A few days after this, news was received that Gen. Lee’s army was advancing towards Washington, and Col. White, with a few men, started on a scout towards Manassas, leaving Capt. Myers in charge of the battalion, who, as soon as he heard that the Colonel had reached his scouting ground, marched the command over to join him, and on approaching Thoroughfare Gap, discovered a party of infantry, who seemed disposed to hold the Gap, but a dashing charge resulted in their capture, and they were found to be about twenty-five men and a Lieutenant from a Vermont regiment, who had been left on picket when their regiment retired.
Passing through the Gap the battalion met Col. White at Mt. Zion church, and made several attempt to get among Gen. Meade’s wagons, but he took quite as good care of them in his retreat as he had done on his advance three months before, and the scouting only resulted in the gathering in of a few straggling troopers who wandered too far away from their main army.
The Colonel soon branched off again with his little squad, and during his absence Gen. Stuart sent for Capt. Myers and ordered him to get all the men together and report for duty to General Rosser, who was now commanding the Ashby brigade, and shortly afterwards Gen. Lee’s army retired to their old lines on the Rappahannock.
The Colonel returned and went to work gathering up his men preparatory to going into the regular service again, and with heavy hearts the battalion bade farewell to the fondly-loved border land, about the 25th October, and marched to the camp of the brigade, then near Flint Hill, in Rappahannock county.
CHAPTER XIV.
The soldiers of Colonel White found their new Brigadier to be a handsome, soldierly-looking man, very different in manner, language and appearance from Gen. Jones, though not a whit behind that officer in the maintenance of discipline in his brigade; but it did not take them long to find that he was a genial, warm-hearted gentleman, and they respected and loved him accordingly. For several days there was very little done beyond some scouting along the Rappahannock, and an inspection or two by Gen. Rosser, but about the middle of November the brigade was ordered to join the division on the historic plains of Brandy Station, where Gen. Stuart purposed holding another of his “spread-eagle” grand reviews, which did no good except to give Yankee spies an opportunity to count the exact number of cavalry attached to the Army of Northern Virginia, and to display the foppishness of Stuart, who rode along his war-torn lines with a multitude of bouquets, which fair hands had presented to him, fastened in his hat and coat.
After the review, Gen. Rosser encamped his brigade at Hamilton’s Crossing, on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Rail Road, about eight miles from Fredericksburg, where it remained very quietly for several days, except on one occasion, when Gen. Hampton desired to see what the enemy meant by establishing a camp at Stephensburg, a little town in Culpeper, and in order to find out, he took a detail from his several brigades, and crossing the river at Ely’s ford with about three hundred men, attacked the camp at daylight, completely routing the enemy and taking a considerable number of prisoners, together with all their tents and baggage. In this affair the 7th regiment led the charge, supported by White’s battalion, and the two commands did all the fighting, which was not much, for the enemy fled as soon as they could get away.
On the 27th of November, Gen. Meade’s army effected a crossing to the south side of the river at Germania ford, and the cavalry were kept busy, night and day, watching his movements, but Gen. Rosser did not confine himself to watching alone, for on passing Spottsylvania C. H., he sent Lieut. Conrad, with Town H. Vandevanter, “Jack” Dove and Ed. Poland, to find the force and position of the enemy, with orders to report to him at Todd’s Tavern, and at the same time put Col. White in front with his battalion, and marched as rapidly as possible towards the plank road. On arriving at Todd’s Tavern, about midnight, and hearing nothing from Conrad, the General sent Capt. Myers out alone on one road, and Sergt. Everhart with a squad on another, telling them to find the Yankees and report as soon as they possibly could. Both of these scouts found the enemy very soon, and returned, and Col. White, in his ranging around through the pines, came upon a large cavalry camp not over a mile from the General’s headquarters. About an hour before day the Yankees were discovered on the road leading from Todd’s Tavern to the plank road, and soon after it was ascertained that their wagon train was on the plank road. At daylight all the Yankees moved off towards Chancellorsville, and Gen. Rosser started his brigade for the train, which he cut exactly in two, bringing out eighteen ambulances and about one hundred wagons and teams, besides setting fire to a large number of wagons that had passed the side road too far to turn off, and as it was soon discovered that some of the burning wagons were loaded with ammunition, the raid terminated suddenly.
Lieut. Conrad and his party came in about sunrise, having gotten in among the Yankees and staid there all night, not knowing the country, and were very nearly being captured several times. They fought out of one difficulty with the 1st Jersey Cavalry, and passing on, charged and captured some prisoners from another regiment, finally coming out at the Court-house, where they had started from in the evening. When Conrad came up to Rosser in the morning the General asked him why he didn’t report the night before, according to orders, but when the Lieutenant explained to him that he had got into a place where he couldn’t report to anybody but Gen. Meade’s people, he excused him.
On the morning of the 29th, Rosser marched his command to Parker’s Store, on the plank road, and found the enemy encamped there, when he at once opened the fight, by charging them, with the 7th regiment, which drove them from their camps, and in the chase many prisoners were taken, but heavy reinforcements came up and the fight was obstinate and severe for two hours. At one time a strong force of the enemy’s dismounted men took position on Rosser’s left, at a high bank of the Rail Road, with their flanks protected by swamps, heavy timber, and dense undergrowth. This force General Rosser ordered Col. White to charge, which he did, the battalion going into it in gallant style, and not only driving more than three times their number from the Rail Road, but pressing them through the thick timber until the marsh became too soft for their horses to go farther, when the men were rallied and reformed, and on reaching the plank road the balance of the brigade was found hotly engaged with a greatly superior force, and being forced back over the Rail Road. Here again the battalion charged just in time to save the brigade from rout, and all together drove the Yankees clear of the road.