During the operations on the hills of Farmville a Federal brigade approached White’s people, and the commander, mistaking them for a part of his own force, sent a courier forward to order them not to advance too far ahead of their supports, but Col. White, not wishing to be so supported, made no attempt to obey the Yankee’s order, and only pointed his pistol at the courier’s head with a demand for his surrender, which was of course complied with.
After destroying the bridges the brigade of White retired, and the battalion, being the rear guard, was very hotly pressed, many of the men being forced to swim the river in effecting their escape, as the enemy advanced their whole force the moment the Confederates commenced to fall back, and Captain Dowdell’s Company, together with a portion of Co. A, under Lieut. Marlow, were very near being taken.
After getting clear of Farmville the men found some oat stacks, and of course helped themselves to what they could carry, intending to feed their horses at the first halt, and as Col. White was riding along with Capt. Myers, who was in command of the battalion, each of them carrying a sheaf of oats before him, while the battalion was scattered for a mile (there being no thought of danger now as the enemy had halted at Farmville), a sudden commotion was observed in the woods through which the route of the main army lay, and in a few moments Gen. Rosser appeared, almost alone, with the Yankees charging after him.
Col. White instantly ordered his people forward, and hastily throwing away their oats, the men went in again, driving the enemy back upon their main body, which proved to be the flanking force before spoken of, and numbered about four thousand cavalry commanded by Gen. Gregg, who had been sent over the river to fall upon the wagon train while the affair was enacting at Farmville, but although they reached to within fifty yards of the train they did[did] not reach it from the fact that the very men whom they had left confronting Sheridan at Farmville, were here between them and the wagons.
The few men of Rosser’s division held the whole force of the enemy in check until Gen. Fitz. Lee’s division came up, and the two together attacked so vigorously that Gregg’s command was driven back in confusion before scarcely a third of its number, and Gen. Gregg himself was captured as he was gallantly attempting to rally his fugitive troops, he having made the same mistake as the courier to Col. White, and tried to prevail on a body of Confederates, who were chasing the Yankees, to “halt and form.”
After this, the Southern troops destroyed about one hundred of their wagons, as it was evident they could not take them much farther, and putting their teams to the other wagons attempted to make up in speed for the time lost already; and to-night the Colonel halted his brigade in line of battle again to watch the rear, and about two o’clock in the morning followed on after the army, leaving the battalion to act as rear guard for him, with instructions not to approach nearer than one mile to the brigade unless forced back, and it was fully understood by the “Comanches” that they were not to consider themselves forced without a fight.
About sunrise the enemy became very troublesome and as not more than one mile could be marched without a halt to wait for the wagons to be pulled out of the mud, which in many places was hub-deep, the position of the rear guard became a very exciting one, especially as it was found that the enemy’s infantry had left the road and was outmarching them through the fields and open pine woods to the left. During one of the halts, about nine o’clock, as the battalion was, as usual, drawn up in line facing the left, and Capt. Myers, with a few pickets, was a half mile from his people down a road that led towards the enemy, a party of four Yankees were seen approaching through the woods, and as they came very confidently along making no sign to the two Confederates, who were standing in full view, it was decided best to halt them with a shot from a Sharpe’s rifle, which resulted in the killing of the foremost Yankee, and in falling he displayed a white flag, which, until that moment, had not been seen, because of the pines.
Both parties hastily retired, and it being now discovered that the army was moving again, the battalion also marched quietly, but in the distance of two miles another halt was called, and now the country being open the thousands of men in blue could be seen, drawing close along the flank and rear, but what puzzled the Confederates was the total absence of cavalry, in any force, with Grant’s army.
While standing here, a mounted Yankee was observed galloping along the road waving a white flag, and being met by one of the battalion, he presented a letter addressed to General Lee, but Capt. Myers refused to forward it unless the line of infantry, now within half a mile, would halt, which the bearer of the flag communicated to the enemy’s officers, and a halt was immediately ordered, the command being distinctly heard by the Confederate rear-guard.
The letter was now sent forward to Gen. Lee, and in half an hour an answer, directed to Gen. Grant, was returned, with a request from Gen. Lee that one or two of the best dressed officers in the battalion be sent in company with the truce-bearer to the enemy’s line, and this mission fell upon Capt. French and Lieut. James, who rode back to Grant’s headquarters and met with his Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Williams, who treated them handsomely, gave them a drink of whiskey, and talked, as James said, “exactly like a gentleman.” He asked them a number of questions, and informed them that they (the Yankees) had taken thirty-two thousand prisoners since the capture of Petersburg. Capt. French asked him the meaning of the correspondence between the Generals, to which he replied that Gen. Custis Lee had been taken prisoner, and his father, Gen. Lee, had merely inquired if he was killed or wounded, and that Gen. Grant had replied, telling him that his son was unhurt.