The New York Times from the Peninsula, 1862- Pt. III

The final of my three excerpts from the New York Times' Peninsula Campaign reportage that touch specifically on New Kent County . . .

The Advance from White House Traditions; Crump's Plantation Gen. Sickles' Arrival- Rebel Liberality- Successful Skirmishing.

WHITE OAK SWAMP, MIDDLE ROAD, Wednesday, May 28, 1862. 

From the White House landing to our present encampment, a distance of 15 miles, and within ten miles of Richmond, we found few farm-houses that could be either called comfortable inside or beautiful without. The style of architecture varies, but is by no means pleasing to the eye. How these old dilapidated exteriors and interiors looked in the days of Virginia's earliest history, I am unaware. At the present time they are a mass of tottering brick and wood, decayed by time, falling piece by piece. None bear the slightest trace of repair or of that compound known as paint. The occupants seem to have abandoned all veneration for the homes of their progenitors, so much so that when the front portico gave way before old Time, they no doubt felt thankful they had still the back one left to make their entrance into and exit from their crumbling domicils(sic). 

The White House, belonging to the Custis family, you have had a full description of in previous letters. I might here mention, however, that one of your correspondents is in error relative to the original house being destroyed by fire. The present house with the exception of the two wings attached, is the identical one where WASHINGTON courted the widow CUSTIS. The estate is known as the "Old Quarter." About a mile and a half from the house, on the road leading to the Baltimore cross-roads and the Richmond turnpike, there is a cluster of large oak trees of ancient growth, standing on the edge of the rising ground facing the level track where the White House stands. The roots cover the surface for fifty feet in circumference. Beneath the base of the largest tree a spring of water gushes forth of great purity. 

Tradition states that POCAHONTAS, tired and weary with hunting, with some of her father's chiefs, discovered this spring and tarried to bathe her feet, while the chiefs hunted the forest for game. Early settlers from this tradition named the spring Pocahontas' Bath. It is now called the Old Quarter Spring, after the farm. WASHINGTON, on his return from his marriage ceremony at St. Peter's Church to the house of his wife, together with his attendant friends, halted at the spring and drank from a wooden bucket to the health of the bridesmaids. About a mile back from the spring, and a little to the right, stands a residence of tolerable antiquity, belonging to the Mason family, now occupied by a descendant, Dr. MASON1, who is the Presiding Justice of New-Kent County, as well as a practicing physician. He is a personification of the old type of a Virginia F.F.V. The polish on his waxen floors look like glass, and his sideboard is decorated with crystal cut glasses, with two decanters in bold relief, containing old Bourbon of the rarest quality. Over his mantelpiece hangs an oil painting, representing a facsimile of the original house, built by the MASONS, on Mason Island, in the Pamunkey River. On the mantelpiece lies a brick, with raised letters, 1698. This is the date, the Doctor says, when the house represented in the painting was built. The outside of the Doctor's present residence shows a calm resignation to the havoc of Time. The beautiful lattice-work around the portico has the moss growing on its broken fragments. The stables, barns, and out-buildings severally, have rude cedar posts propping up their sides and roofs, supporting their decrepit age. As I gazed upon their tottering aspect, I thought Slavery was linked with their decay. I trust it is so. There is nothing in the mouldering ruins of Virginia's first families to recommend its perpetuity. 

Next to the White House, the Mason mansion is the best, toward Baltimore Cross-roads. There are many small farm-houses, apparently built by the first settlers, crude in finish, and in a frightful state of dilapidation. 

The place next in order worthy of notice is Dr. CRUMP's2  plantation -- seven hundred acres, situated at the Baltimore Cross-roads3, eight miles from the White House, on the road to Richmond. There is quite an elegant house upon the estate, as well as numerous out-buildings, in a fine condition of repair. Dr. CRUMP, like Dr. MASON, is also a Justice of New-Kent. County, and was a member of the Legislature when the ordinance of secession was passed, and voted heartily for that measure. Dr. CRUMP is very wealthy. He owns forty-two negroes, sixteen of which, at the present moment, are not come-at-able, owing to strange motions of being free. When our army landed at the White House, they hired themselves out us cooks, &c., to the officers, without as much as saying to CRUMP -- their master -- "By your leave," and they peremptorily refuse to "go back to their quarters," CRUMP's grief is overwhelming. His wife and the young CRUMPS share his feelings of affliction with a devotion worthy of stories. 

Dr. CRUMP's house being the most respectable of its class, I took up any abode there for three days. Gen. SICKLES arrived at the same time, with Capt. CHAS. L. YOUNG and Lieut. LAURIA of his staff, and the General was assigned the bed occupied by Gen. JOE JOHNSTON some two weeks since, in his retreat from Williamsburgh. Dr. CHUMP was an obliging host, and Mrs. CRUMP4 was indefatigable in endeavors to make our stay comfortable. The General started off the following morning, to report in person to Gen. MCCLELLAN, and before leaving called for his bill. The landlord of the "Golden Lion" could not have hit on a more outrageous demand. The General has often dined and supped at renowned cafes, but CRUMP, Justice CRUMP, overstepped all bounds of conscience. The General paid his bill without questioning its correctness, and in answer to CRUMP's hoping to see him again soon, the General made the satirical reply, "I fully appreciate your kindness." 

Down at the forks of the road we have a temporary hospital. CRUMP's kindness to the patients is often spoken of among the invalids. It consists of his liberal supply of milk, for which he charges thirty cents a quart, and butter one dollar a pound. To the officer of the guard stationed at the house for CRUMP's exclusive protection from straggling soldiers, CRUMP suggested the guard should be provided with rations, as he would not be able to feed them, (there were only two,) for bacon was high, and he was afraid he would not have sufficient to last until the war was over. 

Provost-Marshal withdrew the guard when we advanced here. 

CRUMP was on great terms of intimacy with JEFF. DAVIS, whom he styled the President in his conversations with me. DAVIS advised CRUMP to burn his dwelling and destroy all his movable property, as the National forces had invariably done the same thing wherever they advanced. "Our patriots," said JEFF. DAVIS, "when they can afford no assistance to our cause, fly with our armies." CRUMP replied, he would consider the matter. DAVIS came down from Richmond, with several of his Cabinet officers, after the fight at Williamsburgh on Tuesday, and held a consultation with his prominent officers. What transpired at this interview, CRUMP was not informed, but DAVIS left, on the morning of Wednesday, for Richmond, in great haste. JOE JOHNSTON stayed at CRUMP's until his rear column came up, Thursday evening, and then left. Our troops came up on Friday following, and occupied the ground. 

Dr. CRUMP obtained a pass from the Provost Marshal to visit the White House, and there met with some of his hands, whom he accosted in a kind manner, desiring them to return to their quarters. One of them, a likely negro, who, CRUMP assured me, was worth $1,800 -- he had him insured for $1,200 -- replied to his salutation: "Now, Dr. CRUMP, dis ain't de way you talk to us when we home; you say you d -- d blacks -- b --, do dat; and last week you hit me ober de head with a rail. Der am de spot. I kin show him to any gemman." The negro took off his cap and displayed a bruised cranium. 

CRUMP was about losing his equanimity of temper, when he concluded to mount his horse and leave the place. 

On reaching home, Mrs. CRUMP was much affected to hear he had not returned with his property, and advised him to shoot a colored preacher, by the name of GORDON, who they suspected was the instigator of their troubles. To make matters still worse, the principal housewoman was not expected to live. She was a faithful servant, about 40, worth $800. 

Dr. CRUMP shed tears, so did Mrs. CRUMP. I appreciated their feelings at losing so worthy a servant, but was a little surprised when CRUMP said; "You will excuse me, Mr. ----- , but it's too bad. Them sixteen niggers were worth $12,000, and this woman $800, easy. I could have sold her a month ago, but I was a fool." CRUMP applied the handkerchief to his eyes, and wiped away the tears that rolled down; "too bad, too bad," he ejaculated, as he sobbed audibly. 

CRUMP is a representative of Virginia planters. There are two or three fine houses between Dr. CRUMP'S and White Oak Swamp. Their owners have deserted them -- gone to Richmond. These have been turned into hospitals for our sick and wounded soldiers.

Gen. PORTER has had another successful and brilliant fight, a few miles from New Bridge, routing the rebels completely. 

The retreat of BANKS has had no effect on our forces, unless to make them more determined to capture Richmond. If the stories of contrabands and deserters prove true about the rebels having one hundred and fifty thousand men (probably half that number) it is immaterial. Gen. HOOKER, with a little over six thousand, whipped four times that number of their chosen troops at Williamsburg. M.

-New York Times, June 8, 1862



1- Actually this is probably Dr. William Hartwell Macon, owner of "Mt. Prospect" and who sat as one of the 16 members of the County Court. The Masons lived nearby, but the fact that he is described as a doctor and a magistrate and the owner of a "mansion," points to it being W.H. Macon.

2- Dr. Leonard C. Crump.

3- He is referring to Crump's Crossroads not Talleysville

4- Emily A. Crump nee Savage, daughter of Nathaniel Savage.

The New York Times from the Peninsula, 1862- Pt. II

More reports from New Kent in the New York Times coverage of the Peninsula Campaign.

A Virginia Court-house--Its Characteristics-- Paucity of Union Sentiment--Army Depredations--The Case of Col. Van Wyck Cumberland Landing--Important Reconnoissances.

NEW-KENT COURT-HOUSE, Va., Friday, May 16, 1862. 

New-Kent Court-house is a type of all the county seats I have met with thus far in Virginia; half a-dozen wooden houses clustering about a brick Court-house and jail, a post-office, a tavern and a country, store. Five families constituted the population of this place, and they are still represented by the elder members and the females, the young men having disappeared with the general draft the Southern army has demanded. The jail and store of New-Kent are now but a mass of ruins, having been burnt by the rebel authorities at their evacuation. They contained corn, and the order was to destroy this, which the rebel soldiers took the readiest way of doing by destroying buildings and all. The tavern now does double duty, as a prison and a hospital, our sick soldiers occupying the upper part, and two Confederate officers being confined in the basement.

THE BURDENS OF VIRGINIA.

The tavern, though but a rude, unfinished looking building, is of interest, in its way, as the centre about which the scattered population of the country has been accustomed to gather. In its bar-room the local great men have met over their pipes and whisky to discuss the coming crop and talk politics, thus nursing their local pride until exaggerated notions of State Rights have finally wrought their ruin, desolating their homes, and sweeping away their possessions with the rude passage of a war, for which their own acts have helped to open the way. Virginia bears a heavy responsibility for this rebellion, which her efforts might have stayed, and heavily is she paying for her mistake -- her crime. The theatre of strife, the battlefield of contending armies, she has borne more than her share of the burdens of the Confederacy, and now groans in prospect of a submission to the just requirement of the authority she has defied and outraged. Whether it be the suggestions of a guilty conscience or the mistake of a deluded people, there is a false notion among her citizens that the whole expenses of the war are to be saddled upon the South, and the people of that section stripped of their property and reduced to Slavery to pay the debt. I heard an intelligent resident of this neighborhood make such a complaint to Gen. CASEY this morning, and such is undoubtedly a common impression, which has its share in the motive inducing the hard-pressed rebels to prolong resistance. 

If there is much hearty Union sentiment in Virginia I have failed to meet with it. At the best, it is as in this town, where the people seem disposed to submit with patience to what is inevitable, and yield quietly to the rule they are in no condition to contend against. Still, their case is apparently one which will yield to kind and judicious treatment, though the first experience of subjection is not the time for developing healthy symptoms. An army is never a love-provoking institution, and there are inconveniences and trials attending the presence of the best intentioned troops, which makes their occupation irritating to a community. It is natural that men whose wheat fields have been trampled down, whose stores and stock have strangely disappeared, and whose slaves have acquired sadden notions of independence, should not see, at a glance, the blessings of Union and the fatherly love which is working their emancipation from the tyranny of secession. But it is ever the habit of the patient to make wry faces at the drugs which are working his case; and we need bate nothing of heart or hope on their account. 

Many of the complaints of depredations on the part of our army are, no doubt, exaggerated, if not wholly false; but it cannot be denied that the most liberal allowance on this score will still leave much connected with the passage of our troops that is to be regretted. Strict individual honesty is not the virtue of armies, and there are, moreover, some too convenient notions on the subject of rebel right to property current among our troops, which the authorities are making a vigorous endeavor to eradicate. They will succeed, if earnest and impartial effort promises success. For the just recognition of the principle of respect for private property, they are entitled to commendation, though it may be that, in individual instances, they have drawn taut the reins of authority too suddenly, visiting simple mistakes with the punishment of crimes. Col. VAN WYCK, of the Fifty-sixth New-York, (M.C.,) is among those who have suffered in this way, finding himself under arrest in consequence of some well-intentioned efforts to provide for his sick and hungry soldiers by making use of property to which, as he conceived, the United States had acquired a good title. The Colonel is especially careful to see that his men are well looked after, and it is to be regretted that his kindness of heart should have led him into any difficulty with the Provost-Marshal. The matter is fortunately now in a fair way of adjustment, and Col. VAN WYCK is already released from the stigma of any intentional violation of the army regulations. 

It is about two miles through the woods from this point to Cumberland, which is simply a landing on the Pamunkey, though one possessing natural advantages which at the North would make it the seat of a thriving city. The river is there divided by an island, the main channel being about four or five hundred feet in width, and having a depth, it is said, of sixty feet close in shore. From the water a magnificent plain of two thousand acres of cleared land stretches off to the woods bounding it in the distance. This is the property of man named TOLAND -- or rather of his wife* -- whose few storehouses and slave-huts on the water's edge constitute the entire settlement of Cumberland. 

The Toland residence overlooks the plain from a high hill, which rises abruptly at one aide, affording precisely such a view of the 2,000-acre farm below as one gets of a level ball-room floor from the high gallery at its end. As I looked down from this point upon our troops encamped in the wheat-fields below, I thought it must have been from such a position that XERXES reviewed his army of a million of souls before he led them forth to battle. 

TOLAND is a slave-breeder; on his plantation you have the institution presented in one of its worst aspects. With him human beings have been literally treated as cattle, his whole stock of seventy-one slaves springing from a single woman, who now, at less than sixty years of age, finds herself surrounded by three generations of offspring, without ever having been bound by the marriage relation to thwart the purposes of her master in his anxiety to improve his stock. Mr. TOLAND proposes to dispose of his estate to me for $20 an acre, providing that I would take his slaves off his hands at a low price, saying that he is getting too old to farm. I might have been disposed to consider the proposition had not my brief experience in Virginia convinced me that "niggers are mighty unsartin property." But few, indeed, are left to yield to the seductions of freedom which the presence of a Northern army bring, those left behind being mainly those who are either too old or too young to be subject to temptation. 

We remain inactive in the portion of the army at this place, no enemy appearing near enough to tempt us to effort. A reconnoissance made by Gen. PECK this morning, four or five miles beyond here, toward the Chickahominy, revealed traces of two rebel regiments, who had apparently encamped last night on this road to Richmond, toward which they must have withdrawn. SATURDAY, May 17 -- A.M. 

A reconnoissance(sic) was made yesterday by Capt. GEARHART, of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, who advanced with twenty men seven miles beyond here on the road to Richmond, crossing the Chickahominy at Bottom's Bridge. There they met with the Sergeant and Adjutant of the First Virginia Cavalry, the first of whom was taken prisoner by Lieut. SMITH, the Adjutant escaping to the woods. In chasing these two men Capt. GEARHART came with his handful of men upon a squad of thirty rebel horsemen, who were driven in on a larger body of 120, supported by a force of some 2,500 men, two or three miles further toward the Chickahominy. It is supposed that the rebels have a strong rear guard in this direction, and a reconnoissance in force is to be made by Gen. COUCH's Division this morning to ascertain the strength of the enemy. The prisoner taken by Lieut. SMITH reports that one of their men was wounded by Capt. GEARHART's Cavalry, and another is supposed to have suffered from their attack, as a second horse was seen without a rider. None of our men were injured. 

PIERREPONT.

-New York Times, May 21, 1862



"Pierrepont," was William Conant Church


* Toler, Susan

March Comes in Like a Lion- "particularly obnoxious on account of bushwhackers"

 The rest of the New York Times article. . .

 . . .

The expedition upon which Col. DAHLGREN went to create a diversion was one of the most desperate undertakings of the war. The officers with him were selected for their well-known daring and invincibility in desperate circumstances. The second in command was Maj. COOK*, of the Second New-York Cavalry, and next came Capt. MITCHELL, of the same regiment -- officers well known in the service for their gallant conduct. It was Capt. MITCHELL who cut his way through with the bulk of Col. DAHLGREN's party, and joined the main command. Col. DAHLGREN and Maj. COOK, with about one hundred men, are still missing, but there is some hope that the bulk of this command will yet reach our lines. Of one thing the public may rest assured, that these officers will escape if such a thing is within the region of possibilities.

The Peninsula seems to be overrun with temporarily disbanded Virginia troopers in the rebel service, who prowl about in small parties in the capacity of bushwhackers, for the purpose of picking up straglers(sic) with horses. In this way they have, it is alleged, obtained many horses for STUART's cavalry, and they profess still to have large expectations in this direction. Gen. KILPATRICK's body guard, while moving down the Peninsula Thursday, succeeded in capturing several of these fellows while hovering on his flanks, and the column under Gen. DAVIES succeeded in capturing several more, but not until after one of our men had been killed and several wounded, and two or three horses had been shot. These men select positions where the woods are so thick as to render a pursuit by cavalry impossible, and deliberately fire into the column. One, at least, of this class was captured, and he will doubtless be turned over to the tender mercies of Gen. BUTLER, a man whom, while they hate him with a relish, fear him just as much. Turn loose KILPATRICK's Cavalry Division upon the infected counties, and, in a very short period of time, the bushwhackers will all disappear. The boys of the Third Division, when permitted to do so, have a wholesome way of suppressing this kind of warfare.

Several prisoners taken in front of Richmond while our cavalry was engaged within the defences of that Capital, state positively that Gen. BRAGG was on the field during the action, and was furious at the audacity of the Yankees. The panic in Richmond was undoubted. Citizens who left the City at 8 o'clock and were taken into custody between 10 and 11 o'clock, said that they heard nothing of the approach of our forces. It is believed that they first knew of the presence of a cavalry force by a messenger who went across the fields soon after crossing Brook Creek.

All things considered, no better weather could have been asked for the consummation of the object of this raid. The first night -- Sunday -- was cloudy; the next day there was no sun, so that the column could not be seen at a distance by the enemy. That night there was a slight fall of rain, refreshing to the horses, and doing the men of the command no particular harm, as it was not very cold. Tuesday night was the only really disagreeable time -- just when the camp was shelled -- then there was a fall of rain which gradually turned into sleet, and subsequently snow. The mud was deep, nevertheless the command had to move on through the mud and slush six inches deep to a defensive position some ten miles distant. If it was disagreeable for the men on horseback, let the reader imagine how much more disagreeable it was for a hundred or more dismounted men, whose horses had been shot or stampeded in the night attack. Bravely did these dismounted troopers plod on through the mud hour after hour, mile after mile. All the led horses were brought into requisition -- a few stray animals were picked up in the morning -- so that nearly all of the dismounted were remounted the next day. Wednesday, for the first time, the sun shone forth -- never at a more welcome moment - - making every one forget the hardships they had undergone, and the perils by which they were then surrounded. The bottom lands of the broad Pamunkey never looked more tempting, and the whole command was halted thereon, and neighboring corn cribs and farm houses furnished food for horses and men.

Up to this time -- Wednesday evening -- no one knew of the approach of a force from Gen. BUTLER's Department, and the first intimation of it was when Lieut. WHITAKER, with a small detachment went out to burn Tunstall Station and destroy the railroad track, and found that the station was in flames, and that a Union force had preceded, Thursday morning, a few miles south of the railroad, the advance met Col. WEST's command. The gratification of the troops at meeting such a force so unexpectedly can only be imagined by those who have been similarly situated.

Near New-Kent Court-house a brigade of colored troops was standing at ease in column by regiments, and certainly no troops ever made a better first impression. Cheers filled the air, given with a cordial good will by both commands.

The Peninsula seems to be almost entirely abandoned by all its former residents, and given over to bushwhackers and roaming bands of lawless men. North of Williamsburgh bushmen hang upon the flanks and rear of any column of troops that may pass, to pick up stragglers, secure horses, and not unfrequently, apparently, for the sole purpose of gratifying a morbid spirit of revenge, firing into a column indiscriminately, with no hope of securing any immediate advantage thereby. Occasionally a poor family is found at home, but they manifest no particular feeling either for or against the Union cause. Their sons and brothers capable of bearing arms are in the rebel service, and therefore it is supposed their sympathies are in that direction. The locality between Burnt Ordinary and New Kent Court House is particularly obnoxious on account of bushwhackers. On Tuesday last four colored soldiers of Colonel WEST's command, were captured in this vicinity, and one was shot through the arm. I have before recorded the experience of Gen. KILPATRICK's command while passing through the district indicated.

The rebels have evidently obtained a supply of railroad iron from some source within the last year. The writer hereof while on Gen. STONEMAN's raid in the Spring of last year, had his attention particularly called to the condition of the tracks of several roads. It was badly worn and pealed off in many places so as to be dangerous for cars to be run at any great speed. Since that time these roads have been relaid -- at several points, certainly -- with a first quality of T rail, and several piles of new rails were destroyed last week by our troops, laid by the roadside for use when necessary. All the cars seen were next to worthless.

 E.A. PAUL.

-The New York Times: March 7, 1864



Here are a few words from Rantings of a Civil War Historian on the need to take the work of Civil War correspondents with a grain of salt. It specifically mention Mr. Paul, who seems to have been the "Boswell" of the Army of Potomac's cavalry.


A digression on the fore mentioned Maj. Cooke* of the Second New York Cavalry, from the Sacramento Daily Union of October 1, 1867.

General Cooke's Death— Dispatch from General Kilpatrick. Washington, September 11th.— The following has been received at the Department of State:

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,  Santiago (Chile), August 1, 1867. 

William H. Seward, Secretary of State— Sir:

I have the honor to communicate the painful intelligence of the death of the Secretary of this Legation, Brevet Brigadier General Edwin F. Cooke, of New Jersey.

General Cooke entered the service of the  United States at the outbreak of the rebellion  as a Captain in the Second New York (Harris) Light Cavalry, and by distinguished gallantry rose to the command of his regiment and afterward to the responsible post of Chief of Staff of my Cavalry Division. With the lamented Colonel Dahlgren he was placed in charge of the picked command of 500 men I sent to enter Richmond from the south on the occasion of my expedition for the release of our prisoners in 1863, and had his horse killed under him by the same volley which terminated, Dahlgren's heroic life. He was taken prisoner and confined in one of the dark underground cells of Libby Prison, where deprivation of food, light and warmth completely broke down his vigorous constitution. From Libby Prison he was sent to other points in South Carolina and Georgia, and finally, after enduring for eighteen months the cruelty of rebellion, returned home a wreck of his former self. He accepted the position of Secretary of Legation by the advice of his physicians, who thought that this salubrious climate might restore his ruined health; but as time elapsed he sank into a gradual decline, and after a year of constant illness and great suffering he expired on the 6th instant, a victim to treason and rebellion.

The funeral exercises were very impressive. The Government authorized the ceremonies to I take place in the daytime, and furnished a large escort of cavalry, with music. The citizens sent their private carriages for the use of the; friends of the Legation, and the bells of the churches tilled as the cortege, consisting of cavalry and fifty carriages, passed through the streets. As the laws of Chile prohibit the conveyance of the dead through the city in the day time, and Protestants are regarded with most intense disfavor by the masses, these attentions on the part of the Government and people of Chile are very significant, and merits our most grateful appreciation.

I have availed myself of the opportunity, in response to the fending letter of condolence addressed to the Legation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to express my deep gratitude for this great proof of friendship for the United States, and to assure the Government of Chile that its kind consideration and the generous sympathy of its citizens on this melancholy occasion shall be communicated to the people of my country, as an additional bond of union between the two republics.

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, 

your obedient servant, J. Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick at the time was the American Minister to Chile.

Brevet Major General Edwin F. Cooke was not quite 32 years old.

March Comes in Like a Lion- "Additional Particulars" from the New York Times

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

 Gen. Kilpatrick(in high boots) and his staff at Stevensburgh, Virginia before the raid.

(Language warning)

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.; Interesting Details of the Expedition Approach of Our Forces to Within Two and a Half Miles of the City Incidents of the March The People, Negroes, Country, Food, Roads, &c. IMPRESSIONS IN DIXIE. CONDUCT OF UNION TROOPS. THE REAL SECESH. THE CROP PROSPECT. WHITE MEN AT WORK. THE HOPE FOR PEACE. CONFEDERATE SCRIP THE FOOD QUESTION. NO CHOICE OF TROOPS. THE HEART OF REBELDOM. THE SECESH DEMONSTRATIONS. CONTRABAND NEWS. THE SOLDIERS HARDSHIPS. THE AMNESTY PROCLAMATION. THE NEGROES. CATTLE AND HORSES. COL. DAHLGREN'S EXPEDITION. WORTHY OF ATTENTION. BRAGG AT RICHMOND. THE WEATHER AND ROADS. REBEL RAILROADS.

 FORTRESS MONROE, VA., Saturday, March 5, 1864.

By referring to the account of Brig.-Gen. KILPATRICK's cavalry raid within the enemy's lines in Virginia, which I forwarded yesterday, and taking a look at the map, it will be seen that our forces traversed nine different counties now occupied by the enemy, viz.: Spottsylvania, Caroline, Hanover, Goochland, Henrico, Louisa, New-Kent, James City and York. These counties embrace nearly all of the most aristocratic in the State -- peopled before the war mainly by families who boasted of their long line of ancestors, the number of their negroes, their broad acres -- in fact, where the feudal lords reigned supreme both over the white trash and the negro in bondage. The condition of this section of the country which has been under almost uninterrupted rebel sway for three years cannot be otherwise than interesting. In riding through these counties the stranger is painfully impressed with the Sunday-like stillness that everywhere prevails; at the large number of dilapidated and deserted dwellings, the ruined churches with windows out and doors ajar, the abandoned fields and workshops, the neglected plantations, and the ragged, dejected and uncouth appearance of the few people who are to be seen at home; the almost entire absence of men and boys, everything indicating a condition of affairs which nothing but civil war could produce. Our troops as a general rule when within the enemy's lines, I feel proud in being able to say, conduct themselves as becomes soldiers, only doing that which they are allowed to do by the recognized rules of war by all civilized nations; destroying nothing but what is used as a direct agency in sustaining the bogus Confederacy, and taking so much provisions only and forage as may be required for immediate use; no attempt is made to intimidate the inhabitants who are quietly at home attending to their legitimate business, and hence they never think of running away from an invading Yankee column. In no other country, in no other war, in the history of the world, I will venture say, has there been shown so much confidence of a people in the honor of those whom they look upon as invaders as the people of the South when visited by the Union troops -- the Southern newspaper press to the contrary notwithstanding. Neither men, women or children run away at our approach, and however much animosity they may manifest openly or indirectly, they seem to realize that they have an honorable foe to deal with.

But your bitter, vindictive secesh is a rare object to find; the persons met with in the recent raid, for the most part, profess to have no interest in the rebellion -- it came without their aid, and they have no desire to aid in its continuance any more than they are forced to do by what they feel to be the despotic rule of JEFF. DAVIS. All the real secesh capable of bearing arms are already in the army, together with many others whose hearts are not in the cause. I had frequent opportunities to converse with both of these classes. One of the most bitter rebels in his talk I ever met with, when captured, commenced a tirade of characteristic Southern braggadocio. He talked of "our best men in the field;" the South "could never be whipped;" "never had been whipped;" "it was a shame that Southern gentlemen were compelled to fight nigers;" and a whole series of the usual twaddle made use of by braggarts of the negro school, leading every one who heard him to suppose that he was a perfect pink of perfection -- a pure F.F.V. This man, who is the type of the so-called chivalric sons of the South, was caught bushwhacking, shot at a man after he had surrendered, told half a dozen lies in almost as many minutes, admitted that he never owned a negro in his life, and that his family is both poor and illiterate -- the poor white trash of which TOOMBS so picturesquely set off once in the United States Senate. This is no fancy sketch; and, when the fellow was exposed, he very cooly(sic) fell back upon the rights of a prisoner of war -- that is, in his opinion, a prisoner of war should not be exposed in his arrogance and falsehood. Of such is the Southern army to-day made up. That they will fight well all do know -- and that is about all the redeeming quality there is in the race. Their very pride and conceit makes them recklessly brave. This same fellow, after some conversation, volunteered the remark, "If we do come together again we can whip the whole world."

In the counties visited, there are but a few field-hands left of the black class; and a respectable resident asserts it as his belief that not one-fourth as much land will be cultivated this year as there was the last, when the crop was much less than the year before. January and February is the time for preparing the ground for sowing and planting in this part of the State, but it was a rare sight to see a plowed field on the 1st of March.*

At several points white men were seen working in the field, and occasionally a large plowed field could be seen; but, as a general rule, however, the farms are running over with weeds, the buildings are out of repair, fences are down, and the Virginia wild hog, heretofore seldom seem, except in pine forests, overruns the land. Particularly is this the case with the manorial estates to be seen as you approach the Pamunkey.

There is an abiding faith both with soldiers and citizens, that the war will end this year in one way or the other. Your sanguine secesh, of course, (who is generally ignorant or stupidly blind to what is going on in the outside world,) is quite confident that the "Southern cause," as he calls it, will triumph; but from what I saw and heard, I do not believe a majority of the people outside of the army would give the turn of a copper to secure the success of that cause. The people generally do not hesitate to say they are heartily tired of the war; and well they may be, for every branch of industry, except that to aid the Confederate Government, is at a stand still; families are broken up and scattered, and the whole country is flooded with a species of paper money so nearly worthless as to scarcely be believed. This stuff is thrown about carelessly, and is to be found everywhere stowed away in houses as carelessly as a prudent Yankee housekeeper does paper rags. For a $10 greenback I was offered at one place a pile of Confederate scrip large enough to fill an ordinary saddle bag. In the use of this money we had some experience. At a little oyster saloon, about six miles from Richmond, Gen. DAVIES and a party of friends numbering eight in all, partook of a supper which cost $85.40 in Confederate money, and the proprietor readily took $32 Confederate and a $2 greenback for the amount. The fare consisted of eggs, bacon, honey and bread. I obtained a bill of items from the gentlemanly owner of the place to adorn the books of some Antiquarian Society. A few years hence it will be much more of a curiosity than now.

As to the question of food. Every family seemed to have a little. Halting for an hour at a house, the occupant was asked if he had any corn, to which he gave a most positive negative reply. The proper officer was not satisfied, and, by a little searching, forty or fifty bushels was found stored away in a loft of the house. He denied also having bacon, and said that neither corn nor bacon could be bought for love or money, but "the boys" somehow managed to find quite a little pile of the hog meat concealed in an out-of-the-way place; and this was the experience along the whole route in the different counties. At nearly every occupied house was to be found a lot of chickens, and occasionally more or less turkeys, ducks, geese and drakes, and not unfrequently small grunters were to be seen roaming through the fields at will. It was quite evident that there was no superabundance of food, but a good supply of applejack somehow could always be obtained at $125 per gallon -- a price frequently paid. Confederate scrip was floating about so plentifully that the price of the liquor made but little difference to the purchaser -- $150 per gallon would have been paid just as willingly.

These people at home pretended that they had no choice as to which troops visited their plantations. The Confederates took all they could find in the shape of provisions, and while they hoped to be excused from receiving visits from either, they thought they could be treated no worse by the Yankees. As you move toward the heart of rebeldom, the feeling of animosity is more intense in hatred toward Yankees, and is more openly manifested. Around the outer borders, where the people have more frequently seen Union troops, and know more of what is going on in the outside world, they seem to have enlarged and more liberal ideas; as you approach the centre more bigotry and intolerance, more outspoken hatred is met with. Until a point near Richmond was reached there was but little on the part of the people to indicate that we were moving among a united mass of enemies. On the Brook pike, within a few miles of Richmond, quite a number of very respectable-looking young women came out to the roadside and made use of some taunting expletives -- such as no real lady would be guilty of -- but judging from the surroundings, I suppose they were considered ladies at home. One of these women was almost frantic with indignation. "I never thought," said she, raising her hands in holy horror, "that you would be mean enough for this." This she repeated frequently as the column moved along. No one offered any disrespectful remark in reply. The boys were simply amused at her eccentric conduct. This course of conduct seemed to exasperate her; to have Yankee soldiers come there was bad enough, but to be laughed at by them seemed to her the very height of the intolerables.

Much has been said of the publicity given to this raid before the movement was commenced or immediately thereafter. It is undoubtedly true that a great many people knew that there was a movement on foot of some kind, but what of kind, or which way it was to go, or its destination, it seems nearly every one was in ignorance. The enemy knew nothing of the matter, and the corespondents in the field and at Washington, from the different publications in the papers, it is quite certain knew but little more than the rebels. One paper recounts, in fearful terms, how that owing to the indiscretion of some nameless person, the enemy had met KILPATRICK in superior force at the very inauguration of the movement, and fears were entertained for the safety of the command. This class of correspondents show how much knowledge they had of the affair by still persisting in the statement that KILPATRICK left Stevensburgh on Saturday evening, when, without much trouble, they might have known that he did not move until Sunday night. Old sores are always tender, and a newspaper in the habit of being beaten in news is frequently stirred up to commit indiscretions. The truth of the matter is that whether any of the newspapers did or did not act prematurely in publishing the movements of Gen. KILPATRICK, the enemy did not take advantage of it. The picket at Ely's Ford knew nothing of it, and the column moved to Beaver Dam on the Central Railroad, before hearing a hostile shot. So skillfully managed, indeed, was the whole affair, that the announcement of Gen. KILPATRICK crossing the Rapidan was made in the Richmond papers on the very day he arrived before that city. The pickets within 3 1/2 miles of Richmond were captured before they were aware that an enemy's force was near them; and wherever the column moved before reaching Richmond, the enemy were taken by surprise and were entirely unprepared to resist the movement. This fact is confirmed by extracts from Richmond papers published in the TIMES to-day.

Too much cannot be said in praise of the officers and privates who took part in this raid. A movement within the enemy's lines, setting aside the extra personal risk incurred, is always and necessarily attended by hardships and privations of which few who have had no experience in the matter can form any adequate conception. In the saddle night and day, until nature is exhausted physically from being over-tasked; exposed to almost all degrees of heat and cold -- sometimes freezing, again too warm, one hour dry, and the next wet through to the skin; partaking of food at irregular intervals, and getting little or no sleep at all, except what is secured in the saddle, or for a half hour while the animals are feeding. Add to this the constant strain upon the nervous system; the hopes and fears excited by the constantly varying surrounding circumstances, while picking a way through a strange country without proper guides; the liability to be deceived willfully or otherwise by those who assume to have a knowledge of the country, the possibility and almost probability that you may be attacked at any moment by a superior force in some unexpected quarter, and under disadvantageous circumstances; the vexatious delays, marches and countermarches occasioned by bad roads and false information received often from those whom it is reasonable to suppose know whereof they affirm, all combined, go to make up a state of things which requires the greatest resolution and pertinacity of purpose not to sink under. The Commander of such a force must not only have all these qualities, but he must be promptly and ably supported by the whole command. This was the case in this movement in an eminent degree, and to this fact may be attributed much of the measure of success attained. The conduct of Gen. DAVIES and Col. SAWYER, commanding brigades, is particularly worthy of notice. Of the non-combatants accompanying the expedition, who rendered important service by acting as aids, were Dr. HACKLEY, with Gen. KILPATRICK, and Dr. WOOD and Rev. Mr. ROE with Gen. DAVIES. The staff officers generally were prompt and efficient.

Capt. ARMSTRONG, of the Commanding-General's staff, besides his regular duties, had charge of the distributing of the President's Amnesty Proclamation. -- Printed in small pamphlet form, this production was scattered broad-cast everywhere. It was placed in the hands of the people, left in their houses, churches and shops; stowed away in books and in every conceivable nook and corner, so that if any large portion of the people are disposed to suppress the only public document emanating from Mr. LINCOLN which has not been reproduced in the Richmond papers, they will hardly be able to accomplish their purpose.

The negroes everywhere, as usual, manifested great delight at seeing a column of Yankees, and acted unreservedly, as though they expected to find them all friends, and aided the expedition in various ways. They could always tell where corn could be found for the horses, and where provisions and horses had been concealed. They frequently gave valuable information as to the location of the enemy's pickets, of the presence of scouts in the neighborhood, and could tell when the last Confederate soldier had passed along the road. These services were rendered freely and without hesitation, often without the asking. Their services were brought into requisition in destroying railroads, and in one instance, at least, continued the work of destruction after the troops had left the spot, saying as the column moved off, "We'll catch up." Nearly all asked permission to come along, and many did so without asking the privilege, seeming to take it as a matter of course they were expected to join the command. There was no large number of negroes in any one place -- but there were a few found in every locality -- just enough, the whites said, to raise crops for the local population to consume. Only about one million dollars worth of this kind of property was brought away. Many of the negroes and negresses gave out on the long marches, and were left on the road. One squad of stout-limbed and stout-hearted women marched for two days with the command, and were finally rewarded by reaching Gen. BUTLER's lines, where they have some rights that white men are bound to respect under the present regime.

Only a few cattle were seen on the whole march. Everything large enough for beef has been confiscated for the use of the army. The same may be said of horses. The few to be seen -- except here and there an exception, are poor in flesh and in spirit. Not more than three hundred horses were obtained probably throughout the whole command -- all having been pressed into the rebel service.

(TO BE CONTINUED)



-The New York Times: March 7, 1864



*possibly a reference to seedbeds for tobacco which were normally prepared in January and February.


 

February 1864- The Disosway Murder II

The best account of the killing of Lieutenant Disosway I have yet found, is in his obituary as published in the New York Times.

 LIEUT. WM. WILKINS DISOSWAY.

In the death of Lieut. DISOSWAY, which has already been announced, the army loses a prompt and efficient officer, and society is deprived of a youth of high promise. In the first year of the war, Lieut. DISOSWAY entered the service as Corporal in the First New-York Volunteer cavalry, and served under MCCLELLAN in his Peninsular campaign. He was promoted to a Sergeantcy, and in the following year procured a commission as Second Lieutenant in the First New-York Mounted Rifles. Four months later, for an act of daring valor, in a skirmish on the Blackwater, he was promoted to a First Lieutenancy; and but a few weeks since, was honored by an appointment to the post of Provost-Marshal of Williamsburgh. The circumstances leading to this appointment are so indicative of his character as to deserve mention. From a mistaken idea of his duty, he failed to make the guard observe a slight mark of respect toward the commanding officer of the post, and was, in consequence, ordered under arrest for two days; but the persistency with which he adhered to what he thought at the time was the military rule in the case, and the frankness and readiness with which he acknowledged his mistake when it was made known to him, made so deep an impression upon Col. WEST, the officer in question, that almost immediately he received from him the appointment of Provost-Marshal. At this time he was only in his 20th year.

During the brief period allotted him for the discharge of his duties in this capacity, he won the universal esteem of the people of Williamsburgh; and a striking instance of this was shown in their touching testimonials of affection and sympathy at his decease. Pillows were sent for his dying head, and wreaths of flowers to perfume his coffin.

The circumstances of his death were most painful. On the afternoon of the 13th inst., Lieut. DISOSWAY was coming out of his quarters in Williamsburgh, when a man named BOYLE, one of the Provost Guard, but who had been relieved of provost duty for drunkenness the day previous, rushed into the yard; he had run the guard at Williamsburgh, and succeeded in regaining his arms. The Marshal's horse was standing in the yard, saddled; BOYLE mounted it, using infamous language, and discharged his revolver, the ball striking the ground at the feet of the Lieutenant. Several of the guard raised their pistols to kill him, but were deterred by the deceased, who, at the same time, ordered him under arrest; then, in the face of BOYLE's repeated threats to shoot him, he walked calmly up to the horse, in moderate language expostulating with the wretch. BOYLE dismounted, but the moment the Lieutenant laid his hand on the horse's bit, he fired; the fatal ball entered the half-opened mouth of the fearless youth and passed out at the back of his neck; he fell into the arms of his faithful body-servant, saying only, "IKE, I'm shot," and died within an hour.

Lieut. DISOSWAY's orderly rushed after the murderer, who had fled, snapped four caps at him, and finally, overtaking him, knocked him down with the butt of his pistol. At the time of the murder BOYLE was slightly intoxicated. He was taken to Fort Magruder, where he had been confined before for drawing his revolver upon an officer. Lieut. DISOSWAY's talents and virtues as an officer have been alluded to, as well as the promise he gave of future usefulness in life. To the sacred grief of the stricken ones at home, no reference may be made; those only who, like them, have laid in the dust an only son and brother, may know the extent and intensity of their loss; a loss irreparable, though softened by the memory of his bravery, forbearance and stainless honor. The deceased once said to his father, (CORNELIUS R. DISOSWAY, Esq.,) "he never would be wounded in the back," and this heroic resolution he sealed with his blood.

The following proceedings took place at a meeting held by his brother officers, and were forwarded to his father's family in this City:

A meeting was held by the officers of the First regiment Mounted Rifles N.Y.S.V., in camp near Williamsburgh, Va., Oct. 13, 1863, in consequence of the death of First Lieut. William W. Disosway. A Committee was appointed to further the proceedings of the assembly, and the following resolutions were submitted, and unanimously adopted:

Whereas, It has pleased an all wise Providence to remove suddenly from our midst Lieut. W.W. Disosway; that while we deeply deplore the loss of our young comrade in arms, we remember that he died like a soldier, in the performance of his duty, therefore.

Resolved, That in the death of Lieut. W.W. DISOSWAY, our regiment has sustained in almost irreparable loss, and our country has been deprived of a variable and accomplished officer.

Resolved, That the name of deceased will ever be associated in our minds with one of sterling character, manly aspirations, and of the most brilliant promise.

Resolved, That we tender our deepest sympathies to the afflicted ones at home, who will cherish in their grief the consolation that to the last he was a worthy son, a kind brother, and a true soldier.

Resolved, That we wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days.

On behalf of the regiment.

 JAMES N. WHEELAN,

Major First regiment Mounted Rifles.

C.J. MASTEN,

Captain Co. C. First N.Y. Mounted Rifles;

D. EDWARD CRONIN,

Captain Co. C. First N.Y., Mounted Rifles;

Approved by vote of the officers.

B.F. ONDERDONK.

Colonel Commanding Mounted Rifles;

His remains were brought to this City, and buried in Greenwood Cemetery. M.

During the brief period allotted him for the discharge of his duties in this capacity, he won the universal esteem of the people of Williamsburgh; and a striking instance of this was shown in their touching testimonials of affection and sympathy at his decease. Pillows were sent for his dying head, and wreaths of flowers to perfume his coffin.

-New York Times, October 29, 1863

Expedition to Charles City- VI: The New York Times

EXPEDITION TOWARD RICHMOND.;
Particulars of the Attack on Charles City Court-house- A Wild Night for a March Surprise and Capture of Pickets Charge on the Rebel Camp- The Spoils of Victory- Contrabands Coming In.

 Correspondence of the New-York Times.

WILLIAMBURGH, Va., Monday, Dec. 14, 1863.

An expedition, composed of six companies of the First New-York. Mounted Rifles and three companies of the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth New York regiment, has just returned from a highly successful raid to Charles City Court-house, situated near the north bank of the James River, and seven miles beyond the Chickahominy. The expedition was under the direction of Col. R. M. WEST, the present commander of this post; the cavalry was commanded by Col. B. F. ONDERDONK, and the infantry, which acted as a reserve this side the Chickahominy, by Col. ROBERTS.

The infantry preceded the cavalry twelve hours. The Mounted Rifles quitted Williamsburgh at 6 o'clock on the evening of the 11th inst., under lowering clouds, and an atmosphere that presaged storm. We made a brief halt at Twelve-mile Ordinary. After leaving this point, our route lay through dense forests of pine and dreary patches of cleared but uncultivated land. As night and the column advanced, the darkness became terrible, the wind fairly roared through the tall trees, and the rain, so long threatening, fell in torrents. We had two trusty white guides, but you may imagine how serviceable they were when we could not distinguish a horseman at the distance of three yards, unless, perhaps, he was mounted on a white steed. Still, the regiment moved forward for many miles, keeping closed files, and carefully following the sound of clanking sabres; until, finally, the road, which before had seemed to be in a highly-tangled condition, formed a knot like the Gordian puzzle. Here, apparently, fate had a choice bivouac in store for us -- but not so. Col. WEST. The guides lit matches which blazed for a moment, (just long enough to exhibit our forlorn prospects,) and were then quenched by the rain. Still, we were making a few yards, or rather "taking ground to the right." The guide covered his hands with the phosphorus of the matches, and held them up. This did not remind one forcibly of a revolving coast light, but we persevered. Many of the men lost their way through the woods, two or three officers were missing, but fortunately all regained the column. We pushed on in this manner until about three o'clock, when it being perfectly impossible to proceed another foot, on account of the blackness of all surrounding objects, and the awful condition of the road, (when we found it,) we were compelled to sit patiently in our saddles until daylight, drenched to the skin, and ruminating upon the beautiful moral relation which the soldier sustains toward a grateful country.

At daylight we moved on rapidly, and made up for lost time. We came up with the infantry, and halted a mile this side of the Chicahominy River. They had surprised and captured a small rebel picket. We soon came in sight of the river at Ford's Crossing, and away we went on the gallop. The first rebel picket was discovered on the west bank of the river. They were in a tranquil state of existence, having divested themselves of their superfluous clothing, and "lain down to quiet dreams." They were sound asleep. The very doorkeepers of the great and invincible City of Richmond were shoring in their slumbers. After fording the river, which is quite narrow at this place, and the water about up to our saddle-bags, we swept onwards with drawn sabres, at a light gallop, capturing without resistance, four pickets, and keeping a bright lookout in all directions. As we mounted a hill in view of Charles City Court House, we caught a sight of the rebel camp, and with a loud cheer we commenced the charge. The charge was led by the field officers of the regiment, with Col. ONDERDONK and Col. WEST. It was irresistible. In less than fifteen minutes we captured ninety prisoners, including eight commissioned officers, nearly one hundred and fifty stand of arms, over fifty horses, and a large quantity of forage, commissary stores, camp and garrison equipage.

The rebels were holding the usual Sunday morning inspection in their best clothes, in camp, and made slight resistance, being either entirely surprised or not wishing to injure the few good clothes in their possession.

At the Court-house the rebels made a brief but spirited resistance. They were driven into two wooden buildings, and fired several volleys from the windows, at very short range. We surrounded the houses, and compelled a surrender, which was formally made by the enemy, after exhibiting a white flag. Sergt. WOOD, a brave and faithful non-commissioned officer, was killed in the first assault upon the building. Capt. GREGORY was severely, but not dangerously wounded in the thigh. Our entire loss during the expedition was two killed and five wounded.

 The rebel officers were, without exception, gentlemen, both in appearance and manner. Had their surprise been less complete, I have no doubt they would have made an obstinate defence. Many of the rebel soldiers were well uniformed, and were mostly armed with the Maynard rifles.

The force captured was a part of the Forty-second Virginia, commanded by Major ROBINSON, who was away at the time on his wedding tour. It was considered by the rebels a crack corps, they being admiringly styled "Plugs."

 After destroying their camp, all the arms, accoutrements and munitions of war, which we could not bring away, we retired leisurely across the Chickahominy. Here the regiment rested awhile. Col. WEST sent a small party to secure Diascon Creek bridge. The party arrived just in time to prevent the destruction of the bridge by a small squad of guerrillas, who retired after exchanging a few shots, wounding the guide severely. We arrived in Willlamsburgh yesterday afternoon. The fair portion of the inhabitants behaved anything but amiably when they beheld the result of the expedition, in so many prisoners.

The rank and file of the captured party appeared rather happy than otherwise, with their sudden escape from rebeldon. One, (a nephew of United States Senator BOWDEN,) took the oath of allegiance, and several seemed disposed to do so. The officers, of course, are as bitter, as their systematic schooling to pervert the use of the five senses will make any one. Capt. RODGERS, in command, owned nearly all the horses and equipments, and he reckons his loss heavily. Among the captured was a young woman in soldier's clothes.

We brought into our lines quite a large number of contrabands. The rebel officers told them they were not compelled to come. We told them they were not compelled to stay. They seemed to value our word most, and came. One of them, an athletic pure blooded African, was relating his adventures. He said his master, in Richmond, had sold him for sixteen hundred dollars, to be sent South. He ran away and came to his wife, at Charles City Court-house. His master offered two hundred dollar for his capture, and he was obliged to hide. The morning of our arrival at the Court-house, he was lying asleep in the woods, and a little boy came and woke him up, and said that the Yankees had come. He said: "Go way, chile, what you want to fool dis nigga for?" But just then he heard the firing, and, raising up, saw the blue coats of our troops on the hill. "I was so glad dat I come right away and left all my things."

 The following is a list of the killed and wounded in the Mounted Rifles:

Sergt. Wood, Co. H -- killed.

Corp. Smith, Co. H -- killed.

Capt. L.B. Gregory -- wounded severely in thigh.

Sergt. Hendrickson, Co. H -- wounded in three places.

Private Stoppelbeen, Co. H -- wounded.

Private Johnson, Co. H -- wounded slightly.

Guide -- wounded in arm.

The rebels had three men wounded.

This raid has developed some interesting facts, which I would like to impart, but forbear on account of their military importance. C.

-The New York Times, December 21, 1863




The "Capt. Rodgers", would be Andrew J. Rodgers of Company A.

Note, "Among the captured was a young woman in soldier's clothes."

Raid of August 1863. Pt. III : From the New York Times

OPERATIONS ON THE PENINSULA.; Particulars of the Recent
Reconnaissance to Bottom's Bridge. 

Correspondence of the New-York Times. 

CAMP NEAR WILLIAMSBURGH, Va., Saturday, Aug. 29, 1863.
The cavalry arm of the service in this Department has been kept in constant activity since May. Gen. FOSTER assumed command. Besides our raids toward Weldon. N. C., and through the counties east of the Chowan River, we have just returned from a reconnoissance to the very doors of Richmond. 

A cavalry brigade composed of the Fifth Pennsylvania and First New-York Mounted Rifles, commanded by Col. B.F. ONDERDONK, Of the latter regiment, moved from this point on the 25th inst. to discover, if possible, the amount of rebel force between our pickets and the intrenchments(sic) about Richmond. The Fifth Pennsylvania regiment, Lieut.-Col. LEWIS, took the advance. When at Burnt Ordinary, some twelve miles from this place, we came upon a rebel picket of five men, and a squadron of the Fifth charged -- following the rebels in a spirited chase for five miles. The following day the Mounted Rifles showed the way, charging into New Kent Court-house and driving a party of Secesh out of the place. The rebels lost one man killed and two wounded. 

We rested at the Court-house two hours, and pushed on rapidly. Our advance guard kept continually charging small squads of the enemy's cavalry who appeared at intervals on fast horses, running for dear life and the Chickhominy River. 

The command again halted to rest weary horses and men within seven miles of Bottom's Bridge. Toward evening the First and Third battalions of the Mounted Rifles, the advance commanded by Major WHEELLAN the whole under Lieut.-Col. PATTON, raced for Bottom's Bridge. When about two miles from our starting-point, a running fight occurred with a squadron of the enemy's cavalry. We kept up the run in the blinding dust and hot sun until we arrived at Bottoms Bridge, thirteen miles from the rebel capital. Here we found a force of rebel infantry wellintrenched. We dismounted skirmishers [???] some spirited sharp-shooting. 

The rebels had gained sufficient time on their fresh horses to tear up the planks of the bridge. The object of the expedition being accomplished, the column moved about and leisurely returned to bivouac with the remainder of the brigade. Not a sign of a rebel appeared in our rear, and our sleep was undisturbed. Our men were covered with dust, and our horses nearly worn out. The rebels lost one man killed near Bottom's Bridge. We left his body with people along the road. 

We have greatly the advantage of the rebel cavalry in the use of the breech loading rifle. They, of course, are obliged to load from the muzzle, and can shoot but one volley from their double-barreled shot-guns before we are on to them. 

We were not disturbed during our return until we arrived at a place called Slatersville, four miles this side of New Kent Court-house. At this place the pickets of the Fifth Pennsylvania were attacked, and one man killed and one wounded. A portion of the Fifth chased the rebels back to the Court House. Maj. WHEELAN, of the Mounted Rifles, then advanced beyond the Court House, deploying his battalion in a beautiful manner as skirmishers. We found a dead rebel sergeant on the field, the rest having precipitately. We returned to camp, at this place, without further occurrences of interest. 

The Mounted Rifles did not lose a man. The Fifth lost but(?) one. The rebel loss was three killed and three captured. 

An intelligent refugee, who has just arrived from Richmond, says that our raid created great excitement in the city, every able-bodied man being obliged to turn out and shoulder a musket. C.

-New York Times of September 6, 1863