Page:History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry in the War Between the States.djvu/94

88 fire, curious to see if so few would dare to cross sabres with them. When the fence had been thrown down the brigade, with headlong impetuosity, hurled its columns upon the enemy's line, and for a few moments sabres flashed and pistols cracked. The work was soon over. Pierced and doubled up from centre to flanks, the enemy fled in disorder, leaving many prisoners in the hands of our men. Meanwhile fresh troops of the enemy were dashing to the rescue, and our brigade, threatened in the rear, had in turn to fly. The captors of prisoners became now prisoners themselves. The charging party pursued our men to the barn-lot, where Lieutenant Beale's horse fell, pierced with three balls. The shouts of Hampton's men, hastening to their support, are heard as our brigade pass the barn, near which they speedily reform. Upon looking towards the plain, the Federal line is seen now to have grown in numbers, and extends so far that we cannot see the end of it. Hampton is riding at a gallop at the head of his column, and halts not until he reaches the foe, where wounds from pistol and sabre are inflicted upon him at the same time. He was but fairly engaged upon the left flank, when Fitz. Lee's division came in upon his left, and now the rays of the setting sun are thrown back from a thousand flashing sabres, and the ringing clash of steel is heard above the sharp reports of Colt's revolvers. The enemy's guns, as though dreading some fresh advance, were trained upon the field in which the writer stood.

The Confederate sabre proved now, as it had generally proved before, too much for our foes, who, breaking in rout, were driven–cavalry and artillery—entirely over the hills. We were informed by a captured lieutenant that our men ended their pursuit within three or four hundred yards of General Meade's train of wagons, with his reserve ammunition. Darkness now covered the scene, and some of our dead were necessarily left upon the field.

We saw at the close of the charge made by our brigade, in the hands of Privates Thomas Jett and George Carroll,