including Duval's and Johnson's West Virginian; Third brigade, Col. H. G. Sickel, four regiments including Frost's and Morris' West Virginian.
First cavalry division, Maj.-Gen. Julius Stahel, 7,600 men: brigades of Tibbits and Wynkoop. Second cavalry division, Brig.-Gen. W. W. Averell, 5,000 men: brigades of Duffié, Schoonmaker and Oley. These active forces numbered 20,000 present for duty. Besides there was the reserve division, over 16,000 men present, under command of Brig.-Gen. Max Weber from Monocacy to Sleepy creek, and under Brigadier-General Kelley west of Sleepy creek.
The destruction of the saltpeter works of the Confederate army was a constant aim of the Federal troops, and an expedition for this purpose started out from Burlington late in February and destroyed the works at Franklin. The detachment guarding the supply train at Petersburg was severely handled on March 3d by a Confederate detachment from Moorefield. On the 10th a detachment of Mosby's men attacked the pickets at Charlestown, and in the skirmishing which followed Major Sullivan, commanding picket, and several others were killed, and 21 prisoners were taken by the partisans. A considerable number of the Eighth and Sixteenth cavalry regiments were at home on furlough in Wayne and Cabell counties at this time, and previously a body of the Sixteenth had had a brisk fight with Colonel Gallup, of Ohio, in Wayne county. A Federal reconnoissance through the counties in March failed to find any of the Confederates.
Capt. John H. McNeill made an important expedition from Moorefield, May 5th, against the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at Bloomington and Piedmont. Though taking but 60 men he was entirely successful, captured the garrison at Piedmont, destroyed seven large buildings filled with machinery, engines and cars, burned nine railroad engines, seventy-five or eighty freight cars, two trains laden with commissary stores, sent six engines with full head of steam toward New Creek, captured a mail train,
