Every few hundred yards we passed one of his
wagons, left upset, or broken, or teamless, full of
baggage, stores, etc., till just this side of New-
town, after checking us awhile with artillery, he
burned up thirty of the trains, and then the rout
and flight became beautiful and exciting beyond
degree. Prisoners were brought back by scores
and hundreds, and then you ought to have heard
the boys yell and make the old woods ring with
uproarious joy. Three miles beyond Winchester
Yesterday morning, the enemy made a stand, and
the fight began about six o clock A.M. ; in two
hours we drove him pell-mell, helter-skelter off
the field, and through the town towards Martins-
burgh. Our loss is very trifling. I think fifty
will cover our dead, and one hundred and fifty
our wounded.
The enemy had, soon after the fight opened,
set fire to the depot in Winchester, and destroyed
all of his stores, and some say he ordered the
town to be fired. At all events, some houses
were set on fire, but the citizens extinguished it
before great damage was done. Banks is now at
or beyond Martirisburgh, with our cavalry and
some of our men still in pursuit. Our present
expedition is a complete success. There are at
least one thousand two hundred prisoners already
in Winchester, and squads continually being taken
to swell the number. We are all in the highest
spirits and enjoy ourselves hugely.
Lynchburgh Republican.
Doc. 44.
BATTLE OF LEWISBURGH, VA.
COLONEL CROOK S ORDER,
HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, )
LKWISBURGH, May 25, 1862. )
IT affords the undersigned great pleasure in
congratulating the troops of his command on their
brilliant success of the twenty-third inst. We
were attacked by a greatly superior force, who
not only had the choice of position, but had the
morale of the attack. The Thirty-sixth and For
ty-fourth regiments formed line of battle under
fire a movement that veteran troops find very
difficult to make. They then advanced in gooci
order, driving the rebels before them, dealing
death to and destruction as they went, until the
enemy fled in great confusion, leaving over one
hundred of their dead and wounded on the field.
We captured four pieces of artillery, three hun
dred stand of arms and one hundred prisoners
the Forty-fourth capturing their battery, and the
Thirty-sixth advancing under the heaviest fire.
The result fully justifies the high standard
these regiments were expected to maintain. To
make particular mention would be invidious, since
they behaved so nobly. The artillery, by a mis
understanding, was not brought into action. The
Second Virginia cavalry being held in reserve,
had the most difficult part to perform, that of be
ing exposed to the enemy s fire without being
able to participate. The Medical and Quarter
master s Departments deserve great credit for
their energy and zeal in carrying the wounded
and dead from the field. The surgeons and
assistant-surgeons deserve particular mention
for their skill and unfaltering attention to the
wounded. Col. GEORGE CROOK,
Commanding Brigade.
GENERAL FREMONT S ORDER.
FRANKLIN, VA., May 24.
The following circular was issued from head
quarters this morning :
The General Commanding congratulates the
army on a new victory in this department, won
by the skill and bravery of our soldiers against
the superior numbers of the enemy.
The Third brigade of Gen. Cox s division, com
manded by Col. Crook, was attacked yesterday
morning at Lewisburgh, by Gen. Heath, with
three thousand men, and after a lively engage
ment the enemy were routed and fled in confu
sion. Col. Crook captured four cannon, two hun
dred stand of arms, and one hundred prisoners.
Our loss was ten killed and forty wounded.
The results of this victory will be important.
The General Commanding is confident that the
forces now under his immediate command but
lack the opportunity to emulate the gallantry
and share the glory of their comrades of the army
of the Kanawha.
This circular will be read at the head of every
regiment or separate corps in this army. By
order of Major-Gen eral FREMONT.
ALBERT TRACY,
Colonel, and Assistant Adjutant-General.
CINCINNATI "COMMERCIAL 1 ACCOUNT.
CAMP THIRD PROVISIONAL BRIGADE, )
MEADO-W BLUFF, WESTERN VIRGINIA, June 6, 1862. f
A battle was fought at Lewisburgh on the
twenty-third of May, between the Thirty-sixth
and Forty-fourth Ohio regiments, under com
mand of Col. George Crook, Acting ^Brigadier-
General, and three thousand rebel troops, under
Gen. Heath. Without doubt, it was the most
brilliant and complete victory ever won in West
ern Virginia, and it is quite unjust to the brave
142
REBELLION RECORD, 18G2.
Buckeye boys engaged, and to their many loving
friends at home, that no notice whatever has
been taken of the gallant affair.
Gen. Heath came up with great rapidity and
boldness, driving in our pickets, which were
three miles distant at Greenbrier Bridge, and
took a very strong position on a high ridge which
commanded the town of Lewisburgh, and also
our camp, which was on a hill just north of the
town. On the alarm being given by our pickets,
company G, of the Thirty-sixth, and company
D, of the Forty-fourth, were sent out to investi
gate the nature of the alarm, and to check any
force that might approach ; but they were met a
mile out by Gen. Heath s whole force, as they
were forming their line of battle on the ridge.
They received a heavy fire, and fell back before
the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. The
rebel guns were promptly put in position, and
shells were at once thrown into our camp. We
could see a large force deploying on Gen. Heath s
right and left; but, nothing intimidated, Col.
Crook ordered the Thirty-sixth to march to at
tack his right, and the Forty -fourth his left.
This forming in line of battle, under fire, might
well try veteran troops ; but none of our brave
men flinched. One man in the Forty-fourth was
killed by a shell, in the ranks, as they were leav
ing the camp. That regiment moved gallantly
on to meet Gen. Heath s left wing, by this time
advanced to a wooded knoll on the outskirts of
the town. Col. Gilbert ordered all to reserve
their fire until they were within about forty
yards of the enemy s line, when they and their
foes belched forth their volleys at the same time.
The next volley from the Forty-fourth complete
ly broke the enemy s line, and while a few still
fought from whatever cover they could find, they
could not rally to resist so cool and determined a
foe. So rapid was the onward march of the
Forty-fourth, that the enemy could not find time
to remove their cannon. A well-directed volley
from one or two companies, killed and wounded
so many of their artillerymen, that there was
soon no one to remove the guns, and thus four
fine pieces, two of them rifled, and all that Gen.
Heath brought upon the- field, were gloriously
won by the Forty -fourth. After this they had
only to fire as they could get a shot, upon the
scattered fugitives. The Forty-fourth "lost six
killed and eleven wounded.
The field-officers of the Fortv-fourth were Col.
S. A. Gilbert, Lieut. -Col. H. Blair Wilson, and
Major A. 0. Mitchel, all of whom behaved with
great bravery and coolness.
No less gallantly moved the Thirty-sixth to the
attack of Gen. Heath s right wing. They had to
meet the Twenty-second Virginia regimen t, an
old regiment, organized a year ago in the Ka-
nawha valley, and containing the elite rebels of
that region. They had met Gen. Cox at Scarey,
Col. Tyler at Cross Lanes, Gen. Rosecrans at
Carnifex and at Cotton Hill, and lately, General
Cox at Giles Court-House ; and boasted that they
had never yet been defeated. The regiment was
large, and very confident. After the Thirty-sixth
had formed its line of battle, it marched up a
steep pitch, almost a ledge ; and arriving at the
top, where the slope became more gentle, receiv
ed the fire from the foe, drawn up in line waiting
to receive us. The battle at once became gen
eral, and the firing was hot and incessant. The
Thirty-sixth never broke its line of battle, but
moved firmly, and at times rapidly, forward in
the open field. The enemy slowly yielded, yet
disputed desperately every inch of ground. They
took advantage of every fence, and from behind
their fancied cover fired rapidly and bravely. By
these fences their killed and wounded lay thick.
Neither their bravery nor old Virginia pride could
resist the steady onward movement of the Thirty-
sixth. After being driven steadily back nearly
half a mile, to the summit of the ridge, they at
last broke and fled in utter rout. The Thirty-
sixth lost in killed, five, and forty-one wounded,
two of whom were mortally wounded, and died
that night. Col. Crook, of the Thirty-sixth, be
ing in command of the brigade, Lieut. -Col. Clark
commanded the regiment during the action. Ma
jor Andrews was in his place on the field. Both
of these officers exhibited great coolness and
courage ; and it was greatly owing to them that
the Thirty-sixth regiment behaved so nobly.
The loss of the enemy was one hundred and
fifty killed and wounded, of whom sixty were
killed, or have since died. A considerable num
ber of the wounded were carried away. One hun
dred prisoners were taken, including Lieut. -Col.
Finney, Major Edgar, of Edgar s battalion, sev
eral captains and lieutenants. Besides the loss
of the field, their guns, their dead and wounded,
and captured, and three hundred stand of arms,
their army was greatly demoralized by the terrible
discomfiture, and we have reliable information
that one third of Gen. Heath s whole force has
since deserted him. Our victory weakened him
in this way at least a thousand men. These men,
on their return to their homes here in Western
Virginia, will be each a radiating centre of coward
ice, and a missionary of submission. These peo*
pie have a deep horror of personal danger. They
are unprincipled enough to be guerrillas, where
they can, from a safe covert, attack the unsus
pecting ; but such square, open fighting as we
gave them on the morning of the twenty-third,
appalls them fearfully.
Gen. Heath confessed his defeat by at once
burning the Greenbrier Bridge as SQDU as he had
passed it with his fugitives. Had the ground
been favorable for a cavalry pursuit, we should
have taken many more prisoners before they
could cross the bridge.
By a misunderstanding of orders, the battery
of the brigade, under Lieut. Durbeck, of the
Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry,
was not brought into the action at all ; neither
w r as the battalion of the Second Virginia cavalry,
under Col. Bolles, brought into the action.
Col. Crook received a slight wound in the foot.
He went bravely into the action, and was where
the balls flew the thickest. Ohio has never sent
out a truer and better soldier. A graduate of
DOCUMENTS.
143
West-Point, an officer in the regular army, he
has, during the long winter, drilled and disci
plined in the most faithful and thorough manner
the Thirty-sixth regiment, and he cannot but be
gratified, and even exultant, that his officers and
men, in their maiden battle, should fight so mag
nificently. Col. Gilbert is equally proud of his
regiment, the Forty-fourth. Why should not
such a brave, thorough, and accomplished officer
as Col. Crook, be made a real instead of a nom
inal Brigadier ?
Yours,
WARWICK.
NEW- YORK "TRIBUNE" ACCOUNT.
LBWIPBURGH, GREENBRIER COUNTY, )
WESTERN VIRGINIA, May 24, 18C2. J
Two regiments, the Thirty-sixth and Forty-
fourth Ohio infantry, of the Third provisional
brigade, under command of Col. George Crook,
had a battle at this place yesterday morning with
a considerable rebel force, under command of
Brig. -Gen. Heth. We were encamped on a hill
north of the town. General Heth, by a forced
march, came from Union, Monroe County, and
drove in our pickets at Greenbrier Bridge, three
miles south, and rapidly followed them up with
his whole force, which consisted of the famous
Twenty -second Virginia regiment, the Forty-
seventh Virginia, Edgar s battalion, a part of the
Fiftieth Virginia regiment, two companies of ar
tillery, and two companies of the notorious Jen
kins s cavalry in all, from two thousand five
hundred to three thousand men. Colonel Crook
sent out companies G of the Thirty-sixth and D
of the Forty -fourth to ascertain the force of the
enemy and check his advance, and meantime or
dered the regiments to form. The two advance
companies drew the enemy s fire, but did not
check his advance. Gen. Heth at once got some
of his cannon in position, and occupied with his
whole force a high hill commanding the town.
The Thirty-sixth and Forty-fourth were speed
ily formed in line of battle under the hill, the
first on the left and the latter on the right, and
began their firm and brave march upon the ene
my. We were protected in part by the hill from
the balls and shells of the enemy s cannon,
though several sheds exploded in the air over
our heads, and one man of the Forty-fourth was
killed. On rising the hill we were at once en
gaged with the enemy s infantry, who reserved
their fire until we were within short range. On
the right, the Forty-fourth, by two volleys, broke
the rebel left, composed of the Forty-seventh Vir
ginia, Edgar s battalion, and two companies of the
Fiftieth Virginia. Once broken, the left could
not rally, and the Forty-fourth soon captured
their four guns, (two rifled six-pounders, one
twelve -pounder, and one large field -howitzer,)
and that part of the field was won.
On the left the Thirty-sixth met with a more
stubborn resistance. The enemy (the Twenty-
second Virginia) was organized in the Kanawha
valley, and made up largely of the rebel elite of
that region, and had been in several battles,
Scarey Creek, Carnifex, Cotton Hill, and Giles
Court-House, and boasted of its invincibility.
They declared that they would be in possession
of Lewisburgh in half an hour. They fought
bravely, but, notwithstanding the advantages of
position and the cover of high, large rail-fences,
could not stand the rapid advance of the Thirty
sixth. The Thirty-sixth never broke its firm
line of battle. In about fifteen minutes the
Twenty-second Virginia was driven back over
the brow of the hill, and completely routed.
Gen. Heth s retreat was much more precipitate
than his impertinent advance, and he at once
burned the large Greenbrier bridge behind him,
to prevent our pursuit.
Our before breakfast work sums up as follows :
Thirteen hundred Ohio Union boys formed their
line of battle under fire, and utterly routed near
ly three thousand of the enemy, under Gen. Heth,
a regular military man, a graduate of West-Point,
and a General who stood high in the confederate
service, killed fifty of the enemy, wounded seven
ty-five, took one hundred prisoners, including
Lieut. -Col. Finney, commanding the Fiftieth Vir
ginia regiment, Major Edgar of Edgar s battalion,
a surgeon, several captains and lieutenants, four
field-officers, all the enemy brought upon the
field, and three hundred stand of arms. How
many of the enemy s killed and wounded were
carried away by them is not known, doubtless a
considerable number, as a trail of blood was left
behind them. Had the ground been favorable
for a cavalry pursuit, we should have taken more,
prisoners, although the rout could not have been
made more complete. Our loss was eleven killed
and fifty -two wounded, of which the Thirty-sixth
lost five killed and forty-one wounded, the Forty-
fourth six killed and eleven wounded. Four men
of the Thirty-sixth, on picket at Greenbrier
Bridge, were captured.
This was the maiden battle of the two regi
ments engaged. They are, however, believed to
be the best drilled regiments in the Mountain De
partment. Col. Crook of the Thirty-sixth regi-"
ment is a regular West-Point graduate, and has
taken unwearied pains with his regiment in
bringing it to a high degree of perfection in drill
and discipline. He was quartered during the
rinter at Summersrille, Nicholas County, West
ern Virginia, and there built a drill-house, seven
tiundred feet long, and drilled his regiment daily,
and in all weather. He is now amply compen
sated by the veteran-like manner in which his
regiment moved forward and vanquished a greatly
uperior force. The Forty-fourth, commanded by
}ol. Gilbert, is also a well-disciplined and drilled
egimcnt, and deserve high honor for their part
in this, the most signal victory ever won in West-
rn Virginia. By a misunderstanding, the ar
tillery connected with our brigade was not or
dered forward in time to take part in the battle.
Indeed, the enemy was routed by the infantry
before there was time to make much use of our
artillery against them.
Last week Col. Crook marched a part of his
brigade some fifty miles south-east of Levd.sburgh
on the Stanton turnpike in search of an enemy,
jut found nf>~e, and returned. Gen. Heth caina
144
REBELLION 7 RECORD, 1862.
up from the south-west. I close by asking wh}
Col. Crook, who as acting Brigadier-General doe"
so well, should not be made a real Brigadier ?
Yours, etc., A. B.
Doc. 45.
SKIRMISH NEAR COLD HARBOR.
NEW-YORK "HERALD" ACCOUNT.
COLD HARBOR, VA., May 24.
THE most important skirmish that has occurrcc
between our troops and the rebels in front of
Richmond, took place this morning. Engaged on
our side was the Fourth Michigan regiment, Colo
nel Woodbury, who fought for two hours with
desperate and heroic courage an entire rebel bri
gade. We lost one man killed, two mortally
wounded, and four seriously wounded, and did
not lose a prisoner. The rebels lost one hun
dred killed and wounded, and thirty-seven pris
oners. The following is a detailed account of
the affair :
Intelligence having reached headquarters that
quite a force of the enemy was near New-Bridge,
the Fourth Michigan regiment, Col. Woodbury,
was sent to feel them, and, if necessary, inter
rupt their quiet. The regiment left camp at
seven A.M., their Colonel at their head, and all in
splendid spirits at the prospect of a rencontre
with the rebels. A secondary object of the ex
pedition was to obtain information in regard to
the roads and fords in the vicinity. Lieut. N.
Bowen, of the Topographical Engineers, went
with the expedition, as also a squadron of the
Second regular cavalry, under command of Capt.
Gordon ; a company of the Fifth cavalry, Lieut.
Coster ; a company of the Eighteenth infantry,
Capt. Forsyth, and a company of the Second in
fantry, Capt. McMillen. New-Bridge is four
miles from the camp. They went down the
main road about two miles, to what is called the
Old Mill, and thence turned to the right through
a piece of woods, keeping it till they came to an
open field, commanding a view of the Chicka-
hominy River.
A portion of company A, Fourth Michigan regi
ment, Capt. Rose, was here sent forward as
skirmishers, and the remnant of the company
kept as reserves. The regiment filed out of the
wood by flank, and formed in line of battle very
nearly parallel with the river, the left extending
across the main road. Here the rebels were seen
lying behind a fence across the river. The right
wing of Colonel Woodbury s regiment was order
ed to cross the river, which at this point is about
thirty feet wide. In the men plunged, all ac
coutred as they were, but contrived to keep
their muskets in condition to use. In some
places the stream, which had been swollen by
the rain during the night and morning, was so
deep that the men were obliged to swim, and
none got over without wading waist-deep in
water. But this was not the worst. The enemy,
who had lain concealed behind a fence close to
the opposite bank of the river, kept up an in
cessant fire upon them. Fortunately the ene
my s shots passed harmlessly over their heads ;
but the shooting did not dismay the men in the
least. Lieutenant Bowen attempted to cross the
stream with his horse, but the latter was shot
under him before he had advanced a third of the
way across. This prevented field-officers and
the cavalry from attempting to ford the stream.
All the companies but two passed the river. One
of these remained behind to act as skirmishers
in the wood on the right, and the other to keep
an eye on the bridge and to the left beyond,
to prevent being flanked on either side by the
enemy.
As soon as our men crossed the river the work
of firing commenced. Captain Rose s company
discharged the first volley on our side. All the
remaining companies had their muskets to their
shoulders in double-quick time. The firing was
brisk and continuous on both sides. The rebels
had two pieces of artillery from which they
hurled shells at our men, but the shells, like
their volleys of musketry, passed over the heads
of our men. Their cannon were planted on a
hill beyond, while the infantry still kept position
behind the fence, which, in addition to having an
embankment as the base, in the style of old
Virginia fences, had a deep and wide ditch in
front. The shooting continued for nearly two
hours. Our men drove the rebels behind the
fence and their encampment at the left. They
3ed, leaving their dead and wounded behind
^hem, taking refuge in encampments on the hill.
On our side the last shot was fired. It was
not deemed prudent to pursue the retreating en
emy. It was evident that they had mistaken our
brce, or else acted in retiring more intensely
cowardly than we have ever thought them to be.
They had four regiments engaged, Fourth and
?ifth Louisiana regiments, a Virginia and an
Alabama regiment, besides their artillery, while
on our side there were actually only eight com
panies of the Fourth Michigan who did the fight-
ng. Under the circumstances, of course, it was
not deemed prudent to follow the foe.
The battle ended, then came the care of the
dllcd and wounded. The following is a list of
he killed and wounded on the National side :
KILLED. Private Abel M. D. Piper, company
3, shot through the heart,
WOUNDED. Privates Franklin Drake, company
3, mortally ; Wm. H. Chase, company C, mor
ally, compound fracture of the thigh ; George
L Young, company D, flesh-wound in the rain ;
lartin Brockway, company B, compound frac-
ure of fore-arm ; Charles Brunei , company A,
flesh-wound in thigh ; Charles Bunow, wounded
n the mouth ; Corporal John Campbell, com-
>any B, flesh-wound in thigh.
The rebel loss is estimated in killed and wound
ed at about one hundred. In the ditch were
bund twenty-eight dead bodies. Among the
dlled were two lieutenants. One was shot with
wo balls through the head, and the body of the
other was completely riddled with bullets. Of
DOCUMENTS.
145
the thirty-seven prisoners we took, fifteen were
wounded. Our men brought them on their
shoulders across the stream, whence they were
taken to a dwelling-house near by, and every
possible care given them by our surgeons. They
all expressed astonishment at the care shown
them, and stated that they had been told that if
they ever fell into our hands they would be kill
ed ; and such fate they expected would be theirs.
Our men partook of the dinner the Louisiana
Tigers had prepared for themselves. They cap
tured their company books ; and brought away
rifles, muskets, swords, sashes, etc. I might re
count any number of narrow escapes, had I time.
General McClellan having received intelligence
of the skirmish, rode toward, the river and met
the regiment on its return. He grasped General
Woodbury warmly by the hand and said : " Gene
ral, I am happjr to congratulate you again on your
success. I have had occasion to do so before, and
do so again with pleasure." He also shook
hands with Capt. Rose, of the first company,
and said: " I thank you, Captain: your men have
done well."
To some of the men he said : " How do you
feel, boys ?" They exclaimed : " General, we
feel bully!"
" Do you think anything can stop you from
going to Richmond ?" he asked, and an enthusi
astic " No !" rang from the whole line.
All the officers of the regiment behaved re
markably well. Gen. McClellan telegraphed im
mediately to Gen. Porter that the Fourth Michi-
can had covered themselves with glory.
Doc. 46.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL LOAN S ORDER.
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT N. W. MISSOURI, j
ST. JOSEPH, May 20, 1862. J
1. IT has become manifest that rebels return
ing from the armies of the insurgents, and other
disaffected and disloyal persons, are, throughout
this military district, organizing bands to act
during the ensuing season as guerrillas and ban