About 1 o’clock the company retired to a large spring, near the house before spoken of, and unbitting their horses, turned them out to graze, while the men lay in the shade of the trees around the spring reading the Yankee papers they had gathered up. The Captain was very busily engaged in conversation with Mr. Henry Ball, who had just come from Loudoun, and brought to the Captain the delightful intelligence that his wife was near the old camp at Somerset, having accompanied Mr. Ball through the Yankee lines without difficulty.
A small detail of the company was assisting Major Christie, ordnance officer of the division, to remove a quantity of ammunition from a broken-down wagon, about a quarter of a mile above, when the officer in command of the infantry skirmish line passed along and informed the Captain that the pickets were all withdrawn from his front and he must look out for Yankees. “All right,” responded White, and straightway forgot all about it in the interest of his talk with Mr. Ball.
Soon after this a commotion was heard in the direction of the ordnance detail, and before the men had time to get up, a squadron of Yankee cavalry charged down upon them, firing, yelling, and making everything look very blue. There was of course great consternation among White’s people, but all scrambled to their horses—the Captain mounting his own before putting the bit in its mouth—and as soon as they found themselves in their “headquarters,” the confusion manifestly subsided, so that when Capt. White called on them to follow him in a charge upon the enemy, they responded gallantly, and chased the Yankee squadron in most splendid style over the same track they had come, at the same time rescuing Major Christie and his detail from the hands of the Yankees. Two of the men who were with the Major had already effected their escape, viz: Jas. H. Mock, by splendid riding, and Thomas Spates by literally outrunning his horse, a thing until then entirely unheard of. The old Major was doing his best to get away on foot, but the enemy had him surrounded and were striking him over the head and back with their sabres, but they instantly left him when the pistols of White’s boys begun cracking among them, and the old man mounted behind Lieut. Marlow, who carried him out of danger; and always thereafter there was no difficulty in Capt. White’s men getting all the ammunition they wanted from the ordnance department of Ewell’s Division.
The horses of Lieut. Myers and Sergt. Conrad carried them some distance in pursuit of the enemy after the balance of the company had retired, and were not stopped until the two men found themselves exposed to the fire of a line of infantry, which wounded Conrad’s horse, when they too fell back, but not until the Sergeant had cursed heartily the Yankees who shot his steed. From his position on the top of Slaughter Mountain Gen. Ewell had witnessed the whole of the gallant affair, and he complimented the Captain very highly, calling it “a beautiful thing.”
This advance of the Yankees, and skirmish of White, brought on a fight among the cavalry of both armies, which resulted in the discomfiture of the enemy and capture of Gen. Prince.
The next morning Capt. White obtained permission to visit his wife, and the command of the company devolved upon Lieut. Myers, who was called upon to go, with a few men, to see that the Yankees did not raid upon the wagon train, and on reaching them found everything in great confusion owing to a report that the enemy’s cavalry was about to attack the train; but the Lieutenant and his party soon rallied, and formed into line, about two hundred infantry stragglers who were about the wagons, and thus restored order among quartermasters and teamsters.
After dark, when the company had rejoined the General, the division withdrew from the mountain, and White’s men were left to keep up the fires and make the Yankees believe the whole force was still there; and once, when Sam White and John Marlow piled hay on a fire, making a blaze that lighted up the side of the mountain, the General threatened to “throw a pistol ball among them if they did so any more,” but they quietly promised to return all the pistol balls he threw them; however, they put no more hay on the fires. About midnight the General ordered Lieut. Myers to take his company and march rapidly to the bridge at Liberty Mills, with instructions to hold it and prevent the Yankees from destroying it before the infantry could get up. About daylight they reached the bridge, and in half an hour an order came to send ten men, as couriers, to report to the General on a road north of the Rapidan, but after considerable difficulty in finding that number of men whose horses could stand the trip, the detail was sent on the wrong road and missing the General, excited his ire against Lieut M., and when he reached camp and met the Lieutenant he abused him considerably for not obeying his order, winding up with asking why he had not sent the detail; and as the Lieutenant commenced to explain he unfortunately used the expression, “I supposed, General,” when the General broke out, “You supposed; you supposed, you say; what right had you to suppose anything about it, sir; do as I tell you, sir; do as I tell you.” That was the end of it, and during all the whole tirade of words the subordinate had only had an opportunity to use three. The whole force was again in the camp at Somerset, and now the Captain and his people began to talk about a raid to Loudoun for the purpose of chastising a band of renegades and Yankees which, under Sam. Means, was reported to be harassing the people of that county very severely; but, like foreign recognition and rumors of peace, it appeared to be more talk than anything else, and the men, as a general thing, hardly thought it possible to reach the “promised land,” although it was the heartfelt aspiration of each to once more behold it and enjoy the pleasure of sweet companionship with homes and loved ones again. On the 16th, one week after the battle of Cedar Run, General Jackson marched across the Rapidan towards Culpeper C. H., and now hope burned brightly in Southern hearts, for all the men believed that Gen. Lee could march into the North Country and conquer a willing peace treaty from the Government at Washington.
Pope made a stand on the Rappahannock, and while waiting for the Southern army to drive him back again Capt. White perfected his plans for the Loudoun expedition, and at Warrenton White Sulphur Springs got Gen. Ewell’s sanction to it. When, on the 25th of August, “Stonewall” left the main army and started on his flank movement to Manassas, White marched with him, crossing the river opposite Orleans, after which he made as fast time as possible in order to gain the front of Jackson’s corps, which he succeeded in doing at Salem. Just as his company passed the last regiment the men, who had halted to rest, called out, "you wouldn’t have caught up with us if the Colonel’s horse hadn’t given out." At sunset the raiding party, having cleared all the troops, marched to the Bull Run Mountain, which point they reached about daylight, and where they proposed to lie over until night of the 26th. During the day the true-hearted citizens of the neighborhood brought in plenty to eat, and some of them spent a great part of the day in the camp, among them Mr. Ball, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Wynkoop and others.
When the dark came down over the mountain the Captain formed his men, consisting of about twenty of his own company, with Lieuts. Myers and Marlow, about twenty of Capt. Randolph’s company, with Capt. R. and Lieuts. Redmond and Mount, and half a dozen of Gen. Jackson’s scouts under that splendid soldier Dr. Gallaher. After the line was formed White made a short speech, telling his command that his object in the expedition was to whip Means’ men, and that no matter how much force they had he intended to do it; that he knew where they were, and if the expedition failed it would be the fault of his own men; closing by saying with King Henry, if any man among them had no stomach for the fight upon such terms he was now at liberty to return. The little force, augmented by the addition of Messrs. Henry Ball and J. Simpson, now took up the line of march for Waterford, passing along the mountain all the way, and arriving at Franklin’s Mill an hour before daylight, when a halt was ordered and scouts sent out to ascertain if any changes had been made in the disposition of Means’ command.
While lying here a party of eight was heard passing the road from Leesburg, who, from their conversation, were rightly judged to have been scouting all night to learn if there was any movements of the Southern army to the northward, and their words proved that they were perfectly satisfied and felt entirely secure, for among other things their leader was heard to declare, as they watered their horses within ten feet of one of White’s scouts, that "there wasn’t a rebel soldier north of the Rappahannock."