night, but my horse was gone and I am still looking for him.
Still shut up in the Bermuda Hundred lines, cavalry was of but little use
there, but one day headquarters decided to make use of us and an order
came to camp for the regiment to report at a certain point near the line
at 9 o'clock P. M., in light marching order, and we were there. An orderly
rode along the line with word for all officers to report at the right of
the regiment. Going there, the Colonel informed us that the order was that
the regiment was to pass out through the lines, and as soon as the head of
the column was fired on by the enemy it was to charge right through the
fortified lines of the confederate army, and getting through to its rear
onto Richmond and Petersburg Pike, and destroy all confederate wagon
trains and then pass on and tear up as much as possible of the Richmond &
Petersburg R. R., and then when pursued by a superior force to escape
westerly into the Shenandoah Valley or eastwardly to Norfolk. I may say
that so far as I ever knew there was not so much as a hatchet in the
regiment with which to destroy anything, or a match with which to set the
fragments on fire, and as we rode back to the company I said to my
Captain, "Well! somebody is drunk at headquarters," to which he made no
response in particular, seeming engaged in thought. The regiment at once
started down the road into the dark pine woods and presently came to our
infantry outposts, who informed us that the enemy were right in front and
we would be fired on at once, which was exactly what happened, and,
according to orders, as soon as the Confederate infantry opened on us the
order to charge was given, and on we went at a gallop, but were soon
brought up in a heap. The head of the column had run into a heavy slashing
of felled trees, among which, and in the woods on both sides of which was
a heavy force of Confederate infantry. I was at the middle of the column,
and, looking down the road to the front, in the darkness the fire of the
Confederate infantry looked like a swamp full of fire flies. The men in
the head of the column were firing on the Confederates with their
revolvers. The Colonel was at the front, and seeing the hopelessness of
the situation, gave the command, "Fours, right about, gallop, march," but
it was slow getting the command back to the rear of the column, and I
suppose we were in there about 20 minutes. A while after this the white
cavalry became so short