"Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes,
And fondly broods with miser care!
Time but the impression stronger makes,
As streams their channels deeper wear."--_Burns._
About five miles below Middleburg is the village of Aldie, where I
expected that the Federal cavalry would halt. But when I got within a
mile of it I met a citizen, just from the place, who told me the
cavalry had passed through. With five or six men I rode forward while
the others followed on more slowly. Just as I rose to the top of the
hill on the outskirts of the village, I suddenly came upon two Federal
cavalrymen ascending from the opposite side. Neither party had been
aware of the approach of the other, and our meeting was so unexpected
that our horses' heads nearly butted together before we could stop.
They surrendered, of course, and were sent to the rear. They said that
they had been sent out as videttes. Looking down the hill, I saw before
me several mounted men in the road, whom I took to be a part of the
rear-guard of Major Gilmer's column. We dashed after them. I was riding
a splendid horse--a noble bay--Job's war-horse was a mustang compared
to him--who had now got his mettle up and carried me at headlong speed
right among them. I had no more control over him than Mazeppa had over
the Ukraine steed to which he was bound. I had scarcely started in the
charge, before I discovered that there was a body of cavalry dismounted
at a mill near the roadside, which I had not before seen. They were
preparing to feed their horses. As their pickets had given no alarm,
they had no idea that an enemy was near, and were stunned and dazed by
the apparition of a body of men who they imagined must have dropped
from the clouds upon them. The fact was that we were as much surprised
as they were. I was unable to stop my horse when I got to them, but
he kept straight on like a streak of lightning. Fortunately, the
dismounted troopers were so much startled that it never occurred to
them to take a shot at me _in transitu_. They took it for granted
that an overwhelming force was on them, and every man was for saving
himself. Some took to the Bull Run mountain, which was near by, and
others ran into the mill and buried themselves like rats in the wheat
bins. The mill was grinding, and some were so much frightened that they
jumped into the hoppers and came near being ground up into flour. When
we pulled them out there was nothing blue about them.
As I have stated, my horse ran with me past the mill. My men stopped
there and went to work, but I kept on. And now another danger loomed up
in front of me. Just ahead was the bridge over Little River, and on the
opposite bank I saw another body of cavalry looking on in a state of
bewildered excitement. They saw the stampede at the mill and a solitary
horseman, pistol in hand, riding full speed right into their ranks.
They never fired a shot. Just as I got to the bridge I jumped off my
horse to save myself from capture; but just at the same moment they
wheeled and took to their heels down the pike. They had seen the rest
of my men coming up. If I had known that they were going to run I would
have stayed on my horse. They went clattering down the pike, with my
horse thundering after them. He chased them all the way into the camp.
They never drew rein until they got inside their picket lines. I
returned on foot to the mill; not a half a dozen shots were fired. All
that couldn't get away surrendered. But just then a Federal officer
made his appearance at the bridge. He had ridden down the river, and,
having just returned, had heard the firing, but did not comprehend the
situation. Tom Turner of Maryland, one of the bravest of my men, dashed
at him. As Turner was alone, I followed him. I now witnessed a
single-handed fight between him and the officer. For want of numbers,
it was not so picturesque as the combat, described by Livy, between the
Horatii and the Curatii, nor did such momentous issues depend upon it.
But the gallantry displayed was equally as great. Before I got up I saw
the horse of the Federal officer fall dead upon him, and at the same
time Turner seemed about to fall from his horse. The Federal officer,
who was Capt. Worthington of the Vermont cavalry, had fired while lying
under his horse at Turner and inflicted quite a severe wound. The first
thing Turner said to me was that his adversary had first surrendered,
which threw him off his guard, and then fired on him. Worthington
denied it, and said his shot was fired in fair fight. I called some of
the men to get him out from under his horse. He was too much injured by
the fall to be taken away, so I paroled and left him with a family
there to be cared for. While all this was going on, the men were busy
at the mill. They had a good deal of fun pulling the Vermont boys out
of the wheat bins. The first one they brought out was so caked with
flour that I thought they had the miller. We got the commanding
officer, Capt. Huttoon, and nineteen men and twenty-three horses, with
their arms and equipments. I lingered behind with one man, and sent the
captures back to Middleburg. Now, all the ladies there had been
watching and listening as anxiously to hear from us as Andromache and
her maids did for the news of the combat between Hector and Achilles.
Presently they saw a line of blue coats coming up the pike, with some
gray ones mixed among them. Then the last ray of hope departed--they
thought we were all prisoners, and that the foe was returning to insult
them. One of the most famous of my men--Dick Moran--rode forward as a
herald of victory. He had the voice of a fog horn, and proclaimed the
glad tidings to the town. While I was still sitting on my horse at the
mill, three more of the Vermont men, thinking that all of us had gone,
came out from their hiding place. I sent them on after the others. Up
to this time I had been under the impression that it was Maj. Gilmer's
rear-guard that I had overtaken. I now learned that this was a body of
Vermont cavalry that had started that morning several hours after
Gilmer had left. They had halted to feed their horses at the mill.
As they came up they had seen a body of cavalry turn off toward
Centreville. That was all they knew. I then rode down the road to look
after my horse that I had lost. I had not gone far before I met the old
men that Maj. Gilmer had taken off.
They were all happy at the ludicrous streak of fortune that had brought
them deliverance. It seems that Maj. Gilmer knew nothing of the
intention of Capt. Huttoon to pay Middleburg a visit that day. When he
got below Aldie he saw a considerable body of cavalry coming from the
direction of Fairfax. It never occurred to him that they were his own
people. He took them for my men, and thought I was trying to surround
him. Even if he did think the force he saw was my command, it is hard
to understand why he should run away from the very thing that he was in
search of. But so he did. Just at the point where he was when he saw
the Vermont men the pike crosses the old Braddock road. It is the same
on which the British general marched with young George Washington to
death and defeat on the Monongahela. Maj. Gilmer turned and started
down the Braddock road at about the speed that John Gilpin rode to
Edmonton on his wedding day. The ground was soft, and his horses sank
knee deep in the mud at every jump. Of course, those broke down first
that were carrying two. As he thought he was hard pressed, he kept on
fast and furious, taking no heed of those he left on the roadside. It
was necessary to sacrifice a part to save the rest. Long before he got
to Centreville, about one-half of his horses were sticking in the mud,
and all his prisoners had been abandoned. They had to walk home. Maj.
Gilmer never came after me again. I heard that he resigned his
commission in disgust, and, with Othello, "bade farewell to the big
wars that make ambition virtue." There was rejoicing in Middleburg that
evening; all ascribed to a special providence the advent of the Vermont
cavalry just in time to stampede the New Yorkers, and make them drop
their prisoners; and that my horse had run away, and carried me safely
through the Vermont squadron. The miller, too, was happy, because I had
appeared just in time to save his corn. At night, with song and dance,
we celebrated the events, and forgot the dangers of the day.
HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY BRIGADE,
Fairfax Court-House, Va., March 3, 1863.
SIR:--By order of Col. R. B. Price, I directed, on the night of
the 1st instant, a reconnoissance to go in direction of Aldie.
The officer who commanded this reconnoissance was Major Joseph
Gilmer, of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. He had two hundred
men. The orders to him were to proceed carefully, and send back
couriers through the night with information whether they saw any
enemy or not. This last order was disobeyed. They were not to cross
Cub Run until daylight, and then try and gain all information
possible by flankers and small detached scouting parties.
Major Gilmer went to Middleburg, and, while returning, the videttes
of the First Vermont Cavalry noticed a part of his advance and
prepared to skirmish. The advance fell back toward Aldie. Major
Gilmer, instead of throwing out a party to reconnoitre, turned off
with nearly the whole of his command in the direction of Groveton,
to gain Centreville. The horses returned exhausted from being run
at full speed for miles. A few of Major Gilmer's men left his
command and went along the Little River turnpike toward the Vermont
detachment. They reported that the men seen were a part of a
scouting party under Major Gilmer, and that no enemy were in Aldie.
Capt. Huttoon then entered the town, and halted to have the horses
fed near a mill. Immediately beyond was a rising ground which hid
the guerillas. While the horses were unbridled and feeding, the
surprise occurred. As both the officers have been captured, and as
the detachment was not under my command, and is not attached to
this brigade, I have no means of receiving any official or exact
report from them, nor is there any one belonging to that detachment
here. All men belonging to this detachment seem to have fought
well; the enemy did not pursue them; they fell back in good order.
Major Gilmer, when he returned, was unable to make a report to
Lieut.-Col. [John S.] Krepps, who during the time I was confined
from sickness, had charge of the camp. I ordered Major Gilmer under
arrest early this morning, and have sent to Col. R. B. Price
charges, of which the annexed is a copy. Major Gilmer lost but one
man, belonging to the Fifth New York Cavalry, who was mortally
wounded by the enemy and afterwards robbed. He was away from the
command and on this side of Aldie, his horse having given out. The
enemy seemed to have been concealed along the line of march and
murdered this man, when returning, without provocation.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBT. JOHNSTONE,
_Lieut.-Col. Commanding Cavalry Brigade_.
CAPT. C. H. POTTER,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
GENERAL ORDERS} WAR DEPARTMENT.
} ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
No. 229. } _Washington, July 23, 1863._
I. Before a General Court Martial, which convened in the city of
Washington, D.C, March 27, 1863, pursuant to General Orders, No.
20, dated Headquarters Cavalry, Defences of Washington, near Fort
Scott, Virginia, February 2, 1863, and Special Orders, No. 146,
dated February 10, 1863; No. 150, dated February 16, 1863; No.
161, dated March 6, 1863; and No. 164, dated March 21, 1863,
Headquarters Cavalry, Department of Washington, and of which
Colonel E. B. SAWYER, 1st Vermont Cavalry, is President, was
arraigned and tried--
Major _Joseph Gilmer_, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
CHARGE I.--"Drunkenness."
_Specification_--"In this; that _Joseph Gilmer_, a Major of
the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, he then being in the service of
the United States, and while in command of a reconnoitring
party, on the second day of March, 1863, was so intoxicated
from the effects of spirituous liquors as to be incapacitated
to perform his duties in an officer-like manner. This at or
near the village of Aldie, in the State of Virginia."
CHARGE II.--"Cowardice."
_Specification_--"In this; that _Joseph Gilmer_, a Major in
the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, he then being in the service of
the United States, upon the second day of March, 1863, did
permit and encourage a detachment of cavalry, in the service
of the United States, and under his command, to fly from a
small body of the 1st Vermont Cavalry, who were mistaken for
the enemy, without sending out any person or persons to
ascertain who they were, or what were their numbers; and that
the said cavalry under his command, as above stated, were much
demoralized, and fled many miles through the country in great
confusion and disorder. This near Aldie, in the State of
Virginia."
To which charges and specifications the accused, Major _Joseph
Gilmer_; 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, pleaded "Not Guilty."
FINDING.
The Court, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds
the accused, Major _Joseph Gilmer_, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, as
follows:--
CHARGE I.
Of the _Specification_, "Guilty."
Of the CHARGE, "Guilty."
CHARGE II.
Of the _Specification_, "Guilty."
Of the CHARGE, "Not Guilty."
SENTENCE.
And the Court does therefore sentence him, Major _Joseph
Gilmer_, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, "_To be cashiered_."
II. The proceedings of the Court in the above case were
disapproved by the Major-General commanding the Department of
Washington, on account of fatal defects and irregularities in
the record. But the testimony shows that the accused was _drunk_
on duty, and brought disgrace upon himself and the service.
The President directs that, as recommended by the Department
Commander, he be dismissed the service; and Major _Joseph Gilmer_,
18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, accordingly ceases to be an officer in
the United States Service since the 20th day of July, 1863.
BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE, March 2, 1863.
SIR:--Fifty men of the First Vermont Cavalry, from Companies H and
M, under captains Huttoon and Woodward, were surprised in Aldie
while feeding their horses by about 70 of the enemy. Both captains
captured and about 15 men. They saw no enemy but the attacking
party. Major Gilmer has returned with the scouting party that left
last night. They were to Middleburg and saw but one rebel. I have
anticipated the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Krepps, now in
command, which will be forwarded in probably one hour.
ROBT. JOHNSTONE,
_Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding Cavalry Brigade_.
CAPT. C. H. POTTER,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.