History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, in the War Between the States
HISTORY
OF THE
NINTH VIRGINIA CAVALRY,
IN THE
WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.
BY THE
Late Brig. General R. L. T. BEALE.
RICHMOND, VA.:
B. F. Johnson Publishing Company.
1899.
Introductory Note.
The following narrative of the operations of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War was written by the late Brigadier-General R. L. T. Beale, their old commander, in 1865. It was found among his papers at his death, on April 17, 1893, written upon the consecutive pages of a thin blank-book. It has been carefully copied, and arranged in chapters with headings to indicate their contents. As full and accurate a roster of the regiment as it has been possible to obtain has been added. It has been possible to secure only a very imperfect list of the casualties. If this record of the regiment had been commensurate with the admiration and affection in which the author held its officers and men, it would have been far more extended than it is. Comparatively few of the veterans whose names appear on these pages now survive. The narrative will, however, interest their children, and, perhaps, many others who cherish the record of Southern devotion and valor, as displayed by the daring horsemen who wielded the sabre and followed the plumes of Stuart, Hampton, and the Lees.
PREFACE.
Now sea-girt Sumter's pealing guns proclaim
The angry strife of words to bloody blows
Has come! Through vale, o'er hill, their echoes ring.
And lo! from drowsy couch of gentle peace
Great States leap forth full armed. And the red flag
Of cruel war by stalwart arms is borne
From the green hills, laved by crystal lakes
To Rio Grande's tepid flow.
No people ever marched with a stride more rapid to empire and greatness than have the English colonies of North America. For achievements in science and art, if not superior, they are at least equal, to the older nations of Europe; yet no page in the history of this people will prove more attractive to those who follow us than that which records the scenes of the unhappy war which raged from April, 1861, to April 1865. An active participant in that memorable struggle, and connected with a regiment which was attached to the army under command of General R. E. Lee during its entire history, the author of the following narrative has undertaken, with the aid of notes taken while the events were occurring, to record the part that regiment bore in the contest for Southern independence and Constitutional liberty.
CONTENTS.
- Chap. I.—Enlistment of a Company in 1861—Their un-Military Appearance—Capturing a Merchantman—Under the Fire of Gunboats–Marching to Manassas—Picketing the Potomac—Formation of a Regiment—Evacuation of Fredericksburg
9 - Chap. II.—The Regiment Reorganized—Badly Uniformed and Poorly Equipped—On the Massaponax—Falling Back to Richmond—The Raid Around McClellan—Death of Latanè—Complimentary Orders—J. E. B. Stuart—Anticipating a Great Battle.
15 - Chap. III.–In the Van of Stonewall Jackson's Troops—The Battle of Cold Harbor—Bringing in Prisoners—Capture of the White House—Expedition to New Kent Courthouse–Marching Under a Mistake—Malvern Hill—Picketing on the James—Resting in Hanover
23 - Chap. IV.—Breaking Camp in Hanover and Storing Baggage at Louisa Courthouse—Through Orange and Culpeper—Raid on Catlett's Station—Capture of General Pope's Coat—March to Manassas Junction—Capture of Supplies—Second Battle of Bull Run—Heading Towards the Potomac—Fight at Sugar Loaf Mountain—Boonsboro'—Sharpsburg
30 - Chap. V.—Facing About to Meet the Enemy at Shepherdstown—On the Opequon—Resisting Pleasanton's Raid—Promotion of Officers—Charge at Mountsville—Fight at Aldie—At Union–At Upperville—A Gallant Exploit—Fight at Markham—At Barbee's Cross-Roads—Again in Culpeper—Reorganization of Brigade—March to Fredericksburg—In Winter Quarters in Essex—Capture of a Federal Squadron at Leedstown—Gloucester Point—Battle of Fredericksburg
43 - Chap. VI.—Picketing the Rappahannock—Outrages of the Enemy in the Northern Neck—Changes in Officers—Sergeant King Declines an Election—March to Gloucester Point—Camping Again in Culpeper—Under Fire at Rappahannock Bridge and Beverly's Ford—At Kelly's Mills—In Rear of General Hooker's Army—Opposing Averill—Charge at Rapidan Station—Charge at Trevilian's—On the Three-Chop Road—A Remarkable Coincidence—Captain Forbes Falls at Chancellorsville
58 - Chap. VII.—Camping Again in Culpeper—Grand Cavalry Review—The Hard-Fought Battle of Fleetwood or Brandy Station—In Peril at Thoroughfare Gap—Looking for the Enemy in the Dark—Second Encounter With First Rhode Island Cavalry—Middleburg Fight—Death of Captain Hungerford—Fight at Upperville—Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Wounded and Captured—Captain Robinson's Capture and Daring Escape
67 - Chap. VIII.—Returning to Middleburg—Rendezvous at Salem—In the Rear of Meade's Army—At Fairfax Courthouse—Expecting a Fight Near Dranesville—Fording the Potomac—Chasing Scott's Nine Hundred—Capturing Wagon-Train Near Rockville— Marching Northward—At Westminster—At Hanover—At Carlisle—On to Gettysburg—Fighting on the Left at Rummell's Barn
77 - Chap. IX.—Retreat from Gettysburg—Passing Our Infantry Line—On Road to Emmettsburg—Meeting the Enemy in a Mountain Pass—Ride to Leitersburg in the Dark—March to Hagerstown—Fighting in the Town—Pursuing Enemy Towards Williamsport—Charging Cannon—Lieutenant Ball's Gallantry—Sergeant Washington's Death—Bivouacking Near the Potomac—Fighting on Boonsboro' Road—Driven into Hagerstown—On Greencastle Road—Expecting a Great Battle–Recrossing the Potomac
90 - Chap. X.—The Author Obtains Leave of Absence—Heavy Skirmishing Near Shepherdstown—The Return to Culpeper—Fight of September 13th—Colonel Beale Wounded—At Raccoon Ford—Fight at Morton's Ford—Battle at Brandy Station—March to Warrenton–Engagement at Auburn Mills—On the Plains of Manassas—Captain Haynes Wounded—Under Fire at Manassas Junction—Lieutenant Davis Killed–Return to Culpeper—Retreat from Culpeper—On Robinson River—Pursuing Averill
98 - Chap. XI.—Marching from Charlottesville to Centre Cross—A Small Force in Camp—Weary Marches Under Mistaken Orders—A Bootless Chase After Kilpatrick—Capture of Dahlgren's Party—Papers and Book Found on Dahlgren's Body—Marching and Countermarching in King and Queen—Hastening to Check Kilpatrick in Middlesex—His Passage Through the Northern Neck
107 - Chap. XII.—Removal from Centre Cross to Orange—In Grant's Deserted Camps—On the Wilderness Battle-Field–Marching to Meet an Unarmed Regiment—At Spottsylvania Courthouse—Fight at the Gayle House—Watching the Left of Grant's Army—Fighting Near Guinea's Station—In a Tight Place on the Telegraph Road—A Well-Aimed Cannon Shot—On the North Anna—A Slave's Fidelity—Battle of Hawes' Shop—In the Rear of Warren's Corps—Federal Outrages—A Quartermaster With a Gold Chain
116 - Chap. XIII.—Under Minie Balls and Shells Near Hanover Courthouse—At Gaines' Mill—Forcing the Enemy's Picket Line—A Night Surprise—Nance's Shop—Gallantry of Major Clemens—On Stony Creek—Heading off Wilson's Raiders—Engagement at Sappony Church—A Sudden Encounter—A Rapid Gallop on the Heels of Colonel Spear—Sharpshooting at Malvern Hill—Fight at White Oak Swamp, in Charles City—Death of Captain Oliver—Brigadier-General Chambliss Slain
126 - Chap. XIV.—Under the Enemy's Breastworks in Charles City County—Engaged Near Petersburg—Charging the First District of Columbia Cavalry at Malone's Crossing—Mounting Breastworks at Reams' Station—A Large Haul of Prisoners—On the Expedition to Cabin Point to Capture Beeves—In Contact With the First District of Columbia Cavalry Again–Charging Infantry—Heavy Captures—Thomas Waller Made Colonel—Fighting on the Plank Road—On Warren's Raid—At Hatcher's Run—At Dinwiddie Courthouse—At Five Forks—Retreating to Appomattox—Dispersing for Home
141 149 178 187
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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