Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/228

 --2 Southern Historical Society Papers.

try well distributed through his trains. * * * As

Hancock had the right of way on my road, I sent Fitz Lee's Brigade to Gainesville to reconnoitre, and devoted the remainder of the day to grazing our horses, the only forage procurable in the country. The best of our information represented the enemy still to General Lee concerning Hancock's movement and moved back to Buckland to deceive the enemy. It rained heavily that night. To carry out my original design of passing west of Centreville would have involved so much detention on account of the presence of the enemy that I determined to cross Bull Run further down and pass through Fairfax for the Potomac the next day. The sequel shows this to have been the only practical course. We marched through Brentsville to the vicinity of Wolf Run Shoals, and had to halt again to graze our horses, which hard-marching, without grain, was fast breaking down. We met no enemy to-day (the 26th). On the following morning (27th), having ascertained that on the night previous the enemy had disappeared entirely from Wolf Run Shoals, a strongly-fortified position on the Occoquan, I marched to that point, and thence directly to Fairfax station, sending General Fitz Lee to the right to cross by Burke station and effect a junction at Fairfax Courthouse, or further on, according to circumstances. * * Reaching Fairfax Courthouse, a communication was received from Brigadier-General Fitz Lee from Avondale. At these two points there were evidences of very recent occupation, but the evidence was conclusive that the enemy had left this point entirely, the mobilized army having the day previous moved over towards Leesburg, while the locals had retired to the fortifications near Washington. I had not heard yet from Major Mosby, but the indications favored my successful passage in the rear of the enemy's army. After a halt of a few hours to rest and refresh the command, which regaled itself on stores left by the enemy in the place, the march was resumed at Dranesville late in the afternoon. The camp-fires at Sedgwick's (Sixth) Corps, just west of the town, were still burning, it having left that morning. General Hampton's Brigade was
 * it Centreville, Union Mills, and Wolf Run Shoals. I sent a dispatch

still in the advance, and was ordered to move directly for Rowser's Ford on the Potomac, Chambliss's Brigade being held at Dranes- ville until Brigadier-General. Fitz Lee could close up. As General Hampton approached the river, he fortunately met a citizen who had just forded the river, who informed us that there were no pickets on the other side, and that the river, though fordable, was two feet