13th he orders his cavalry forward to cross the upper fords of the Rappahannock, and swing from there around to Lee's rear. On the 14th they appeared and made a dash at Kelley's ford; but, in the words of W. H. F. Lee's report, "dashed back again from the fire of the picket of one hundred and fifty men, under Captain Boiling, Company G, Ninth Virginia cavalry." On the same day they succeeded in crossing at Rappahannock station, but on the appearance of reinforcements, recrossed. On the 15th they crossed at Beverley's and Welford's fords, but were driven back by W. H. F. Lee with Chambliss' Thirteenth Virginia cavalry. At 10.15 P. M. that night, Mr. Lincoln telegraphed to Hooker:
"The rain and mud of course were to be calculated upon. General Stoneman is not moving rapidly enough to make the expedition come to anything. He has now been out three days, two of which were unusually fair weather, and all free from hindrance from the enemy, and yet he is not twenty-five miles from where he started. To reach his point, he has still sixty to go. By arithmetic, how many days will it take him to do it? Write me often. I am very anxious.
Heavy rains stopped Stoneman, the Federal account tells us, and he was directed to remain on Hooker's right, threatening the upper fords. This cavalry force, according to the consolidated morning report of the Army of the Potomac for April 30th, 1863, had an aggregate of officers and men of 13,398 present for duty. His Chief Quartermaster, from Stoneman's new position, sent a return to army headquarters for rations for 12,000 men and 17,000 horses. This did not include a brigade of Pleasanton's division of three regiments and a battery under that officer left behind with Hooker.
The Federal army at this time consisted of seven corps, exclusive of the cavalry corps, viz: First, Reynolds; Second, Couch; Third, Sickles; Fifth, Meade; Sixth, Sedgwick; Eleventh, Howard, and Twelfth, Slocum—with three divisions to the corps, except Slocum, who only had two, making twenty divisions. Stoneman's cavalry corps consisted of three divisions, under Pleasanton, Buford and Averell. General Hunt, as Chief of Artillery, had about three hundred and seventy-five cannon. The Federal returns of April 30th, before mentioned, gives, under the head of present for duty, 130,260 enlisted men; an aggregate of officers and men of 138,378 present for duty, and a grand aggregate of 157,990 present; and under the head of present for duty equipped, there "is given only
