HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS,
April 30, 1863.
BRIG.-GEN. AVERELL, Commanding, etc.
The major-general commanding directs me to say that we have been delayed
by high water, etc., and that he desires you to push the enemy as
vigorously as possible, keeping him fully occupied, and, if possible,
drive him in the direction of Rapidan Station. He turns the enemy over
to you.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. J. ALEXANDER,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
And Hooker justly claims that it was an entire misinterpretation of his
instructions, which were to have Averell join Stoneman's column, so soon
as he had masked the latter's movement towards the Aquia and Richmond
Railroad.
On May 3, Averell, who had done nothing but skirmish for a couple of
days with a force of about one-fifth his own, and had then retired to
Ely's Ford, and gone into camp, was relieved, and Pleasonton placed in
command of his division.
The pack-mules and lead-horses of Stoneman's column were left with the
main army, till the expected junction should be made by its advance
south of the Rappahannock. Stoneman had with him but five or six days'
rations; but he relied upon Hooker's assurance that he would be up with
him before these rations were exhausted. Every officer and man, the
generals and their staffs setting the example, took with them only what
they could carry on their horses. Nor, despite the cold drenching
rain, which fell plentifully, were any camp-fires lighted the first few
nights. Stoneman seems to have been abundantly ambitious of doing his
work thoroughly, and issued stirring orders to his subordinates, calling
upon them for every exertion which they were capable of making.
On reaching Raccoon Ford, over the Rapidan, Stoneman found it guarded by
the Confederate cavalry. He therefore sent Buford to a point six miles
below, where he was able to cross, and, marching up the south bank, to
uncover Raccoon Ford. The main body was then put over.
Stoneman's column was in the saddle by two A.M. of the 31st. But it
proved to be too foggy to push on: he had as yet no guides, and he was
obliged to wait for daylight.
He then hurried Gregg on to Louisa Court House, which place was reached
during the night of May 1, and details were speedily set to work tearing
up the railroads. Buford was sent by way of the North Anna to the same
point; and at ten A.M., May 2, the entire force was at Louisa.
From here a squadron was despatched towards Gordonsville, to ascertain
the meaning of the movement of several trains of troops, which had
passed up from Richmond in that direction the evening previous. Parties
were also sent out to Tolersville and Frederickshall Stations, to
destroy whatever material could be found there. Still another destroyed
Carr's Bridge on the North Anna.
The balance of the force was set to work to break up the Virginia
Central; and for a distance of eighteen miles the telegraph, stations,
tanks, and cars were burned, and the rails torn up, and bent and twisted
over bonfires.
The command then marched for Yanceyville, on the South Anna, and,
arriving at Thompson's Cross-roads at ten P.M. of May 2, headquarters
were established at this point.
Here Stoneman seems to have become entirely oblivious of his
instructions, and to have substituted for them ideas originating in his
own brain. He assembled his officers, and informed them that "we had
dropped like a shell in that region of country, and he intended to burst
it in every direction."
Instead, therefore, of pressing with his main force for some point on
the Fredericksburg and Richmond Railroad, and destroying it thoroughly,
as he was particularly instructed to do, that being the one great object
to be achieved, he contented himself with sending Kilpatrick with the
Second New-York Cavalry, and Davis with the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, to
operate, the former against the railroad-bridges over the Chickahominy,
and the latter at Ashland and Atlee; and also despatched Wyndham, of
the First New-Jersey Cavalry, to strike Columbia, and destroy the
canal-aqueduct over the Rivanna river, and if possible make a dash at
the railroad-bridge over the Appomattox; while two regiments under Gregg
were to follow down the South Anna to destroy its bridges, followed
by the Fifth United-States Cavalry to see that the destruction was
complete.
These parties were directed to rally on Stoneman, who was thus left
with five hundred men of Buford's reserve, or else to push through to
Gloucester Point, or Yorktown, as circumstances should dictate.
In pursuance of these orders, Gregg's column, which, on May 2, had
burned the depots at Orange Court House, on May 3, moved down the South
Anna, as far as the bridge where the Fredericksburg Railroad crosses the
stream, and attempted to destroy it; but finding it protected by some
infantry, and a couple of guns, he seems to have decided not to attack
this force, and fell back upon the reserve. On the 5th, he destroyed the
bridge at Yanceyville.
Kilpatrick marched some distance by daylight on the 3d, kept himself
hidden through the day, marched again at nightfall, and reached Hungary
Station at daylight the 4th. Here he destroyed the depot, and several
miles of road, passed the Virginia Central at Meadow's Bridge, which
he likewise burned, with all cars and material he could find in the
vicinity, and camped at night in the rear of Hanover.
On the 5th, he pushed into Gloucester Point, destroying on the way a
train of fifty-six wagons, and some twenty thousand bushels of corn in
depots. He captured thirty prisoners, but paroled them.
Capt. Merritt with the Second United-States Cavalry, demolished a number
of bridges and fords on the South Anna, and reached Ashland Station; but
was unable to destroy the bridge at this place, which was guarded by an
infantry force with part of a battery.
Col. Davis, on May 3, also reached Ashland, burned the trestle south of
the town, and tore up the telegraph-line. He captured and destroyed some
wagon-trains, containing about a hundred wagons, fired the depot and
some material at Hanover, and bivouacked seven miles from Richmond. He
was, however, precluded by his orders from trying to enter the capital,
though he seems to have had a good opportunity for so doing.
On May 4, at Tunstall, on the York and Richmond Railroad, he met some
resistance from a force of Confederate infantry with a battery; but,
retracing his steps, he turned up in due season at Gloucester Point.
Col. Wyndham moved on to Columbia, where he rendered useless a large
amount of stores, a number of canal-boats, and several bridges over
the James-River canal. For lack of blasting-materials he was unable to
destroy the aqueduct over the Rivanna river. It was solid enough to have
delayed him at least forty-eight hours. The bridge over the James river
to Elk Island he burned, and damaged the locks and gates of the canal as
far as possible. He returned to Thompson's Cross-roads the same day with
W. H. Fitz Lee at his heels.
Capt. Harrison, with a part of Buford's reserves, had, on May 4,
somewhat of a skirmish with the enemy at Fleming's Cross-roads; but
without effect upon the movements of the command. And another squadron
crossed sabres with the enemy at Shannon's.
Such prisoners as were captured by any of the parties, were paroled
at the time. A considerable number captured by Stoneman were sent to
Richmond in one party, with word that the Union cavalry was following
close upon them.
To quote Stoneman's own reasons, the six days' rations with which he
left camp, having now been consumed, (though it would seem that there
had been ample opportunity to collect as much more as was necessary
from the stores destroyed); Hooker not having come up as expected; vague
rumors having reached him of the defeat of the Army of the Potomac;
having accomplished, as he deemed, all that he was sent to do; Averell
having been withdrawn, thus leaving Lee ready to attack him,--Stoneman
sent Buford with six hundred and fifty picked men to the vicinity of
Gordonsville, and a small party out the Bowling-Green road, and marched
his main body to Orange Court House.
At noon of the 6th, he assembled his entire command at Orange Springs;
thence marched to Raccoon Ford, and crossed on the 7th.
On the 8th, the command crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's, having to
swim about twenty yards.
Leaving Buford to guard the river from the railroad to Falmouth, he then
returned to camp.
During the latter part of the time occupied by these movements, the
roads had been in very bad order from the heavy rains of the 5th.
Hotchkiss and Allen say, with reference to this raid: "This failure is
the more surprising from the fact that Gen. Lee had but two regiments of
cavalry, those under W. H. Fitz Lee, to oppose to the large force under
Stoneman, consisting of ten or eleven thousand men. The whole country in
rear of the Confederate Army, up to the very fortifications of Richmond,
was open to the invader. Nearly all the transportation of that army was
collected at Guineas depot, eighteen miles from Chancellorsville, with
little or no guard, and might have been destroyed by one-fourth of
Stoneman's force."