Reminiscencies of a Confederate soldier of Co. C, 2nd Va. Cavalry

by Rufus H. Peck

A few days after that our pickets came in and said that Sheridan was coming up the Valley with a still larger force than we had. Our troops made a stand near Winchester, but were unable to hold it. We had no fortifications and word came to Fitz Lee’s cavalry that the 60th Va. Regiment had been captured and we were ordered out to try to recapture it. We hurried to the scene and succeeded in getting about half of them, but a Yankee cavalry Gen. marched the others off prisoners at the same time. We were placed at different positions to let the enemy know that our cavalry was present, and the infantry was left at the temporary breastworks, fighting hard. The enemy often shelled us so that we’d have to get out of sight.

We lost eight or ten commissioned officers and a number of men, but none of my company was killed that day. One of our General’s horses, a beautiful dun, had one leg shot and broken above the knee and we were ordered about that time to hurry up to the forts above Winchester and hold the enemy in check. We galloped the two or three miles and this beautiful horse kept right with the others, all the way, galloping on three legs, the broken leg would swing in and out as he galloped, but he never offered to halt. It was certainly a pitiful sight to see his courage when we knew his pain. The officer wanted some of us to shoot him, but no one had the heart to do it, so we had to leave him and I never knew what became of him. We remained at the forts until about night and the enemy not putting in its appearance, we retreated up the back road, it was called, parallel to the mountain and passed through a beautiful village, called Darksville. We camped a few miles above the town that night and continued our retreat the next day until we came to Fishers Hill. The infantry began its retreat when we did, and made a stop also. We had a considerable fight, Sheridan succeeding in driving us up the Valley.

We next halted at Columbia Furnace, but Sheridan drove us about six miles farther. In this encounter Lieut. Ed. Hayth, my cousin, was wounded and he and a lot of other men got cut off from us in some way and went up in a mountain valley. They couldn’t get back on account of Sheridan’s men being at the mouth of the valley. Tim Stevens and I got permission from Col. Munford to go across the first ridge above where Sheridan’s men were and try to find Ed. Hayth and one of Stevens relatives, who had been wounded, also. Here we learned from the citizens that the men’s wounds had been dressed and that they had left and went out after Sheridan’s men moved beyond the mouth of the valley.

They told us of a near way to get back to our command and just at the top of the ridge we stopped for dinner at a farm house. I remember two dishes they had was peach family pie and honey. Both were always very pleasing to my taste and especially so then. I bought some of the honey from the lady and took it on back to camp with me. Some of the boys detected the taste of laurel on the honey, but the lady had sweet milk to drink at her table, so I hadn’t noticed it. I wanted the boys to eat all the honey so I could take the box back with me that day to another farm house and buy more. I had a two days’ detachment and had only used one, so I thought I’d use that day foraging. The boys didn’t care to eat it all and I told them I would finish it if it killed me. Of course, I just said it jokingly, but it came very near ending very seriously. I saddled my horse and was ready to start, but began to get so sick and in a few minutes was perfectly unconscious. The boys ran for Dr. Shackleford and he sent for the doctors, from the 1-3-4-5 regiments and all pronounced my case fatal, from poison, except Dr. Drew from the 4th regiment. In my imagination, I remember, I fought the battle at Columbia Furnace, now called Bridgewater, I believe, and thought I was captured, and once that the artillery ran over me. I suffered dreadfully for hours, but regained conciousness after the middle of the day. One of my “mess mates,” Wm. B. Bowyer, who was chief of the blacksmiths of our regiment, came and stayed with me, as soon as he heard I was sick and he was the first one I recognized.

At about 2 o’clock we were ordered to move and the ambulance was sent to haul me but I wouldn’t go in it. I told them to put me on my horse and I could go better that way. Two men put me on the horse and wanted to tie me, but I told them I believed I could sit on, and to let me try it for a while any way. We started off, and strange to say, I rode the ten miles with the others alright and felt perfectly well when we reached our destination. I’ve always been fond of honey, but I’ll tell you I’m very careful to notice if there is any bitter taste about it before eating any, ever since that day.

Sheridan was called back to Winchester and Gen. Gordon suggested to Gen. Jubal A. Early that if he would give him control of the army from mid-night until mid-day he would surprise Sheridan’s army in his absence and make a big capture. Sheridan’s men were in camp at Cedar Creek and we were a few miles above them. So Gen. Gordon called out the whole army and had them ready just before daybreak. We went down to the outposts and waited for daylight to make the attack.

We attacked them and then soon began to retreat. Some of them just rushed out without shoes and in their night clothes, without guns. It was a perfect stampede, and very few guns were fired at first. After a while the artillery took a position and began firing on us and we on them, and Sheridan hearing the noise, knew his men had been attacked, and hurried to the scene. I was in the skirmish line, as usual, and saw him galloping up on his fine black horse, “Rienza.” I said to some of the boys its over with now, for yonder comes Sheridan and he’ll change things around here. I sent a courier immediately to Col. Munford, telling him and he said: “Peck must be crazy. Sheridan is at Winchester.” I told the courier, alright, Munford would soon see who was crazy. In less than 15 minutes a cheer passed all along the enemy’s lines: “Three cheers for Philip Sheridan.” Sheridan wheeled his men around and told them to charge us and they did so, recapturing all we had taken from them and capturing a great many of our men and equipments. We had to fall back up the Valley and went into camp a few miles above there. Sheridan was gradually driving us at his will, in most cases, now.

At the Massamit Mountain, he succeeded in getting his army around in front of our infantry. Gen. Fitz Lee, with the cavalry, went through a colon on the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountain and struck the road leading from Charlottesville to Waynesboro.

When we struck the road, we found that the citizens had fortified and there were about 100 armed men and boys, some of the boys only large enough to carry a gun. They were at the fortifications aiming to stop any raiding parties or the enemy from passing and going to Charlottesville.

Fitz Lee ordered us to dismount and every fourth man to hold horses and the others form into line. We advanced down toward Waynesboro, and the little boys begged so to get in line that they and the citizens also were allowed to go on in the line of battle. The enemy didn’t open fire on us until we were real near the town and then they only used artillery. Our artillery came around on the west side, by this time, and fired back at them, but they retreated through the town and formed a line farther west. We only lost five men, and that was from a shell fired by our own artillery that struck in a tree near us and exploded, killing five of our men.