On the 18th Hunter attacked with all his available force, but was repulsed. From some prisoners taken Hunter found that Breckenridge had been re-enforced during the night by the corps of Gen. Early (Stonewall Jackson's old corps).
Hunter was now in a tight place, and could not retreat up the Shenandoah Valley, as the enemy had repaired the railroad and could now send troops by rail and hold Rockfish Gap, so Hunter resolved to retreat by way of Bulford's Gap to Charlestown, in the Kanawha Valley. Early hurried him along for a time, but soon turned back. By this move the Shenandoah Valley was left open, and Gen. Lee immediately started Early and Breckenridge down the valley and into Maryland, and on the 11th of July Early was in front of Washington.
Things remained quiet in our front until the afternoon of the 11th, when our pickets reported that our cavalry was falling back under quite a brisk fire from the enemy's cavalry. We had our muskets piled up and at once took our positions on the thirty-two pound rifle battery, thinking we could do more execution with them than we would be apt to with the muskets. At about five o'clock in the afternoon our men out on picket were relieved by some cavalry.
We did not fire a shot from our battery, and only one shot was fired from the fort, and that was at a squad of our own cavalry. The shot did no harm, as it went wide of its mark. The major commanding our fort wanted us to open on this same party, but Capt. Buckley refused to do so until he was satisfied who we were going to fire on.
We felt rather blue over our situation, as all in our immediate vicinity were new troops or clerks from the city, and we did not have much confidence in them, but we soon heard that the Sixth Corps and a part of the Nineteenth had arrived, and we felt that Washington was safe.
The night of the 11th was quiet in our front, and on the 12th only a little picket firing. Before dark Early had been driven back by Wright's Sixth Corps, and things had quieted down.
About noon time we received orders to turn in our muskets and report at Camp Barry. Nobody objected to this order, and soon we were on the march. Capt. Buckley and Lieuts. Bonn and Gray started ahead, and when the men under command of Lieut. Chase arrived at Camp Barry, they had requisitions for a four-gun battery of three-inch rifles. We did not get our complement of horses, baggage wagons, ambulance, etc., until the next morning, but at five o'clock on the afternoon of the 13th we marched in pursuit of Early.
We reached Tenallytown and went into camp, but the next morning we found that many of our horses were lame, and we had to stay there two days, working night and day to get them shod.
On the 16th we started for Snicker's Gap. Marched twenty miles, and went into camp at Edwards' Ferry. Hitched up early in the morning, crossed the Potomac, and marched to Leesburg, and joined the Nineteenth Corps.