Page:History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry in the War Between the States.djvu/62

56 followed, and all was still. We, who were on the opposite shore, could hear the shouts and firing, and knew all was well. The result was the capture of the entire party of sixty men and horses, except one picket of three or four men who escaped. Two privates of the Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry and two citizens, held as prisoners, were released. Before light Waller recrossed the river with Captain Wilson and his squadron; and he succeeded in swimming over forty-eight horses, though the river was quite a mile wide. Sergeant R. B. Lewis, of Company C, was wounded. This was the only casualty among our men.

The author having been denied the privilege of crossing the Rappahannock, his attention was turned to Gloucester Point. Two intelligent and reliable scouts were sent down to collect the necessary information, and a request was forwarded to General R. E. Lee for permission to attack the place, if found practicable. This was promptly granted, and arrangements were made to move as soon as the scouts returned with their report. The information obtained was minute and accurate. The position of each gun, the range of the two gunboats, the ditch, the tortuous approach through felled timber, were all inspected, and the enterprise promising no chance of success was abandoned at once.

On the 12th day of December orders reached us to march with dispatch to Fredericksburg. Though forty miles distant at the time, we were in position on the extreme right of our army at the crossing of the river road and the Massaponax run by sunrise on the morning of the 13th. A dense fog enveloped the flats on the river, and concealed everything in front. We had crossed the run and were resting in column of squadrons in the field on the right. As the fog rose a formidable array of artillery was discovered in our front at short range. We were ordered to recross the run at a trot, leaving our dismounted riflemen to hold the field. Heavy guns posted on the heights above Fitzhugh's and along Gray's lane, beyond the river, fired at us at intervals throughout the day.