(522) The Twelfth remained at Woodstock one day with its corps, then pushing on after the bulk of the army to Harrisonburg, about 25 miles from Staunton, arrived there the 25th, the cavalry going as far as Staunton and Waynesboro destroying arms, ammunition and so forth at the latter place, and in accordance with Grant's orders all the mills, barns and stacks of hay and grain were burned, and the stock driven off in the Valley from Staunton down to Harrisonburg. The Sixth Corps and Nineteenth marched up to Mount Crawford on the 29th, and back to Harrisonburg the next day in support of the burning operations.
(523) The army remained at Harrisonburg till October the 6th; when the whole force marched down the Valley, arriving at Strasburg the 8th. All the way down to this place as we marched, the smoke could be seen rolling up behind us from the burning barns, mills and so forth. It was said that in many instances, in burning barns, reports of fire arms hidden in them and discharged by the heat were heard. Early reinforced by Anderson's division and Rosser's cavalry followed us down the Valley to Strasburg. The cavalry styled themselves the Saviors of the Valley, and were particularly aggressive. Sheridan got tired of their annoyance and determined to dispose of these new found "Saviors of the Valley." He directed Torbet accordingly to start out at daylight on the morning of the 9th and "whip the Rebel cavalry or get whipped himself." Our cavalry promptly to time attacked Lomax's cavalry on the pike and Rosser's on the back road and after a fight of about two hours routed them on both roads, capturing about 330 prisoners, 11 guns—all they had but one—and 47 wagons—"everything on wheels." The Rebels were run about 26 miles up the Valley on the jump. After the battle for the rest of the day, about all the saving the Johnnys wanted to do was to "save their bacon." Sheridan was very enthusiastic over this victory offering, it is said, $50 for the other piece of artillery.
(524) The second day after this battle of Tom's Brook, as it is called, the 11th, our brigade started from Cedar Creek for Martinsburg as a guard, with a wagon train and the captured property. Near Newton, which is about eight miles from Cedar Creek, we met two or three cavalrymen coming at a headlong rate. They belonged to a party of 25 that had been guarding an ambulance conveying some officers and mail matters, which had just been attacked a little farther on by Mosby. This was a very bloody affair with our men nearly half of them being killed or wounded. Lieut. Col. Northcott stopped the command, and scoured the woods nearby, to see if there were any Rebels about; but it was too late. Mosby had got off with nearly all the unwounded and the ambulance. We camped that night at Winchester where we met Col. Curtis returning from a leave of absence, who now took command of the brigade. The next morning we marched for Martinsburg arriving there after dark.
(525) We remained at Martinsburg two days. During this time Mosby captured a train of cars at Kearnysville, a town between former town and Harpers Ferry. On the afternoon of the 15th, we started to the front again with a wagon train arriving at Winchester the next day, at which place we were told to pitch our tents, as we were likely to remain there for a few days. Accordingly the tents were put up.
(526) As before stated Early had followed Sheridan down the Valley from Staunton to Strasburg; but it was only the cavalry that came all the way, his infantry having halted at New Market. Sheridan believed the enemy would not again attempt to come down in force and therefore he had ordered the Sixth Corps to return to the Army of the Potomac in accordance with Grant's desire to have a part of the Valley force sent to him as soon as it could be spared. This corps had started to return about the time we had left Cedar Creek for Martinsburg. But there was an unexpected turn in affairs. Early on the 13th had arrived with his whole army at Fisher's Hill, and without halting sent a reconnoitering force to Cedar Creek, which threw some shells into Thoburn's camp while the men were at dinner. Thoburn's men were almost as much surprised as if the shells had dropped from the clouds; for a reconnoitering party had been up the Valley the day before, ten or twelve miles, and reported that no enemy had been sen. Thoburn's division was soon formed, and he undertook to capture the Rebel artillery, the command crossing the creek to attack it but, the enemy being in strong force he failed. Thoburn's loss in this engagement was 200 or 300. The gallant Col. Wells of the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts was killed in this fight. After Early's demonstration in Sheridan's front, the Sixth Corps on its way to Grant by way of Washington, having got as far as the Shenandoah beyond Front Royal, was ordered back, arriving at Cedar Creek, the 14th.
(527) The next day Sheridan received a message concerning the desired destruction of the Virginia Central railroad from Grant about which he, Grant, had been anxious for some time, and accordingly Merritt's division of cavalry was sent that night as far as Front Royal with the intention of reinforcing it by another division, the design being to employ these troops to break the road just referred to and also the James River Canal or at least to threaten them. Sheridan went with the cavalry to Front Royal, being on his way to Washington, going there at the urgent request of the authorities at the capitol to have a conference with them. But just before leaving Front Royal for Washington he received the following dispatch from Wright, copied from the Rebel signal flag on Massanutten Mountain in sight of our camp:
"To Lieutenant General Early:
Be ready to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush Sheridan.
Longstreet, Lieutenant General."
(528) Sheridan suspected this to be a trick of the enemy, which it was, but in order to be on the safe side, he ordered the cavalry back to Cedar Creek. In this instance the enemy in his strategy over-reached himself, and three days later on account of this trick, he had to fight two more divisions of cavalry than he would otherwise have had to do. Sheridan continued his journey from Front Royal to Washington, stopping on the way some hours at Rectortown to telegraph to and get an answer from Halleck as to whether he had any information that Longstreet was or was not moving as indicated by the Rebel dispatch. Finally Halleck, after communicating with Grant at City Point answered: "General Grant says that Longstreet brought no troops with him from Richmond," adding some less important intelligence. After getting the telegram from Halleck Sheridan again pushed on toward the capitol.