Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 31.djvu/24

 16 Southern Historical Society Papers.

horse was killed, but in a second he was on another horse and right after the man who had shot his horse. In the charge he recaptured two of our men that the enemy had taken.

The Yankee Major in his account says: " Imboden, with half a dozen shells and a volley or two of carbine and pistol shots and con- siderable dash, had scooped in pretty nearly as many as his own force numbered. Our folks were never very proud of that day's work. The whole day was a stern chase, but occasionally, when Imboden was pressed too closely and was in need of time to keep the prisoners plunder ahead out of the way, he stopped long enough to give us a sharp taste of fighting that showed the metal that was in him."

In another page of the Major's story he says: "Our guns were well at work and as Minor was short of officers I was directing one of his sections, when, with a whoop and a yell, out of a thick under- growth a little to our rear, came a couple of Harry Gilmor's squad- rons, with that dare-devil sabreur leading them, not more than fifty yards away, and, of course, it did not take long for them to * git there.' The rush was so sudden and unlooked for that our support gave way and Gilmor made straight for our guns, rode right over and past them, sabers slashing and pistols firing as they went. I had been tugging like blazes at my revolver, but could not get the blamed thing out, and as they rode over us a long-legged, red- headed fellow made a vicious slash at me over the wheel. I promptly dodged under the muzzle of the gun and he did not reach me. ' Fours left whe,el ' rang out and back they came before you could draw your breath. I laid for the son of saber that had reached for me before, for I had got my gun out by this time. I did not see my read-headed friend, but a handsome, dark-mustached youngster, a boy in looks, was making a point to run me through. Durn my buttons, gentlemen, if that sabre did not look as long as a fence rail. I dropped flat under the gun's axle and the boy swept past. As far as my experience goes that dash of Gilmor's was one of the handsomest things of the kind that occurred during the war."

The Major is mistaken about the two squadrons. Harry hardly had one with him at that time.

The poor prisoners were on foot and we were mounted, so they had a hard time of it, but as soon as their friends stopped the pur- suit we gave them a good rest. We got safely back to our camp in Rockingham. Our loss of killed and wounded was not great.

An interesting incident in this connection is that these prisoners