No one was admitted by the Colonel into the secret, but Lieut. Crown, and as the Colonel was about to leave the battalion in charge of Major Ferneyhough, he sent for Capt. Myers, and telling him that Cole’s battalion and Means’ men were in Waterford, gave him permission to go, if, he so desired, and try to capture their pickets.
Lieut. Crown says, that Col. White promised to send a force to attack the party at Waterford before he would consent to take his company into the mountain as White desired him, and that Col. White informed him he had given such orders, before he left the camp; but he certainly did not order Capt. Myers to make an attack, or tell him that anything depended on its being made, and he merely told him he could go down and capture their pickets if he desired.
Crown took his company to the appointed place, and Myers, with his people, went down near Waterford, but learning that the pickets were drawn in after dark to the town, and that the force there was composed of Cole’s battalion, a regiment of Connecticut Cavalry, and Means’ Company, all commanded by Col. Cole, he retired without making any attack, his orders being entirely discretionary.
The next morning Cole’s command left Waterford and marched straight to the camp of Co. B, a spy having reported their position, and whether Lieut. Crown is blameless entirely, and all the fault lies with Col. White and Capt. Myers, or not, it does appear that Co. B. was surprised in the fullest sense of the word, for the first intimation they had of Cole’s approach was the firing of his advance guard among them, and both Lieuts. Crown and Dorsey were at the house of Mr. Gray, waiting for breakfast and listening to the piano.
Both officers were captured before they could reach the company, and nine of their men were made prisoners at the same time, but the others, with great difficulty, made their escape. There is no doubt that if Lieut. Crown had had a picket out, and had notice of the enemy’s approach, he would have whipped them, for he had about fifty of the best fighting men in the army, and Crown and Dorsey never counted odds in any kind of a fight. So it is self-evident that situated as they were there, they would have whipped Cole’s four hundred easily, for the latter had not the best troops in the world, in fact they were morally opposed to the usual dangers of the battle-field.
Col. Cole treated Lieut. Crown just as cowards always do those in their power, and even went so far as to threaten him with hanging for being a Confederate soldier so unfortunate as to be a prisoner to Cole.
Of course this disaster wound up the projected horse capture in Maryland, and Col. White returned to camp with his spirits considerably below zero, but he was never heard to charge the damage to the misconduct of any one, and only seemed to look upon it as one of the natural misfortunes of war.
Note.—Since writing the above, a letter from Lieut. Chiswell has been received, which makes some correction necessary.
Lieut. C. says, that at the time of the attack, himself and Lieut. Dorsey, with several of their men, were in Leesburg, and as soon as they heard of it, Lieut. Dorsey, with one man, (a member of the 8th Va. Infantry,) started to the scene of action at Gray’s, but at a turn in the road they came suddenly upon the enemy’s column and were captured, the man with Dorsey having his thigh broken, and the Lieutenant himself being severely handled in the conflict.