Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/552

512 and Newtown and had some skirmishing with the enemy, Rosser coming in by the back and middle roads, to the north of Newtown, and joining in the skirmishing on the left, came up on the right and extended the line toward Cedarville. The 12th was spent in line of battle at the same place, "Rosser having an engagement with the enemy's cavalry, which drove part of his force back for some distance along the back road, but bringing up the rest of his division, he, in turn, drove Custer back and resumed his former position. The enemy also attacked McCausland's brigade, of Lomax's division, near Cedarville, and was several times repulsed, but finally made a successful attack and drove him back, toward Front Royal, with the loss of two pieces of artillery." While Early was holding this advance, Captain Hotchkiss, his topographical engineer, was enabled to go over and sketch the battlefield of Cedar Creek, or Belle Grove, and gather the data for the map that is published in the War Records Atlas. After dark, on the 12th, the army fell back to and encamped on Fisher's hill. On the 13th, Grimes' brigade in front, it marched to camps between Edenburg and Hawkinstown; and on the 14th, Gordon in front, it returned to its old camps in the vicinity of New Market, headquarters having been established the day before at that place.

Kershaw's division started up the Valley, en route for Richmond, on the 15th. Up to that date. General Early's command had marched, since the opening of the campaign, on the 13th of June, 1,670 miles, and had engaged in seventy-five battles and skirmishes.

On the 17th, Pegram's division marched up the Valley to Big Spring. On the 22d, two divisions of the enemy's cavalry came as far as Rude's hill. To meet these, Early marched three divisions of infantry, Gordon's, Wharton's and Grimes', from their camps near New Market, and took position on Rude's hill to meet them. The enemy came boldly across the broad expanse of Meem's bottoms to make attack, but there met with such a hot fire of infantry and artillery that they went back, in great disorder, considerably damaged by the reception they had met. They were followed, by Early's infantry skirmishers, to Hawkinstown, and by a brigade of cavalry to below Edenburg. The army returned to its New Market camps that night, after