The Major returned the paper endorsed as follows:
“Head-Quarters, White’s Battalion
“Dec. —, 1862.}
“Capt. Myers—You can have Webster untied if you choose, but I shall hold the officers signing this paper personally responsible for his safe keeping.
“E. V. White, Major Comd’g.”
Webster was at once freed from his bonds, and his self-constituted guardsmen sat with him all night, listening to the story of his life, which, supposing all he said to be true, was as full of romantic adventure as any ever depicted by old Sir Walter; and I doubt if in the annals of rascality a more finished character than Webster ever had a place, for certainly, by his own confession, no sin in the decalogue had been untouched by him. When morning came he was sent, in charge of Lieut. Sam. Grubb, to Richmond, where we will leave him for the present, to the tender mercies of Gen. Winder.
About this time, White received permission from Gen. Jones to scout into Loudoun, and arrived there just while Slocum’s corps was passing through to the aid of Burnside, then fighting the battle of Fredericksburg, and the battalion immediately beheld visions of captured trains and prisoners. The Major’s first bivouac was in the Baptist meeting-house at Ketocton, from which point he sent Lieut. Dowdell with a party to Hillsboro’ to find, under the friendly shadows of night, the situation of affairs in the rear of Slocum’s march.
Dowdell pushed on and found no enemy until he reached Wheatland, where he learned that a considerable number of infantry stragglers were asleep in the mill, and the Lieutenant immediately went in, taking quiet possession of the arms of the sleeping soldiers, and demanding a surrender, which, under the circumstances, they deemed it prudent to comply with.
When morning broke, Major White marched his command towards Wheatland and met Dowdell, who informed him that the enemy’s rear guard had camped the night before at Bowie’s, on the turnpike. Moving quietly along the road the battalion picked up about one hundred prisoners, whom they sent back to Gen. Jones, and learning that a wagon train was lost somewhere in the neighborhood of Hamilton, the Major sent a party to bring it in, but it could not be found. He then marched to Leesburg, and there was informed that some wagons, with a small guard of cavalry, had passed through the town on the Ball’s Mill road, about two hours before, and he at once resolved to capture them; so ordering Lieut. Crown, of Company B, to take the advance with a party of his men, and to keep all the blue-coats in front to deceive the enemy, he pushed on as rapidly as possible after his prize. In a short time Crown sent him a report that the enemy had halted a few miles ahead to feed their horses, and thinking there could be no escape for the wagons now, he ordered Crown to go ahead and make the attack; and very soon the ringing pistol shots in front proclaimed that the advance guard was among the enemy.
The gallant Lieut. Crown had, in fact, pushed ahead so rapidly that he struck the escort of the train, which was vastly superior to his force in point of numbers, too far in front of the battalion to receive timely support, and his men had been hard pressed before the Major could get up; but they had fought as Company B always did it, and with their sabres were clearing the ground when their comrades reached them. But the enemy had held out long enough for the wagons to get started and for a regiment of infantry to return to their rescue; which latter circumstance induced the Major to wheel his men off the road to avoid the fire, which was very hot, and to permit the train to rejoin the army.
All that men could do had been done; the escort of the wagon train had been whipped fairly, in open fight, by Crown’s boys, and nothing remained to be done but turn the wagons and go back, and but for the unforeseen accidental circumstance of the officer commanding the rear guard of the army sending the infantry regiment to see what had become of the train, the raid would have been perfectly successful. As it was, with as good a grace as might be, the baffled battalion returned, after considerable skirmishing, to Leesburg, and the Major was there informed that a few wagons were wandering in the direction of Waterford, having, so report said, taken the wrong road at Wheatland, and thitherward the battalion marched, but on reaching the village of Waterford learned that no such train had been in that neighborhood, and there was no longer a doubt but that the reported straggling wagons were the same which the timely arrival of infantry had saved from capture beyond Leesburg.