thieves, in their bitter persecution of them, for they knew that the steady, unchanging influence of the mothers, sisters, wives and sweethearts of the south did more to fill the ranks of the confederate army than all the edicts of its congress or acts of its conscript bureau. and nobly and bravely did the ladies meet their persecution. up to the day of lee’s surrender their voices were still for war, and their tongues, sharper than sabre-blades, turned against deserters and skulkers from the army and “bomb-proof” 375officers in it. they equalled the women of poland in their enthusiasm and devotion, and excelled them in persistent opposition to, and hatred of, those whom they regarded as the oppressors of their country. many a poor fellow whom the surrender caught in a northern prison, hesitated to take the oath of allegiance which would have procured his release, although he knew there was no longer a “dixie” banner to be true to, because he did not know “what the women at home would say to it;” and when they did take the oath and go home the women sometimes blamed them, sometimes said nothing, and sometimes only remarked, "yes, you did right, ’needs must when the devil drives,’ and if ever he held the reins on earth he does to-day."
a federal officer in north carolina asked a lady “are you not sorry you ever used your influence in support of this rebellion, when you see the misery which has followed it?”
“no, sir,” she replied, “we have done what we could, and my sorrow is not for the effort we made, but for its failure. better, ten thousand times better, the present sufferings than the degredation of submitting tamely without a struggle. we feel that we were right and that is a great thing, let the conviction cost us what it may.”
but it is time to go back into the forlorn death-march of lee’s army.
early in the morning of the 6th the enemy advanced 376on the pickets at amelia springs, who were from the second squadron of white’s battalion, commanded by captain french, who, after a firm resistance, was compelled to retire upon the infantry, who at the same time were being warmly pressed by the main body of grant’s army in the rear, and the retreat was resumed and continued during the day with constant fighting.
on arriving near rice’s station a heavy force of the enemy’s cavalry made an attack upon rosser’s division, but the general wheeled his regiments and threw them in fierce and desperate charges upon the foe, routing and driving him back upon his infantry.
the old brigade seemed inspired with the fiery valor which had in other days given it the proud title of the “laurel,” and impelled its men to follow the battle-flag of dixie through blood to victory, on many a well-fought field, and never in all the years of the war, had it acted more gallantly.
when this affair opened the “laurel” brigade was near the high bridge, and was forced to charge the enemy’s infantry, which in strong force was posted in the edge of a body of timber, and here the yankee line was driven back, but pretty soon gen. dearing ordered his people to retire, and riding up to col. white, the general informed him that the enemy had surrounded them, and asked his advice, saying, “we must cut through 377or surrender.” the colonel only replied, by saying, “you know best what to do;” and dearing then said, “we must whip that infantry, and if you and i lead the charge, it can be done,” which col. white at once agreed to, and the regiment were again ordered forward, the battalion in front, with col. white and gen. dearing leading it.
by this time the yankees had returned and taken position some fifteen yards in front of the woods, from which they opened a terrible fire, but the “comanches” swept onward, supported by the brigade, and the enemy was again driven in great confusion over the hill.
here gen. dearing was mortally wounded, and carried from the field, and federal gen. read, who commanded the yankee forces, was also mortally wounded, and fell into the hands of the confederates.
on reaching the top of the hill, and finding himself in command of the brigade, col. white halted, to reform his scattered line, preparatory to charging again upon the yankees, who were rallying at a corner of woods about a quarter of a mile away, but while thus engaged, a small party of the enemy’s cavalry, from towards rice’s, appeared, and two of them attacked the gallant maj. breathed, of the stuart horse artillery, who had ridden alone, some distance beyond the confederate line, and a desperate conflict took place, in full view of both parties, wherein nothing but 378the sabre was used. in a short time the major knocked one of his foes from his horse, and was almost instantly knocked down himself by the remaining one, but just as the yankee had wheeled his horse, and was leaning over with his sabre in tierce to despatch the prostrate major, one of white’s men approached, and with a pistol shot brought the yankee to the ground, when breathed sprang up with his sabre still in his hand, exclaiming, "oh! damn you! i’ve got you now," and killed him.
this seemed to convince the yankees that they could do nothing with such men, and they again retreated; but now a force of cavalry was discovered advancing rapidly upon the right of the brigade, and white turned to meet them, as they advanced bravely to the charge, led by as gallant an officer as ever graced a battle-field, but brave as was the commander, and promptly supported by his men as he was, the “comanches” had their fighting blood on fire, with the excitement of victory, and in a few minutes broke the yankee line and captured their colonel, using their sabres with such desperate courage, that no troops could have stood long before this little band of men who had been starved and harassed into very devils of war and blood.
the battle-tide was again turned against the enemy’s legions, and the cavalry driven back upon their infantry, who, in heavy force had taken position 379on the crest of a steep, rocky hill, and here for a moment they checked the confederate advance, but general munford had now arrived with his division, and gen. mccausland ordered capt. myers to go to a regiment of dismounted men and take them to the top of the hill. this regiment proved to be the 6th virginia cavalry, commanded by major grimsley, who moved his men forward at once, and col. boston, the commander of paine’s brigade, rode to the head of the regiment to lead it, but was shot through the brain.
the 6th, however, kept on, and now colonel white led his men through a perfect storm of bullets, up the bluff, and again the yankees fled, pursued fiercely by the “comanches,” who captured many prisoners in the chase to the river, and on reaching the bank, near the high bridge, their infantry, to the number of over seven hundred, threw down their arms and surrendered to white’s battalion.
in this last charge, as maj. thompson, who had left his battery to help the cavalry fight, was riding recklessly down upon the enemy, whirling his sabre around his head and shouting to the “comanches” to “charge the devils,” that he "wanted to go in with white’s battalion," &c., a yankee fired upon him with fatal aim, sending a bullet through his head, and the brave young officer leaped from his saddle a corpse, and thus the light of that gallant spirit, which for four 380years had revelled unscathed, amid the most appalling dangers, went out in blood upon the field of victory to the men whom he had so often seen following the lead of his loved friend and commander, turner ashby; that friend who, on the bloody field at harrisonburg, breathed out his noble life in jamie thompson’s arms, but his eyes’ last glance rested on a beaten foe, and the last sounds that fell upon his ear were the wild triumphant yells of the “comanches.”
the battalion took four regimental standards and about eight hundred prisoners, while the total of prisoners amounted to about eleven hundred, greatly exceeding the whole confederate force engaged, and their loss in killed and wounded was certainly not less than four hundred, including many officers, and six flags were displayed as trophies of the fight.
general dearing had been carried to a house near the field, and after the battle colonel white went to see him, finding him unable to speak above a whisper, and in fact, dying. gen. rosser was seated on one side, and as white came in, the wounded general took his hand, and pointing with the other to the brigadier’s stars on his own collar, turned his face to general rosser and whispered, “i want these to be put on his coat.”
among the wounded in the battalion was benjamin f. leslie, company a, who had been remarkable for his unwavering faith in the success 381of the south, through all the gloomy retreat, even when every heart was despondent, and who while fighting desperately at the bridge was mortally wounded.
he, too, was at the house, and when the colonel went in to see him found him suffering greatly from the bullet wound through his body and lying with his knees almost drawn up to his chin. the colonel asked him if he was badly hurt, and he replied, “yes, colonel, i am mortally wounded.” “oh!” said the colonel, “i hope not. ben, you must cheer up.” “no, sir,” said ben, "there’s do hope for me; i asked the doctor and he says i must die," and then raising his head, with the light of faith in and devotion to his cherished country’s cause beaming from his eye, he exclaimed, “but there are men enough left to gain our independence.”
the gallant commander of the 12th virginia cavalry, major nott, was killed in the charge upon the infantry early in the engagement, and the scene was full of sad and solemn meaning as the soldiers buried their dead comrades on the hill near the house, just before leaving the ground to the enemy, but many felt that the hero blood of the southland had not been spilled in vain when they saw so many of their foes laid beneath the same sod, and knew they had lost so many more, but the enemy had fought bravely and well, and the confederate loss was very severe, the battalion 382alone losing eighteen killed and wounded out of about forty engaged. only the first squadron was present at the opening of the fight, as capt. french with his squadron had been left on picket at amelia springs in the morning, and all day long was bringing up the rear closely pressed by the enemy, and compelled to turn and fight at every hill and wood and stream along the route, so that he did not reach the ground until towards the close of the battle.
about dark the command of white reached the main army, which was still wearily plodding along the muddy road towards lynchburg, and now the brigade lay in line of battle until midnight, waiting for the slow-moving train to pass, while less than a mile away the camp-fires of grant’s army shone brightly through the gloom of that dismal night.
two hours after the last wagon had passed, the old valley brigade marched silently along in rear of the whole army, but it was as slow as ever, for the rain was again falling, and the bottom of the road sinking deeper and deeper beneath the mud, so that, although the enemy had rested during the hours of darkness, their advance was up with the confederates by 9 o’clock on the morning of the 7th, and the latter, who had toiled on through all the weary night, were forced to renew and continue the same old story of turning at bay on every hill along the route.
383about noon the rear-guard reached farmville, in prince edward county, and so stubbornly did rosser hang on in his bull-dog style to the favorable positions around that place, that the pursuit was checked, and the enemy compelled to resort to a flank movement, which their great force rendered easy, but which came to grief from being performed too near the view of gen. rosser.
during the operations on the hills of farmville a federal brigade approached white’s people, and the commander, mistaking them for a part of his own force, sent a courier forward to order them not to advance too far ahead of their supports, but col. white, not wishing to be so supported, made no attempt to obey the yankee’s order, and only pointed his pistol at the courier’s head with a demand for his surrender, which was of course complied with.
after destroying the bridges the brigade of white retired, and the battalion, being the rear guard, was very hotly pressed, many of the men being forced to swim the river in effecting their escape, as the enemy advanced their whole force the moment the confederates commenced to fall back, and captain dowdell’s company, together with a portion of co. a, under lieut. marlow, were very near being taken.
after getting clear of farmville the men found some oat stacks, and of course helped themselves to what they could carry, intending to feed their 384horses at the first halt, and as col. white was riding along with capt. myers, who was in command of the battalion, each of them carrying a sheaf of oats before him, while the battalion was scattered for a mile (there being no thought of danger now as the enemy had halted at farmville), a sudden commotion was observed in the woods through which the route of the main army lay, and in a few moments gen. rosser appeared, almost alone, with the yankees charging after him.
col. white instantly ordered his people forward, and hastily throwing away their oats, the men went in again, driving the enemy back upon their main body, which proved to be the flanking force before spoken of, and numbered about four thousand cavalry commanded by gen. gregg, who had been sent over the river to fall upon the wagon train while the affair was enacting at farmville, but although they reached to within fifty yards of the train they did not reach it from the fact that the very men whom they had left confronting sheridan at farmville, were here between them and the wagons.
the few men of rosser’s division held the whole force of the enemy in check until gen. fitz. lee’s division came up, and the two together attacked so vigorously that gregg’s command was driven back in confusion before scarcely a third of its number, and gen. gregg himself was captured 385as he was gallantly attempting to rally his fugitive troops, he having made the same mistake as the courier to col. white, and tried to prevail on a body of confederates, who were chasing the yankees, to “halt and form.”
after this, the southern troops destroyed about one hundred of their wagons, as it was evident they could not take them much farther, and putting their teams to the other wagons attempted to make up in speed for the time lost already; and to-night the colonel halted his brigade in line of battle again to watch the rear, and about two o’clock in the morning followed on after the army, leaving the battalion to act as rear guard for him, with instructions not to approach nearer than one mile to the brigade unless forced back, and it was fully understood by the “comanches” that they were not to consider themselves forced without a fight.
about sunrise the enemy became very troublesome and as not more than one mile could be marched without a halt to wait for the wagons to be pulled out of the mud, which in many places was hub-deep, the position of the rear guard became a very exciting one, especially as it was found that the enemy’s infantry had left the road and was outmarching them through the fields and open pine woods to the left. during one of the halts, about nine o’clock, as the battalion was, as usual, drawn up in line facing the left, and capt. 386myers, with a few pickets, was a half mile from his people down a road that led towards the enemy, a party of four yankees were seen approaching through the woods, and as they came very confidently along making no sign to the two confederates, who were standing in full view, it was decided best to halt them with a shot from a sharpe’s rifle, which resulted in the killing of the foremost yankee, and in falling he displayed a white flag, which, until that moment, had not been seen, because of the pines.
both parties hastily retired, and it being now discovered that the army was moving again, the battalion also marched quietly, but in the distance of two miles another halt was called, and now the country being open the thousands of men in blue could be seen, drawing close along the flank and rear, but what puzzled the confederates was the total absence of cavalry, in any force, with grant’s army.
while standing here, a mounted yankee was observed galloping along the road waving a white flag, and being met by one of the battalion, he presented a letter addressed to general lee, but capt. myers refused to forward it unless the line of infantry, now within half a mile, would halt, which the bearer of the flag communicated to the enemy’s officers, and a halt was immediately ordered, the command being distinctly heard by the confederate rear-guard.
387the letter was now sent forward to gen. lee, and in half an hour an answer, directed to gen. grant, was returned, with a request from gen. lee that one or two of the best dressed officers in the battalion be sent in company with the truce-bearer to the enemy’s line, and this mission fell upon capt. french and lieut. james, who rode back to grant’s headquarters and met with his chief-of-staff, gen. williams, who treated them handsomely, gave them a drink of whiskey, and talked, as james said, “exactly like a gentleman.” he asked them a number of questions, and informed them that they (the yankees) had taken thirty-two thousand prisoners since the capture of petersburg. capt. french asked him the meaning of the correspondence between the generals, to which he replied that gen. custis lee had been taken prisoner, and his father, gen. lee, had merely inquired if he was killed or wounded, and that gen. grant had replied, telling him that his son was unhurt.
another letter was dispatched to gen. lee, and the well-dressed confederates returned to their own lines, with no idea that they were aiding the negotiations for the surrender of lee’s army by carrying the letters on the subject back and forth, and as the wagons were again out of the mud the rear-guard resumed its march, as also did the federal army. about 3 o’clock the battalion was relieved from its perilous position in the rear by 388a portion of gen. w. h. f. lee’s division, and soon after the division of rosser was ordered to the front.
the scene which presented itself to the view of the rear-guard as it passed the army on the way was distressing in the extreme. the few men who still carried their muskets had hardly the appearance of soldiers as they wearily moved along the toilsome route, their clothes all tattered and covered with mud, their eyes sunken and lustreless, and their faces peaked and pinched from their ceaseless march, through storm and sunshine, without food or sleep, through all that dire retreat, when in fact they were worn-out, from excessive duty in the trenches at petersburg, before the retreat begun.
many of the men who had thrown away their arms and knapsacks were lying prone on the ground along the road-side, too much exhausted to march further, and only waiting for the enemy to come and pick them up as prisoners, while at short intervals there were wagons mired down, their teams of horses and mules lying in the mud, from which they had struggled to extricate themselves until complete exhaustion had forced them to be still and wait for death to glaze their wildly starting eyes, and still their quick gasping and panting for the breath which could scarcely reach some of them through the mud that almost closed their nostrils; but through all this a part of the 389army still trudged on, with their faith still strong, and only waiting for general lee to say where they were to face about and fight, for they knew that the enemy would be whipped, and that every day brought nearer the last decisive battle-field, where the hosts of the north would be overthrown and the final success of the confederate states assured.
about sunset of the 8th the cavalry, now entirely clear of the army, went into a pleasant bivouac in a body of timber, where they were permitted to build fires and remove the saddles from the horses’ backs, upon which they had constantly been since the fifth, and the tired troopers felt good at the prospect of an all night rest, but in less than two hours the bugles sounded “to horse,” and the march was again taken up, and slowly followed until about two o’clock in the morning, when the division of rosser, which was in front, halted at appomattox c. h.
after waiting awhile to see if anything further was to be done, the men made fires of the fences, and sat down, each man holding his bridle rein and wondering what would come with daylight, but about an hour before dawn a battery exactly in front opened fire, and now the absence of cavalry in the rear during all of the day before was explained, as was also the reason why the confederate cavalry had been brought forward, for right here, exactly before them, stood sheridan’s 390whole command, cutting off the retreat of the army from lynchburg.
soon after the battery opened, colonel white moved his brigade forward a short distance and formed on a hill near some timber that extended to the head of a swamp, and here it remained until after sunrise, when the colonel rode out to the battalion, which was on the right of the line, and informed captain myers that the army was about to surrender and rosser was arranging to take his cavalry out. there was no time to arrive at a full realization of the meaning contained in this simple announcement, for the enemy was now pressing vigorously in front and sheridan’s cannon were throwing their shells among the confederates with great rapidity.
general rosser moved forward about half a mile and halted to wait for a demonstration which general gordon, who now commanded all that was left of “stonewall” jackson’s old corps, had arranged to make with his infantry, in order to draw sheridan’s force towards the left, and about 7 o’clock the signal was given in the rattling rifles of gordon’s men, who had followed lee and jackson through victory after victory, from manassas, where they had made “stonewall” immortal, to fire their last shot and lay down their arms in surrender at appomattox court-house.
rosser now put white’s brigade in front and moved promptly upon the enemy, who appeared 391not to understand exactly what was expected of them, and as white took a position on a hill in an open field about four or five hundred yards from a division of federal cavalry, the latter only looked, but made no hostile movement, and now rosser, finding the way open to gain the lynchburg road, pushed forward with the brigades of munford and mccausland, leaving colonel white to guard the rear and the old brigade to be the sacrifice, if necessary, to secure the safety of the balance. after looking at the little line of confederates for a little while a party of about four hundred marched from the division and commenced to form on the same hill with the little remnant of the “laurel brigade,” but this was too much for white, and he ordered capt. hatcher, of the 7th regiment, to charge, and capt. myers, of the battalion to support him. the enemy soon broke and retreated upon their reserve, which in turn gave way, and the whole force fled, panic-stricken, before the little party of about one hundred rebels, who were within an hour of surrendering, and again, but for the last time, the avenging sabres of the ashby boys glanced fiercely over the yankee cavalry. many of the enemy fell killed or wounded, but no prisoners were taken, and when the chase had continued about two miles the colonel again called a halt, and the boys had to dismount and skirmish with the yankee infantry for a short time, and when the great 392firing of guns and sky-rending shouts of grant’s army away off to the front and right announced that 9 o’clock had passed, and that general lee, with his troops had surrendered, colonel white withdrew his men and took the way to lynchburg, overtaking rosser about seven miles from that place, and on reaching the city everything was in confusion, nobody knew what to do and all thought it pretty certain that the yankees would soon be up.
about dark gen. rosser ordered the division to move to the fair grounds, near the town, and wait for orders, but shortly after a rumor was circulated to the effect that the yankees were advancing, and that gen. grant had sent a summons to the mayor ordering that the place be surrendered by 9 o’clock that night, which produced a panic, and the regiments moved out across the river, where colonels white and ball, the only two field officers in the whole brigade, addressed them, urging the men to still keep their faith bright and trust in the god who “gives not the battle to the strong;” and about midnight the laurel brigade was disbanded, never to meet again, the men going to their homes to wait for orders (which were never received) to follow gen. rosser and col. white to the army of johnson.
after this, the men who were not captured went by twos and threes to the federal officers and were paroled, and by the 1st of may the 393“comanches” could scarcely be recognized in the men who were in their fields holding the plow-handles, or behind the counter, but they hoped against hope for many months that they would be called upon to rally again around the stars and bars and draw their sabres for “dixie” and freedom.
hope died at last though, and the world saw a nation of soldiers transformed, as suddenly as the night vanishes before the rising sun, into a nation of quiet, law-abiding citizens.
the war was over; the confederacy was dead; and her soldiers accepted the terms granted by their conquerors, in good faith, and began to hope that peace would bring them back the blessings which the sword had driven from them, and that the country might be united, although they were conscientious in the conviction that the southern states had the right to separate from the compact styled the federal constitution, and that it was vastly to their interests to do so; and thus the southern confederacy, in her brief but brilliant career, followed the footsteps of nations gone before, and like them, passed through all the chances and changes of triumph and defeat that in this weak human life follow each other so closely from sunshine to the sunless land.
395killed and wounded in white’s battalion.
the list of killed and wounded is incomplete, in consequence of the loss of all the muster-rolls, which were in the wagons, and at the surrender of the army, fell into the hands of the enemy; and the author will esteem it a favor on the part of any one who will furnish him with the names of any who are omitted.
