The Comanches: A History of White's Battalion, Virginia Cavalry

by Frank M. Myers

As soon as this party passed beyond hearing, White moved his people to Mr. Hollingsworth’s barn-yard, where about twenty of them were dismounted, under command of Capt. Randolph, and ordered to march to the enemy’s quarters, which were in the Baptist meeting-house, about one hundred yards distant, with instructions not to fire until they entered the house, or, in case the enemy was outside, to get into the yard with them before firing, and then to rush upon them and go with them into the house. The Captain held the remainder of his men mounted, and rode to the brow of the hill in the road by Hollingsworth’s gate to wait for the movement of Randolph to drive the Yankee boys from their quarters, when the cavalry would dash down and capture them.

Dawn was just beginning to turn the black of night to the gray of early morn when the movement commenced, and on Capt. Randolph’s party getting near enough to see, they discovered Means’ whole force standing in the yard listening to the report of their scouting party, which had just come in, and though they looked wonderingly at the infantry advance of White’s army, not one of them said a word; but in spite of his orders, which could have been executed with perfect safety, Randolph ordered his men to fire as soon as they reached the corner of the palings around the yard, which caused the Yankees to break and rush into the house in great confusion, having their commander, Lieut. Slater, badly wounded; and now, instead of following them, as his orders required, Randolph retired to Virts’ house, just opposite; but the gallant Gallaher, with Jack Dove and a few others, tried to execute the order, and while Gallaher, springing into one window, fired his revolver bullets among the demoralized “boys in blue,” the others poured their buckshot in at the other windows.

As soon as the firing commenced White brought his cavalry down the road at a gallop, and halting long enough to fire a round or two at the side windows of the meeting-house, discovered quite a number of Means’ men leaping from the windows and making the fastest kind of time across the lots below the house, so calling on his boys to follow the Captain made a dash down into town, but only succeeded in capturing two of the fugitives. From here some of the men galloped down to Means’ house in the hope of getting that gentleman, but he was by that time “over the hills and far away,” according to his custom when rebel bullets were on the wing.

Returning to the meeting-house, in broad daylight, White found his infantry laying close siege to it, and standing in the vestibule was the daring Webster, who had assumed command of the Yankees, and who, seeing White’s mounted men riding up, supposed them to be a reinforcement for himself, and began firing upon Randolph’s men at Virt’s house, calling, as he did so, for his own men to come out and fight. A few pistol balls near him showed him his mistake, when he deliberately turned on the cavalry and emptied his revolver at them, after which he stepped back into the house and commenced to barricade the doors. White’s whole force now dismounted and opened a brisk fire at the windows, which was returned by Webster, Cox, and a few others, whom Webster succeeded in bringing from under the benches long enough to take a shot; but pretty soon it was discovered that ammunition was running short in White’s ranks, and knowing the impossibility of taking the place by assault now, the Captain prepared to withdraw his people, but on reaching the horses of the dismounted men he resolved upon shooting the horses of the Yankees, which had been tied in the yard during the fight, and presented to the gaze of the now baffled Confederates a prize well worth fighting for, composed as they were of the very best horses of Loudoun, a land always noted for fine ones, and equipped in the most superb style of the U. S. A. Previous to this, however, an attempt had been made to negotiate a surrender by sending Mrs. Virts, under a truce, to make the proposition, but on her second mission the enemy informed her that if she came again they would shoot her; and now nothing remained but to get away in safety, which could only be done by depriving the Yankees of the means of following; and collecting the remaining cartridges a detail was sent to kill the horses; but while this party was getting in position around Virts’ house it appears that the enemy were so badly frightened they were trying to force their commander to make terms, and a few shots from Ben. Conrad and Ross Douglass at some Yankees they saw by a window, precipitated matters and brought Webster out with a flag of truce. He demanded the usual terms in such cases, viz: his men to be released on parole, their private property respected, and officers to retain their side arms; which White immediately granted, and the affair was concluded as soon as possible, the victors getting fifty-six horses, saddles and bridles, about one hundred fine revolvers and as many carbines, with a vast quantity of plunder which they were unable to carry off; and paroling twenty-eight prisoners, which, with the two previously captured, made thirty in all.

White lost Brook Hays, killed, and Corporal Peter J. Kabrich, mortally wounded; both gallant soldiers as ever drew a sabre. A few others were slightly injured. The enemy lost about seven or eight in killed and wounded.

The scene at the surrender, when Means’ men, after being formed in line, laid down their arms, was a curious one. Many of them were old friends, and had been schoolboys with some of White’s men; and in one instance, brothers met: one, Wm. Snoots, being a Sergeant in White’s company, and the other, Charles, a member of Means’ command. Rebel and Yankee had swallowed up the feeling of brotherhood, or rather, that feeling had intensified the bitterness and hatred with which enemies in the hour of conflict regard each other; and the rebel would have certainly shot his Yankee brother, even after the surrender, but for the interference of one of the officers. As soon as possible, after getting everything in movable shape, and arranging for the care of Kabrich, who was too badly hurt to be moved, and for the burial of Hays, the raiders turned their faces towards the South again, expecting to rejoin Gen. Jackson that night. At the point where the line of march diverged from the Leesburg road, Capt. White left Lieut. Myers in charge of the column, and taking with him a small detail, galloped into Leesburg, where he created quite a commotion, causing a few Yankee soldiers there to depart in the shortest time imaginable, and making the Southern people of that extremely Southern town almost wild with joy.

They had been under the galling rule of Yankeedom, as administered by such as Geary, until simple endurance had almost culminated in despair, and the advent of White, so unexpectedly, among them, was hailed as an omen that their day was beginning to dawn; and consequently, in their freshly blooming hope, they petted and lionized to their heart’s content the little band of boys in gray who came to assure them that soon they would be free from the rule of their hated tyrants.

The two parties united about sunset, at Aldie, where all partook of an excellent supper at Mr. Henry Ball’s, and where the Captain again met his wife, but not for long could he remain in this earthly Eden, for while here the Rev. John Pickett notified the command that he had found a brigade of Yankee cavalry at the Plains, on the Manassas Gap Rail Road, and immediately the overloaded little band prepared for a night march to Manassas, making the third night of sleepless travel.

But all kept up, and about 9 o’clock on the morning of the 28th August, Capt. White reported to Gen. Ewell, and when evening came the boys carried their General from the battle-field to the house of Mr. Buckner, he having been badly wounded in the leg. And it now appeared that what they had considered as irksome duty, that of acting as couriers for Gen. Ewell and his brigadiers, was to the company the easiest and most pleasant they had ever or would ever perform; and they felt bitterly the loss of the best friend, of influence, they had in the army, in the person of Gen. Ewell. After this the company took but little part in the battle, but lay quietly in the yard around the house where their General was, until the close of the battle, when the country was cleared of the enemy to such an extent that people from the border could get out to the army, and here many young men came and enrolled themselves in White’s company.

Citizens, also, who had heard of the capture of Means’ horses at Waterford, came to look at the stock, and as that command had been mounted on horses taken from the people of Loudoun, and Capt. White invariably returned their property, it was not long until all the captured horses, so far as White’s men were concerned, were among the things that had been.