Besides White’s Battalion, there was now stationed in Snicker’s Gap, a company of the 2d Va. Cavalry, under Capt. Tebbs, and a detail from Capt. Chew’s battery with one 12-pounder howitzer, making a total force of about three hundred men.
About the 1st of November, a heavy body of the enemy’s cavalry, under Gen. Pleasanton, advanced on the Gap, creating no small excitement among the garrison; but as soon as possible, preparations were made to dispute possession, and while Capt. Tebbs held his company, mounted, near the toll-gate, Myers dismounted two companies of the battalion under Capt. Grabill, who was an old infantry officer of the “Stonewall brigade,” to operate as sharpshooters on the side of the road, and with the remainder in the saddle, took post near the artillery, which was advanced to within five hundred yards of Snickersville.
About this time the Yankees dashed into town, and gave a few of White’s men there a lively chase up the road, in which John Stephenson was severely wounded. In a few minutes the enemy’s column appeared in the road just above the town, and on the instant, the little howitzer blazed forth its “thus far and no farther,” in the shape of a three-second shell, which exploded precisely in the right place, killing and wounding several men and horses, and causing the remainder to retire in great confusion, which was increased by the fire of Grabill’s infantry.
Before the gun could be reloaded the Yankees were out of range, and the fight over, for Gen. Pleasanton took up his line of march for the Potomac at once. This affair took place on Thursday, and on the Sunday following, just at sunrise, the Yankees were again discovered making for the Gap; but this time it appeared that the whole land was covered with infantry, long blue lines of which moved up the mountain; and Major White having reached the scene of action, ordered the battalion, which, with the howitzer, had taken the same position occupied on Thursday, to fall back, and the whole force retired to the river hill. Very soon the Yankees were on the mountain in heavy force, and hardly noticing the shells from White’s little howitzer, they placed a battery in the Gap from which they threw shells clear over his position, and killed men in A. P. Hill’s division, a mile beyond the river. White’s men thought it was time to be leaving, but the Major held on until dark, when, leaving Lieut. Dowdell, with Company C, to watch the enemy, he crossed the river and encamped for the night.
About noon the next day, Dowdell sent a courier over to the Major, saying that the Yankees had flanked his pickets off their posts on the river hill, and he thought they were coming down the mountain in force. The Major called for volunteers to cross the river with him, when about thirty of his men mounted their horses and followed him. Reaching the foot of the mountain they met Dowdell, with his company, who gave the particulars of the night-watch, and told how the Yankee infantry crawled through the bushes around his men, very nearly capturing his party.
The Major at once started up the mountain with about ten men, to see for himself the position of the enemy, and when nearly on the top of the river hill, Sergeant-Major L. B. Stephenson and Capt. Myers, who were in the advance, each at the same moment discovered the Yankees in the woods on both sides of the road, and not twenty yards distant. They immediately wheeled their horses to retreat, but before they could tell the Major what they had seen, the infantry sprang out of the woods and opened a heavy fire which sent the whole party in a hurry down the road, and when about half way met the reserve coming to their assistance.
The enemy was advancing rapidly, and telling his men to cross the river quick, the Major formed a rear guard to fight the Yankees until the main body could get over; but very soon the heavy masses of blue jackets pouring out of the mountain in front, and on the right, forced him to cross also; and now the most exciting scene of all transpired. Most of the men were over, and Major White, last of all, was not more than one-third the way across, when a heavy bank of Yankee infantry lined the river shore and poured their fire upon that solitary man; but calmly he rode amid the storm, the bullets raining around him and making the water appear as if it was boiling, while his horror-stricken men looked on, expecting each moment to see him fall; but on he came, apparently as cool as if there was not a Yankee in five miles, and finally rode out of the river, unscathed.
Dense masses of the foe were still rapidly marching down the mountain, and just as White got through, the batteries of Gen. Hill opened from the Clarke hills a most horribly destructive fire upon them, as they stood, wedged closely in the small space between the river and the mountain, and from which there was no way of escape, the road being full of troops, batteries and ambulances, all hurrying towards Castleman’s Ferry. For some time the slaughter was terrible, and all the while not a shot was returned from the Yankees; but bye-and-bye an officer appeared with a flag of truce, asking for a cessation of the firing, until they could remove their wounded, and to the surprise of all, Gen. Hill granted it, although he must have known that ten minutes more of such firing would have forced the enemy to surrender.
Shortly after the firing ceased Maj. White, with a party of his men, crossed the river again, and found the mountain road literally running with blood, while the dead lay thick along it, and the busy ambulances, as they carried their mangled freight to the rear, left a trail of blood on the ground. The fight was over, for while moving the wounded and dead, the Yankees continued to take their sound and live ones back too.
Shortly afterwards the following note was received from Gen. Stuart: